West Auckland traffic congestion and what is planned to cure it
22 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM
11 minutes to read
The photos of traffic on SH16 taken by Michelle Johnson and emailed to Transport Minister Michael Wood. Photo / Supplied
Just before Christmas Michelle Johnson decided she had had enough of the traffic congestion in Kumeū, where every day 36,000 vehicles snake their way through the town. Over two days she took photos of bumper-to-bumper traffic at a standstill outside Kumeū on State Highway 16 heading into Auckland city and emailed them to Transport Minister Michael Wood.
What should have been a 26-minute drive from her home in Huapai to work at Avondale took 1h 45m during the morning rush and 1h 20m later in the morning.
Highfield opens Lily Pond
From left, Christine Hannah, John Carr, Steve Cleverly and Peter Caccia-Birch with the carved kauri sign.
Peter Caccia-Birch presents the Roberts Memorial Trophy to Jake Littler, who won the 200-metre sprint for primary school aged-children.
A new 100-metre path planted with 40 native tree species was officially opened at Highfield Garden Reserve in Algies Bay last month.
A large carved kauri slab listing all the species planted along the Lily Pond Track was unveiled by Mahu Community Trading Post chair John Carr and Warkworth Community Shop manager Christine Hannah, both of whose organisations donated funding to the project.
Council slammed over boundaries
The proposed boundary changes favoured by NAG
The Northern Action Group (NAG) – advocating for better political representation in north Rodney – has slammed Auckland Council’s Governing Body for failing to back a motion to alter Rodney Local Board subdivision electoral boundaries.
The motion, put forward by Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers last month, proposed to shrink the Warkworth and Kumeu subdivisions to align them more tightly with town boundaries and introduce a new rural subdivision taking in South Head, Kaukapakapa, Puhoi, Kaipara Flats, Wellsford, Pakiri and Kawau Island.
Under the proposed arrangement, Kumeu and Warkworth would each have two elected board members (instead of four and three respectively) and the rural subdivision would have four.
Forest pilot launched
Owners of small forests in the Whangateau catchment will be invited to attend a workshop early this year as part of an initiative to better manage harvesting across the catchment.
The project is largely being funded by the Rodney Local Board and overseen by Healthy Waters senior specialist Adam Schellhammer, who attended a meeting at the Whangateau Hall last month. The meeting was facilitated by Whangateau Harbourcare, a community group which is concerned about the impact harvesting could have on the health of the harbour.
Council will appoint a forestry ambassador to liaise with small forest owners this month.