Chris Penk
National Party candidate for Helensville
11 September 2017

Transport Issues– Penk brings minister to electorate to see for himself

National Party candidate for Helensville, Chris Penk is delighted with the recent visit of Hon Simon Bridges to the electorate, which took place on 7 September.

The National Party is campaigning strongly for the Party Vote in this election and Penk says his work on local issues – including and especially transport – is a great way to show the Party’s commitment to Helensville.

“I’m determined to be a real voice for all the people of the Helensville electorate. Getting the current Minister of Transport to spend time in Auckland’s northwest – a long way from his own electorate – this close to an election was a real bonus”, says Penk. “The visit’s timing reflects the importance of transport to life and work in Auckland’s northwest.”

The highlight of the visit was a public meeting, hosted by Penk, in which Mr Bridges engaged with locals on the transport issues of the area.

Penk points out that three encouraging themes emerged from Mr Bridges’ visit:

1. The importance of local government infrastructure planning, especially confirming the indicative route of the Kumeu bypass as soon as possible

2. Understanding the impediments cited by Auckland Transport and Kiwirail to providing passenger rail services northwest of Swanson and developing workable solutions; and

3. Advocacy for SH16 improvements to include four lanes on either side of the Kumeu and Huapai town centres (rather than four lanes and two lanes alternately), to prevent “bottleneck” situations developing.

Mr Bridges’ visit included various sites that are significant in terms of local transport but also sites of local importance for employment, such as the Kumeu Film Studio, and housing, such as the Special Housing Accord (SHA) area at Huapai Triangle.

ENDS

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