December update and plans for 2008
Submitted by kate on 19 December, 2007 - 17:59.
Dear Members
Just a brief note to wish all members a safe and enjoyable Christmas and a happy New Year.
We look forward to providing you all with a full and detailed update by way of a public meeting around February/March next year.
Westward Ho!
No, we are not referring to the 1935 John Wayne movie of the same title - but Westward Ho! could become a catch cry around the SH20 extensions– It is very important that we get political agreement and support for the Westward shift of SH20 along the Onehunga Bay foreshore. A westward shift can help resolve many issues including, restoration of the foreshore including reclamation to provide more open space, creating space for cycle/walkways, utilities corridor, green bridge, Onehunga pond restoration/clean up, noise mitigation etc.
Alternatively, if the motorway is built within the existing designation (i.e. no westward shift) then there is potentially no need or indeed incentive for Transit & Auckland City Council to address the majority of the communities concerns or redress the mistakes made in the past.
This will clearly not be acceptable to our community.
Transit is meeting regularly with the Onehunga Enhancement Society and is to be applauded for taking these steps to listen directly the communities concerns. They hope to be able to release their westward shift design around end of January for public consultation. We will keep you informed.
Advocacy
We are working with local and national politicians to ensure that our voice is being heard and that the community’s issues are understood. We have had great support from the Onehunga Business Association, Maungakiekie Community Board plus a number of individual council members from within Auckland City Council and Auckland Regional Council. We have also held briefings with members of the major political parties over the year.
A look at our chairman’s diary shows that just over the past few weeks alone we have had meetings with John Banks (Auckland Mayor) Cr Sam Lotu-Iiga (ACC) Len Brown (Manukau Mayor) Cr Mike Lee (ARC Chairman) Cr Brent Morrissey (ARC), John Key, Hon Maurice Williamson, Dr Jackie Blue and Dr Wayne Mapp. We are endeavouring to arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister & key Government Ministers.
We are pushing hard for early completion of a workable Master Plan for Onehunga, with community input, to end the haphazard approach taken to date by the agencies and major infrastructure providers. There needs to be an overriding vision for Onehunga so that short term projects such as the proposed Onehunga railway station is located and designed to ensure it becomes part of the heart of our community- integrated bus, rail, parking and neighbourhood amenities – not just a station plonked where seems expedient at the time. Lack of foresight and planning has lead to the mess we have been left with at Onehunga Bay when SH20 was first built and we are not keen to have those types of mistakes revisited on us.
Transpower
It seems incredible to many that in this day and age Transpower would not take the “once in 50 year opportunity” to install ducting now, while the new motorway is being constructed, so that lines (crossing the bay and what was once largely farmland, now built up areas) could be progressively under grounded in the future. There is no major impediment to them doing so. Encouragement to do so is coming at them from every level of our community, except it seems at a national political level. They have run ducting up the Northern Motorway bus extension, but have no interest in doing so here. You can be assured that they are well aware of the motorway being built here and the opportunity open to them!
It seems they are quite happy to keep the existing lines with no intention of under grounding at any time over the long term.
TOES is endeavouring to enter into Court assisted mediation with Transpower to find a method in which Transpower lines can be included into motorway utility corridors on a long term basis with the objective of removing Transpowers pylons and lines through the Auckland Central Isthmus area.
Project Manager
Other issues being worked on include: Combined rail and road capability on new Manuaku crossing, formal inclusion of TOES in interagency meetings, interchange options, plans for upgrading Neilson Street (to alleviate traffic congestion before, during and after SH20 construction), the list goes on!
TOES believes that Auckland City should further support Onehunga achieve its goals by appointment of a Project Manager to liaise with all departments to achieve a combined approach with the effectiveness to make things happen in an environment where conflicting agendas can often stymie real progress.
Final Words
At a personal level, please make your views known to local politicians, neighbours or in the news media eg letters to the editors or talk back radio. We are getting noticed. Our communities’ concerns are being articulated – we are not anti-motorway or anti progress - we just want it done in a considered co-ordinated manner with community views taken into account, without being ridden over rough shod. As a result we believe better outcomes will be achieved.
We wish to thank all members for their support during the year. Once again we wish you a safe and enjoyable Christmas. Westward Ho!
~ The TOES Team
Just a brief note to wish all members a safe and enjoyable Christmas and a happy New Year.
We look forward to providing you all with a full and detailed update by way of a public meeting around February/March next year.
Westward Ho!
No, we are not referring to the 1935 John Wayne movie of the same title - but Westward Ho! could become a catch cry around the SH20 extensions– It is very important that we get political agreement and support for the Westward shift of SH20 along the Onehunga Bay foreshore. A westward shift can help resolve many issues including, restoration of the foreshore including reclamation to provide more open space, creating space for cycle/walkways, utilities corridor, green bridge, Onehunga pond restoration/clean up, noise mitigation etc.
Alternatively, if the motorway is built within the existing designation (i.e. no westward shift) then there is potentially no need or indeed incentive for Transit & Auckland City Council to address the majority of the communities concerns or redress the mistakes made in the past.
This will clearly not be acceptable to our community.
Transit is meeting regularly with the Onehunga Enhancement Society and is to be applauded for taking these steps to listen directly the communities concerns. They hope to be able to release their westward shift design around end of January for public consultation. We will keep you informed.
Advocacy
We are working with local and national politicians to ensure that our voice is being heard and that the community’s issues are understood. We have had great support from the Onehunga Business Association, Maungakiekie Community Board plus a number of individual council members from within Auckland City Council and Auckland Regional Council. We have also held briefings with members of the major political parties over the year.
A look at our chairman’s diary shows that just over the past few weeks alone we have had meetings with John Banks (Auckland Mayor) Cr Sam Lotu-Iiga (ACC) Len Brown (Manukau Mayor) Cr Mike Lee (ARC Chairman) Cr Brent Morrissey (ARC), John Key, Hon Maurice Williamson, Dr Jackie Blue and Dr Wayne Mapp. We are endeavouring to arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister & key Government Ministers.
We are pushing hard for early completion of a workable Master Plan for Onehunga, with community input, to end the haphazard approach taken to date by the agencies and major infrastructure providers. There needs to be an overriding vision for Onehunga so that short term projects such as the proposed Onehunga railway station is located and designed to ensure it becomes part of the heart of our community- integrated bus, rail, parking and neighbourhood amenities – not just a station plonked where seems expedient at the time. Lack of foresight and planning has lead to the mess we have been left with at Onehunga Bay when SH20 was first built and we are not keen to have those types of mistakes revisited on us.
Transpower
It seems incredible to many that in this day and age Transpower would not take the “once in 50 year opportunity” to install ducting now, while the new motorway is being constructed, so that lines (crossing the bay and what was once largely farmland, now built up areas) could be progressively under grounded in the future. There is no major impediment to them doing so. Encouragement to do so is coming at them from every level of our community, except it seems at a national political level. They have run ducting up the Northern Motorway bus extension, but have no interest in doing so here. You can be assured that they are well aware of the motorway being built here and the opportunity open to them!
It seems they are quite happy to keep the existing lines with no intention of under grounding at any time over the long term.
TOES is endeavouring to enter into Court assisted mediation with Transpower to find a method in which Transpower lines can be included into motorway utility corridors on a long term basis with the objective of removing Transpowers pylons and lines through the Auckland Central Isthmus area.
Project Manager
Other issues being worked on include: Combined rail and road capability on new Manuaku crossing, formal inclusion of TOES in interagency meetings, interchange options, plans for upgrading Neilson Street (to alleviate traffic congestion before, during and after SH20 construction), the list goes on!
TOES believes that Auckland City should further support Onehunga achieve its goals by appointment of a Project Manager to liaise with all departments to achieve a combined approach with the effectiveness to make things happen in an environment where conflicting agendas can often stymie real progress.
Final Words
At a personal level, please make your views known to local politicians, neighbours or in the news media eg letters to the editors or talk back radio. We are getting noticed. Our communities’ concerns are being articulated – we are not anti-motorway or anti progress - we just want it done in a considered co-ordinated manner with community views taken into account, without being ridden over rough shod. As a result we believe better outcomes will be achieved.
We wish to thank all members for their support during the year. Once again we wish you a safe and enjoyable Christmas. Westward Ho!
~ The TOES Team
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