EPA Board of Enquiry Hon Sir John Hanley David Bunting, Environment
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EPA Board of Enquiry Hon Sir John Hanley David Bunting, Environment Commissioner Glenice Paine Mark Appledoorn Intro My name is Ruben Blok and I live at 79 Belvedere Ave, Waikanae. I am a Business Intelligence consultant with a private local firm and I create analytic reporting solutions for major private and public sector organisations throughout the Australasia. I am usually not too worried about government decisions but given my field of expertise and what I have witnessed with this project something very wrong is happening here and the information does simply not add up. I oppose the NZTA Makays to Peka Peka proposal and would like to tell you my experience and explain my findings. Lead Up We moved from Auckland to Kapiti (originally to Raumati South) in 2007 to start a family and fell in love with the community and surroundings. The combination of bush, beach, and lifestyle was an easy decision. We heard about KCDCs initial proposal to create a new alternate road and bridge to Waikanae I quite liked the idea. It seems a little crazy that you can almost walk to Waikanae from Paraparaumu Beach faster than you can drive (we tested it the other day). A year or two later we received the notification from NZTA that as part of the Roads of National Significance project they were planning to upgrade the existing SH1 to future proof the national grid. We again quite optimistic when we saw the proposals (WO and EO only) and chose option EO, upgrade the existing SH1, as it had minimal impact on the existing community leaving SH1 as close to its original location as possible. I remember speaking to a lot of local community members and colleagues about these options and was surprised at the lack of interest with the common response being “they have been talking about it for long, they should just chose the best option and start building already”. The Meeting On9th of September 2009 I attended, what I thought was just going to be a final decision announcement for WO or EO, at the Southward Car Museum. What happened here was unbelievable. There were about 1000 people present and the initial presenter was Manager of Highways from NZTA. He started talking about the two options and the means of compensations but kept getting interrupted by the crowd, with angry comments I could not hear. He then started to talk about the Western Link Road designation where he made clear that this was not being presented as a solution due to the massive impact and social severance of the community this would create. This proceeded with a mass booing of this gentleman by the croud! At this stage I was still unsure what was going here until Hon Steve Joyce took the stand, saving poor guy from NZTA who never even really got a chance to speak, and announced due to overwhelming response he would perform a revote and include the WLR (Sand Hills) option in the proposal. This was met by thunderous applause. I was a little in shock and it took a moment for me to come to grips with what was happening, these people were clapping that they were planning to build a 4-lane, 100km/h highway straight through not one but all of their towns, Raumati South, Raumati, Paraparaumu Beach, Waikanae, and Peka Peka. Why would these people want this barrier in their community when the NZTA was not even proposing it as an option? Then I got it, these were the people that were directly affect by the WO and EO options. I left thinking, that was a great show, but oh well these are just a few people trying to save their homes, when the next vote comes out again they will lose miserably anyway as who would want this highway here. So this is how the WLR proposal was put forward as an option, and it is my belief that this was a premeditated plan by the government and Steve Joyce to utilise the KCDCs WLR plan, use their designation, making this seem like cheapest option, and seemingly giving the people wanted. Imagine the response if they had had only proposed the WLR solution in the first place. The Vote Now with the WLR option on the table it still had to be voted in for the government to be able to capitalise on their scheme. This was not too difficult as the interest in this road was already very low, a revote was bound to not get much or a response, apart from those people who attended that Southward Car Museum meeting of course. According to the official results in the Engagement Report (mackays-pekapeka-engagement- report.pdf) they were as follows: A. Eastern Option 1041 B. Western Option 619 C. WLR Expressway Option 1609 Alternate submissions 1177 Total 4446/46,000 population = < 10 % uptake Hardly an impressive result for a government to make a half billion dollar decision on. Of these there were 394 anonymous votes, identified as did not state names and/or addresses, which were counted. The detail of how these voted was not provided. Of those 1177 alternate submissions most were made encompassed multiple points, total 6108, and they were grouped by NZTA. The summation of these results was as follows: • Negative impacts/concerns 3747 • Positive comments 542 • Mixed results 1819 (Reading the groups most of the mixed results would also have been negative. For example 679 submissions made positive and/or negative comments on the effects of the expressway options on the character, amenity and local economies of the Paraparaumu and Waikanae Town Centres). Either way a much more overwhelming response not to build the WLR Sand Hills highway than there were was for it. I could not find the official results of the first vote anywhere. Also as part of the Engagement Report (mackays-pekapeka-engagement-report.pdf) there were 21 stake holders listed and interviewed for their opinion. These were parties with vested interest like the local MP, KCDC, DOC, etc. These parties preference were as follows: A. Eastern Option 4 B. Western Option 0 C. WLR Expressway Option 3 D. Other 7 E. Not stated 7 So 18 against 3 for. The ones that voted for the WLR were: • AA, they just presented before us today so their point is clear. • Waikanae Community Board, preference: was either Western or WLR Expressway Options due to not wanting a 100km/h zone through their main street. • Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce, the cheapest option of course. So given the above haven’t changed their minds, that leaves 18 parties with vested interest against the idea. Telephone Interview The next piece of evidence the NZTA used to justify that this is what the community wanted was the Telephone Survey Report (colmar-brunton-phone-report-dec09.pdf). This was performed by Colmar Brunton of 1000 residents and had a 62% response rate. The result was nearly half (49%) of residents preferred the Western Link Road option, key word was “road”. The question was not “do you want a 100km/h impassable barrier that you will not be able to use for local traffic through the middle of your community?” To prove this point, the main reason given by these people for choosing this option was the least community impact! And a final interesting fact on this report was that 91% of the people interviewed did not have the NZTA documentation available to them. All other evidence that only supported the WLR Sand Hills motorway over the other options was financial benefit. However as I am sure you have heard from numerous other by now, it is only the cheapest option because the land was already purchased by KCDC for the Western link Road road. Time check The time taken by the NZTA to reach the WLR Sand Hills Expressway decision was also another point of concern. The project has been in the making for about 30 years. Now there was a proposal on the table that was not even up for consideration a few months earlier. And it was selected within a couple of months! Submission So back to my submission, the main reasons I am opposed to the Sand Hills Motorway is as follows: • Creates a massive social divide through the heart of the Kapiti community. NZTA knew this but were forced into the cheap option by the government. • The negative health impact of living too close to major roads, especially motorways (Sabiens field). • KCDC did not want this but it was taken over by the government. • Developed counties do not do this anymore, new motorways are either build under or around townships, not through the middle. • The visual impact of a 4 lane expressway thought the ‘Nature Coast’ will be horrendous. • There is a huge colony of birds, too many to count, that gathers every evening above the Firewood company on Kapiti Road making a spectacular visual show. • Fiscal responsibility: is it worth spending 600 million dollars to save a few minutes in traffic. Where 150 millions for a local road is much more affordable given the current economic condition. And if the figures are correct, 70% of the traffic will be relieved from the existing SH1, as it is local traffic. Summary I know I may sound like a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard), but that is not the case at all. I fully support the improvement of this country and its transport system is a vital element. However this plan is the cheap and nasty option. The Kapiti Coast towns are just a few of dozens of 50km/h and traffic light zones between Auckland and Wellington.