April 21, 2021
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After two years of official ANZAC services being disrupted due to the Christchurch mosque attacks and Covid-19, the region’s service and parade organisers are looking forward to a return to normal this year. Matakana School got the ball rolling on April 9, when students gathered at the village war memorial to lay a wreath and pay their tributes to those who served. For a full guide to local services, see our feature on page 10.
Councillor slams regional transport plan Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers says the release of Auckland Council’s draft Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) confirms his worst fears – proposing millions of dollars of additional funding for Auckland’s CBD, while simultaneously outlining devastating cutbacks in Rodney. Cr Sayers first raised his concerns following the release of Council’s draft 10-year budget in February. The recent release of the draft RLTP, also covering the next 10 years, has done nothing to allay his concerns.
“Both are depletion budgets for Rodney and are heartbreaking with funding being diverted into more public transport within the CBD for electrified buses, trains, ferries, more cycleways and separated bus lanes,” he says. Meanwhile, funding for Rodney’s unsealed roading network has been slashed from $121 million to $40 million over 10 years. “This budget is disastrous for Rodney’s rural roads which are already not receiving the level of funding and services required to keep them safe to
drive on,” Cr Sayers says. “I’m asking the Mayor why would he expect the councillor for Rodney to support his five per cent rates increase if people are getting less.” Cr Sayers says to add insult to injury, Council has proposed increasing Auckland Transport’s renewals budget (up 29 per cent) and operational budget (up 11 per cent) – budgets that could have been used to replenish metal and clear drains on unsealed roads, but funding for these activities is actually proposed to decrease by
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about 20 per cent. Cr Sayers also draws no comfort from the fact that $18.8 million is indicated in the RLTP for an upgrade to Warkworth’s Hill Street intersection, noting that Council wants the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to entirely fund the upgrade, but has secured no agreement from it to do so. Moreover, once the Puhoi to Warkworth motorway is completed in May next year, the Hill Street intersection no longer forms part of the State Highway. continued on page 2 WWW.RDCONSTRUCTION.CO.NZ
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