Council supports completing State Highway 20

Auckland City will continue supporting the completion of State Highway 20, the council’s Transport and Urban Linkages Committee agreed at its meeting today.

The committee was updated on the Regional Land Transport Committee’s (RLTC) decision to progress with a strategic option that will see around $3.5 billion spent on passenger transport, $3.7 billion on roading projects and $400 million on travel demand management in Auckland over the next 10 years.

“The Regional Land Transport Committee’s selection of this strategic option sends a signal that investment in passenger transport is important, but it should not be interpreted to necessarily exclude specific key projects, such as the Avondale extension of State Highway 20,” says Councillor Richard Simpson, Auckland City’s Transport and Urban Linkages Committee chairperson.

“The RLTC’s Regional Land Transport Strategy cannot identify or prioritise specific projects for the region. The Auckland Regional Transport Authority, Land Transport New Zealand and Transit New Zealand make these regional decisions.

“We will continue to push the completion of State Highway 20 as a top priority.

“We are committed to working with Transit New Zealand to see this, as well as other state highway projects, delivered to benefit the region’s economy and give Aucklanders additional travel choices,” says Mr Simpson.

The RLTS will guide investment decisions for transport in the Auckland region for the next 10 years and is prepared based on known funding. It cannot be developed on potential funding, for example road pricing.

“It’s important for the strategy to be based on available funding to ensure we can deliver on the priorities. Potential sources of funding in the future, such as road pricing, are still to be investigated.

“The RLTS will be reviewed again in 2008. By then we will have a better understanding of potential future funding options and the practical implications of travel demand management,” says Mr Simpson.

The RLTC will agree the draft RLTS before it goes out for public consultation.

The final RLTS needs to be completed by 31 December 2005 to meet conditions of the transport governance and funding package approved by central government in December 2003.

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