News Release

Media Release

22 April 2004

Caution urged over misrepresented Eastern Transport Corridor drawings

An illustration in the New Zealand Herald of April 21 of a supposed interchange on the Eastern Transport Corridor is totally inaccurate and obviously created for maximum scare factor rather than to be useful to people living in the area, according to Eastern Transport Corridor Communications Manager Darrell Carlin.

The illustration is being distributed by a small protest group of people with homes overlooking the proposed route across Hobson Bay. It does not come from the Opus’ Recommended Options report and must be treated with caution, Mr Carlin says.

“It’s important people are not misled into thinking these are in any way official illustrations or have any link to what is proposed.

“Our aim is to provide solid information that can be relied upon as it comes to hand. So it is unhelpful that people in the community have to put up with receiving what amounts to be propaganda put out by a few people attempting to push outcomes of self interest on the rest of the people of eastern Auckland.”

Mr Carlin says the roundabout at Shore Rd/Portland Rd will be more or less at the same level as Shore Rd; that is, it will not be built up significantly above existing ground level. The scale of the roundabout will be similar to other two lane roundabouts in the area, measuring approximately 60m in diameter from outer kerb to outer kerb. While the work would clearly involve temporary construction impacts, it is not best practice to open the entire site up at once as this would make management of sediment control extremely difficult, and prohibit public access through the site. The contractors would stage construction so environmental and social impacts of the work can be managed. He says he has had a few calls from people who are unhappy with the tactic being employed by the group.

“One person pointed out how the misrepresented picture had dark brooding grey clouds while the other had blue sky. But I think Aucklanders will be smart enough to see through such manipulative techniques,” he says.

Mr Carlin says the Eastern Transport Corridor Steering Group was going through a very thorough process of workshops looking at the detail of the Opus recommendation. Their recommendation was expected after a 12 May Steering Group meeting. That recommendation would then go to the transport committees of Auckland and Manukau cities and the Board of Transit NZ.

Those project partners will then assess how they would like the project to proceed. Further work is also being done on how the project will be staged. Staging decisions will involve which area of the corridor will be constructed first and the funding requirements for each stage.

He says in modern projects a tremendous amount of work goes into environmental mitigation and that will be the case for the Eastern Transport Corridor.

“There are teams of landscape architects and urban designers at work ensuring the environment is protected and in some cases enhanced and that good urban design is always at the forefront of thinking within the project.”

Ends

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