Roger Gordon
A Waipā district councillor is concerned the council’s draft transportation strategy has drawn seriously flawed conclusions and is already out of date before consultation ends next month.
Roger Gordon says grid-locked roundabouts, roads and bridges, particularly in Cambridge, was proof of that.
The strategy went out for consultation earlier this month but pressure on businesses to respond in the timeframe originally set down has seen council extend the deadline to March 22.
Cambridge Chamber of Commerce chief executive Kelly Bouzaid welcomed the extension.
“Our businesses have got so much to be thinking about and they just didn’t have time to make a submission. This gives us some time to get in front of the people.
“There are shortfalls (in it) and questions we have.
“It is using data which has proven inaccurate in the past and we want to address that.”
Significant employers like businesses under construction in Titanium Park adjacent to Hamilton Airport had not been considered, she said.
The growth there would put even more traffic on Waipā roads.
The transport strategy was the biggest thing facing the district, said Gordon.
“I do have concerns about it (the strategy) that I am trying to get addressed with staff.
“The strategy doesn’t address the congestion we are seeing now,” he said.
“What’s going to happen in the next 15 years, 20 years, 25 years? The strategy doesn’t explore that.”
If planners were not projecting the right population growth, then the strategy would be out of date as soon as the council adopted it, said Gordon.
The draft strategy replaces the 2010 Waipā Integrated Transport Strategy and will be reviewed every five years. Submissions can be made on the council’s website or at council offices.
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