How many of you got caught in the traffic jam last Friday?

Many people misunderstand the flow on effects accidents or holdups on or around our aerial routes cause.  There are approx. 30,000 vehicles per day travelling along the State Highway though Whangarei, some other local roads that have high volumes are Riverside Drive, Walton Street, Maunu Road and Bank Street.  Therefore, a 5min delay at peak time on these roads can cause a que length of minimum 1km long, as Whangarei has a rather small footprint, this 1km can equate to traffic congestion over the whole district for approx. 30 minutes after the event.

Many of Whangarei’s roading networks have not been designed to handle the large volumes of traffic that is happening at the moment.  When the Porowini Ave extension was proposed and constructed, it has taken another 10 years for the parking to be modified on the road, and the intersection of Tarewa and Maunu Road to be considered improving.

Roads are a catalyst for change; they are the main arteries through which our transportation and commerce are set into motion. We can spend most of our time tied up in this traffic, which we can no longer ignore, and many of us do not want to be another Auckland example of bad planning to be created.

Our roading problems may seem complex, and sometimes there are no quick fixes, unless we learn to facilitate good governance. As the funding sourced for our roads and roading developments is from central government, local Council and development contributions from property owners, we now need to challenge NZTA to respond urgently to the growth of Northland, and make sure we are not forgotten about.

Roading is our lifeblood, and when we move large volumes of traffic from one road to another due to blockages, the lifeblood stops.  Roads are there to take us around the district.  Roads are there to keep our families safe. Roads are there to take us to work or school. So why are our roads so neglected? I want to champion safer roads, better roads, roads that enable us to get from A to B safely.

I want to see a redevelopment of Whangarei’s roading network, this means road widths, road layouts and directions, carparking for attractions and shopping, safer footpaths and accessways, and increasing the road engineering standards to a better level.  It is now time to plan and design for growth, It’s now time to think about our Roading network.  So what do you want?

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