Congestion at the Hill St intersection will be reduced with the provision of the proposed Matakana Link Rd through to State Highway 1, north of the Hill St intersection, as an alternative route.
In addition, the realignment of Sandspit Rd has been identified as a way to improve access to the eastern beaches.
Extending the Western Collector arterial would also help alleviate pressure within the town centre by providing an alternative route to State Highway 1 from northern Warkworth to future industrial and residential growth areas in the west and south.
There are also proposals for a frequent express bus route between Auckland and Warkworth along the new Puhoi to Warkworth Road of National Significance, which would help take private vehicles off the road.
To ensure easy access to the service, a park and ride is proposed by Hudson Rd, with local buses providing a connection to this service.
In a recent Herald article, Grant McLachlan suggests putting in a roundabout at a cost of less than $100,000.
A roundabout is great at quieter times of the day and when traffic flows from each direction are equal.
On the down side, it can be difficult to provide a safe environment for pedestrians or cyclists at roundabouts (particularly multi-lane roundabouts), and at busy times a roundabout may not provide as much capacity as a traffic signal controlled intersection.
Traffic using roundabouts can experience significant delays where the approaches to roundabouts carry differing volumes of traffic (i.e. where one or two approaches carry much more traffic than other approaches).
Despite Mr McLachlan's assertions, a roundabout would cost in the vicinity of several million dollars, and such a significant investment has to be carefully weighed up.
The reason for ongoing consultation is quite simply that any solution has to be worked on with locals to ensure that it works for locals as an absolute bottom line.
Andrew Scoggins is group manager, roading, for Auckland Transport.
