Mahurangi Matters Letters – 15 November 2017

Confusion reigns

One sure way of dividing the Warkworth community is to put in a barrier to close off Elizabeth Street from the north and the west (MM November 1). Auckland Transport seems determined to add even more confusion at the worst intersection in New Zealand. Any experienced traffic engineer will tell you that the only way to take out the confusion is to simplify the situation and give drivers very clear instructions on what they can do and when they can do it. This is why in July 2017, I tabled a proposal for linked traffic signals. These were published in Mahurangi Matters (MM July 5).This solution was provided to AT with a request to discuss it with their signals experts. They said they would meet with us, but six requests later and there is still no willingness to have a meaningful consultation. The proposed linked signals are very simple and do not increase the phase period. The two situations where you currently have to give way to traffic coming from five different directions at the same time are eliminated and replaced with positive signals. No traffic movements are removed by this proposal. The exit from Kowhai Park is relocated to become a left turn out onto the SH1 slip lane, thus removing one source of conflict. The capacity of the intersection is improved from the east because the traffic gets a clear green without an overriding Give Way to the right. Clarity equals efficiency. Hesitation equals delays. I have a feeling that AT wants to create dissention so that they have a reason to do nothing.

Roger Williams, Warkworth Area Liaison Group traffic engineering adviser

Blind NAG

A recent letter by NAG Group members the Maltbys (MM October 18) would suggest they are not aware of the significant improvements Auckland Council has brought for Rodney citizens. I have lived in Rodney for some 60 years, building my first home in Snells Beach and a later home in Scotts Landing. The founder of NAG, Bill Townson, has been a close neighbour for some 30 years, so he must be aware of the improvements in Council services. For me, the Supercity has offered numerous tangible benefits. Rates have not increased to any great extent. We have seen the development of sporting facilities with beautiful fields created in Warkworth and Orewa. My late wife just loved the library facilities where the vast resources of the Auckland City library system became available to Rodney residents on amalgamation. A superb new library, offering a multitude of services, has been built in Wellsford for the town and surrounding rural areas. Large rubbish bins have been provided for every home across Rodney along with specialised collection vehicles. New sections of road have been constructed to a standard I had never seen in the old Rodney Council. New wide footpaths have been built through sections of Algies Bay. Leaking sewer mains in the Algies Bay area have been replaced at a cost of millions. The disgraceful Warkworth sewage plant, which discharges directly into the river a few hundred metres below the town, is to be closed. This plant should never have been built and is a monument to the short-sighted councillors who proposed it at the time. The ongoing discharges from the sewage works into the Mahurangi River have seen water quality diminish to the point where the water is always turbid and brown due to very high levels of bacteria from the inflowing sewage. Gone are the beautiful water colours seen in the Puhoi and Waiwera rivers. The river is unused for swimming and recreation. It is a disgrace and a result of successive councils failing in their duties. Those proposing this ridiculous breakaway want to move back into the past where there would be minimal funds, no money to replace the dreadful sewage schemes left by Rodney, poor road maintenance and the list would go on.

Warren Agnew, Scotts Landing   

Worse than Hill St

Living in Kawau View Road, Snells Beach, we hear a lot about the difficulty of negotiating the Hill Street intersection in Warkworth. We travel to Warkworth to do our shopping. We leave the town via the lights at Whitaker Road, then back to Snells Beach no problem.
We have a much bigger problem at the roundabout at Snells Beach. When driving up Snells Beach Road, it is impossible to see who is approaching on our right. A hedge, a power pole and a transformer block our view completely. Meanwhile, those driving down Mahurangi East road have a clear view and often boot it through the intersection. Our solution is to enter Mahurangi East road via Kauri Crescent. At least we can see.

Graeme Miller, Snells Beach