Letters: We deserve better than the standard of our roads

Our roads need to be better, says a reader.

The dust from metal roads can be hazardous to our communities' health, and our roads need to be strengthened to have a stronger base coarse to ensure that our roads have a good standard.

I am fed up with the standard of our metal roads. This is a topic that I have been working hard as a FNDC councillor to highlight.

I would like to see much more funding for our metal roading network, and also would like to have our metal roads sealed.

The problem is that currently we do not have funding in the Northland Regional Transport Plan for strengthening metal roads (adding more metal base coarse depth) or for sealing.

Roads need to be strengthened before they are sealed. The recommended metal base coarse is approx 200mm. My understanding from researching this issue, is that the average base coarse depth on the metal roads in the Far North is only 70mm.

This is a serious issue. I believe that we can't neglect this matter any longer.

As a community, please tell the Northland Regional Council and the NZ Transport Agency that our roads are sub-standard, and that rural roads need to have funding input from central government.

We do not just want spending on making highways in the big cities.

Please go to the Te Ahu Centre tomorrow 10am-12 noon, and tell the NRC and the NZTA how our state highways, and our local roads need to have more attention. We don't want any more deaths on our Far North roads.

If the NZTA subsidised the sealing of our metal roads, the council could afford a sealing programme.

State highways are managed and maintained by the NZTA. Local roads are maintained and have some capital works improvements done by FNDC. The NZTA previously put a majority of funds into establishing Roads of National Significance. The NZTA (through the Northland Regional Land Transport Plan) determines where the funding for roading projects is allocated.

People who don't live on a metal road don't know how bad it is to live with the dust and the ruts in the metal. Why shouldn't we have a minimum standard of roading? I believe that we deserve better.
I will be delivering this message to the NRC and the NZTA tomorrow. Please attend at the submissions at Te Ahu Centre and support this important issue.
#strengthenmetalroads #sealmetalroads #investintheregions

CR FELICITY FOY
Awanui