Paekākāriki residents concerned with Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre plans

Community feedback is sought on a proposed Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre (CVSC) at Mackays Crossing.

Local residents are concerned about the NZ Transport Agency's plan to place a Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre at Mackays Crossing. Once Transmission Gully opens, heavy vehicles will no longer be traveling by the existing site near Plimmerton and a new CVSC is required to serve the greater Wellington region. Turid Revfeim shares her concerns about the proposed location.

NZTA's plan for a large truck weigh station planned for an area known as the 'Sandpit' just north of the Paekākāriki township has local residents concerned.

This is one of 12 major Commercial Vehicle Safety Centres to be built around New Zealand as part of the NZTA Weigh Right programme.

There are concerns about the site selection process and locating commercial activity within the recreation area joining Queen Elizabeth Park, Whareroa Farm Park and the bridle path/cycleway along Emerald Glen Rd.

The parks are connected by a narrow underpass which is used regularly by cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders as well as motorists visiting the two parks.

There will be a large 5.8m high and 4.5m wide compliance building, a weigh bridge, an office building, an area to off-load excess weighted goods and parking for eight trucks.

We see numerous safety issues and hazards around having up to 12 trucks an hour exiting the Expressway to be weighed, driving through this busy and tight thoroughfare used by other vehicles as well as horse, cycle and foot traffic.

We would like NZTA to look for another viable site that is not in the middle of this important recreational hub and conservation area.

While we do want safe commercial vehicles on the roads, we do not believe they should improve the safety of one group while comprising the safety of another.

There are also concerns with the installation of a temporary Asphalt Plant on the same site for the remainder of the Transmission Gully build.

This will mean 120 trucks a day using the Mackay's Crossing interchange through the tight underpass beside the cycle and bridleway.

Local residents said, "The wider community has not been adequately informed and that NZTA's consultation process is lacking."

NZTA held an open day on the October 14 in Paekākāriki about the CVSC and the Asphalt Plant but the event was poorly advertised and the key reports were not available at it.

For such a significant change to the use and safety of Mackay's Crossing, we feel they are being steamrolled by this Crown agency which has shown over the past year that it is not interested in listening to the views of the local community and the hundreds of recreational users of Queen Elizabeth and Whareroa Farm parks.

We are also asking for the Kāpiti Coast District Council to carefully examine this NZTA proposal and listen to the community.

Waka Kotahi director of regional relationships Emma Speight responds:

In 2019, Waka Kotahi assessed 14 potential Commercial Vehicle Safety Centres (CVSC) locations in the greater Wellington region, before identifying the Mackays Crossing 'Sandpit' site as the most appropriate location.

This site was selected for the CVSC because of its safety and environmental factors, solid ground conditions, and ease of access.

Our design and safety teams have been carefully considering the options for safe access to the site, including considering the needs of other users of the local roads and bridlepath.

Feedback from the community is an important part of this process, and will assist us in developing safe designs for all road users.

Under our Weigh Right programme, CVSCs enable enforcement officers to undertake checks on heavy vehicles including weight, road user charges, certificate of fitness, logbook, and alcohol and drugs.

Enforcing weight restrictions, safe driving practices and road-ready vehicles is an integral part of keeping all road users safe and protecting the road network from damage.

Roadside technology is installed and intelligent software developed to screen heavy vehicles and to direct potentially overweight vehicles into a CVSC for further inspection.

Vehicle screening involves weigh-in-motion or in-road scales, automatic number plate recognition cameras and electronic signs all working together to identify potentially overweight vehicles.

Targeting potentially overweight non-compliant vehicles can enable compliant heavy vehicles to continue their journey without interruption, and makes for a better use of resources and time.

We let the community know via newspaper advertisements, social media and our website that we would be holding an open day on October 14 and seeking community feedback about the proposed site.

We remain open to feedback until 5pm, this Friday, November 6 and encourage people to let us know what they think.

For more information about the proposal and how to provide feedback, visit the Weigh Right website www.nzta.govt.nz/weigh-right/mackays-crossing.