Letters: SH2 decision is not good enough

Western Bay District councillor Margaret Murray-Benge at the Belk Rd, SH29 intersection. Photo / File

State Highway 29 and SH2 go through to the best port in the New Zealand.

SH29 is recognised as the heavy transport arterial and is the responsibility of the NZTA, and people who live off this highway have to manoeuvre on to and off as best they can.

Together with the community, the NZTA has done some of the upgrades on a number of intersections and the NZTA has been great to work with, even on the Belk Rd intersection (News, October 27).

But the Belk Rd decision is now an absolute disaster. Having consulted with the residents, done the planning design, completed the property purchase, and with the regional council consenting body holding approval up for months and months.

The upgrade should have been completed last December.

Then along comes another NZTA manager and decides they will no longer do the upgrade.

This is the most deplorable example of a pathetically slow, bureaucratic, bungling process I and the residents have ever had the misfortune to have to deal with.

I have not started on SH2 yet but if SH29 and the Belk Rd intersection upgrade is anything to go by then heaven help us working with an inadequate NZTA.

Not good enough.

Cr Margaret Murray-Benge
Bethlehem

SH2 speed reduction
I am quite frankly astonished at the proposed speed reduction of State Highway 2 (News, October 26).

Surely this will only result in more congestion.

The volume of traffic will remain the same but the time to move it all will be effectively reduced by 20 per cent.

Unfortunately all that will be achieved by this is to increase the time each vehicle spends on the road, and with that increase the risk of some idiot crossing the centre line and crashing into oncoming traffic.

Because of the congestion created multiple pile-ups will occur with more people being killed or injured because with slower speeds attention can be too easily diverted and following distance dangerously truncated.

C'mon for crying out loud, we want a fix. Not a band aid with a vicious sting attached.

Richard Lacey
Katikati