Wanganui's busiest stretch of road - the portion of London St that is part of SH3 - caters for fewer than 10 per cent of the 154,000 vehicles which cross Auckland Harbour Bridge each day.
The NZ Transport Agency's most recently published traffic data reveals that the average 11,000 vehiclesusing London St on a daily basis is also well short of the 20,000 that travel along Timaru's busiest road, Evans St (SH1).
Transport in Auckland is listed by the Ministry for the Environment as a primary source of air pollution in New Zealand, which is implicated in the premature deaths of more than 1000 people every year.
Stress and anger were the main symptoms of more than 900 drivers from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch interviewed by IBM during 2010 about metropolitan commuting patterns and the effects of traffic on their health and lifestyle.
But, here in Wanganui, most of us are happy to report that traffic woes do not rate highly.
Some 81 per cent of those who replied to a Wanganui District Council community outcomes survey reported that Wanganui was free from traffic congestion.
The benefits are shared by residents and businesses.
Stacey Pedley, the managing director of Wanganui-based Geoff's Courier Service, said traffic congestion was not a problem for the firm's drivers.
Even inconsiderate motorists were rarely an issue in the city.
Ms Pedley said delivering items to businesses in Victoria Ave was sometimes challenging, but other than that, their work in Wanganui was trouble-free.
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