The signs, which accused Horizons of neglecting Whanganui in its Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP), belonged to former Whanganui district councillor James Barron.
He parked a trailer carrying the signs outside the council building while presenting a submission to its Regional Transport Committee
“We drove into town [after the submission] to have some lunch, came back, and the signs had gone,” Barron said.
“Horizons’ CCTV was covering the area, so I went in there to report a theft from a vehicle. I wasn’t going back to Whanganui with my tail between my legs.”
Horizons’ chief executive Michael McCartney said a council officer did remove the signs from the trailer.
“This was a mistake,” he said.
“Council officers, including the one who removed the signs, helped to reinstate them after the mistake was raised. The officer who removed the signs personally said sorry to Mr Barron.”
At the committee meeting, Barron said the RLTP was New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s “primary go-to for what the region wants and needs” and Whanganui had no prioritised urban projects in it.
Palmerston North had 10.
Horizons Regional Council chairwoman Rachel Keedwell. Photo / Bevan Conley
They include an integrated transport initiative, an urban bus terminal redevelopment and a Palmerston North-to-Feilding shared pathway.
“The RLTP tells NZTA what is important for the Manawatū-Whanganui area - for our pathways, our roads and our transport infrastructure,” Barron said.
“Not being included in the priorities means not even being in line for primary funding from NZTA.
“This is not Horizons’ money, this is centrally funded money - the common pot.”
Whanganui had no priority projects in Horizons’ 2018 or 2021 RLTPs either, he said.
There was “an almost fair distribution in 2015″, with Whanganui getting four projects and Palmerston North six.
“The [Whanganui priorities] in 2015 were an urban river cycleway, replacement of the Dublin Street Bridge, replacement of the failing Wakefield Street Bridge and safety improvements on State Highway 3,” Barron said.
“A decade on, neither bridge has been replaced and neither bridge has proven a miraculous exception to the general rule of entropy.
“Both have continued to deteriorate and urgently need replacement.”
Speaking to the Chronicle, Horizons chairwoman Rachel Keedwell said lots of smaller Whanganui projects, which were not in the regional priority ranking of 1-10, featured in the plan.
“If you were listening to [Barron’s submission] without any prior knowledge, it sounded like we at Horizons sit here and choose what projects we like the most and pop them in the plan,” she said.
“It‘s a lot more complicated than that. Projects come from the [territorial authorities]. Whanganui District Council officials are part of a working group that meets at least monthly and all projects come through that mechanism into the plan.”
Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said he had a different view to Barron and his district had its “fair share” of NZTA funding.
Whanganui projects in the RLTP include the Aramoho Rail Bridge pedestrian/cycling clip-on, the Whanganui City Bridge pedestrian/cycling clip-on, multiple shared pathways, and footpath and road upgrades.
“If you don’t read the headline and go to the next level down in the plan, you’ll see Whanganui is very well-served in terms of Waka Kotahi funding,” Tripe said.
“Sometimes you have to get into the detail.”
Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multi-media journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present, his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.
