Councils unite in calls for Puhoi access

ACCESS BATTLE: The heat is being turned up to get access at Puhoi to the proposed new Puhoi-Wellsford highway.

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Pressure is mounting on the NZ Transport Agency over its initial proposal against providing access at Puhoi to the proposed Puhoi to Wellsford motorway.

It will extend the submission period to Monday, August 2.

The Rodney District Council and North Shore City Council have strongly supported access.

Rodney's report to the agency supports prioritising of the proposed highway and says it is pleased with the overall proposal. However, it considers Puhoi access justified and says there is a need for the NZTA to recognise the "balance between community connectivity and limitation of route access for efficient transport movements". The decision to link access and growth was "too simplistic" and the promotion of economic development was also relevant, the report says.

The agency says growth is one of its criteria for access, but Puhoi's growth is not expected to significantly increase in the next 40 years because it would counter residents' wishes to retain Puhoi's character. Rodney sees these characteristics as "part of the economic asset that underpins the attractiveness of Puhoi as a tourist destination".

North Shore says "provision of an interchange for access at or near Puhoi is essential to the short-term and long-term success of the road".

"Omitting the interchange in the vicinity of Puhoi would reduce the functionality and amenity of the proposed motorway to the detriment of the local economy. It would be counter intuitive to selectively favour only one class of road user – freight and commercial traffic to Northland – and to disadvantage another class of traffic that included local residents and businesses," says North Shore City Council.

The importance of easy, safe access for visitors to the tourist destinations of coastal Waiwera with its hot pools and historic Puhoi, along with the Auckland Regional Council parks at Wenderholm and Sullivans Bay at Mahurangi West was raised by Rodney, along with the viability of businesses servicing them. North Shore says a negative effect on businesses in the area would "detract from the aggregate of the regional economy". Both councils agree district planning with stringent zoning and development restrictions would protect the coastal area as effectively as restricting access.

Rodney also emphasised the negative impact traffic servicing Puhoi and surrounds travelling through suburban Grand Drive in Orewa would have, as would the return of heavy vehicles having to exit at Silverdale – unable to exit on Grand Drive from 7pm to 7am.

North Shore says by the time the motorway is operational, businesses in the area would have enjoyed the current high level of service and amenity of direct access via the tunnels for up to 10 years, and would be severely disadvantaged by losing access.

Both councils raised safety issues and efficiencies for motorway users, along with police and emergency services with a 22km stretch of motorway from Orewa to Warkworth without entry or exit points.

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