State of Play - Wally Hayes
28/10/09 at 13.23
2010 is an important year for Tamahere.
Decisions made through the upcoming Structure plan review process will help shape Tamahere’s future, and will affect generations to come.
The catalyst for a review, was my proposal to shut Newell road at the Airport road end, with a new outlet being formed along Council owned land from Devine road to Airport road {next to Regal Haulage}.My reasoning behind this is ‘fourfold’.
1. We fix an historical problem straight away. Newell road has been a perceived shortcut for many many years. We would reduce the traffic flow by between somewhere between a quarter and a third, of whom are not local residents. Newell road would then be suddenly a lot safer, with only locals driving it with the added bonus of making it more possible to get our kids biking to school, both at Tamahere and Hamilton.
2. Land Transport N.Z {Transit} are going to demand, once the expressway has been completed,{10 to 15yrs} that access to Devine road at the on-ramp to S.H 1 be blocked off. If we do nothing now and this does eventuate, then all parents who live on the east of S.H 1 wanting to drop their kids off to school, will twice a day have to travel down to the present Airport road / Newell road turn off, down to Devine road and around to the School. This proposal, potentially, would eliminate 1 km per trip per vehicle.
3. It will help facilitate access to whatever we as a community decide to do with the remaining Council owned land{ see following}
4. And believe it or not, we can fix all these problems for less money than is currently earmarked in Councils books. This will become apparent during the process.
.There are two other major issues that I would like to see ‘sorted’ through the review process.
We as a community along with Council, need to decide what we are to do with the surplus Council owned land {approx 10 acres} bordering the Tamahere Model Country School.
Road safety issues arising from our ever busier local roads needs close attention. Within the Country living zone, which is basically ‘large lot residential’ and encompasses the entire Tamahere ward which is not zoned Rural; there are hundreds more houses to be built in the very near future. Cycle ways / Footpaths / Walkways will become and have become a necessity. Where we build them, what we build and how we fund them, needs to be revisited, going on the feedback I have received from the locals.
Our ‘rural’ roads speed limits and safety issues on the likes of Tauwhare, Matangi, Pencarrow and Bruntwood roads also need serious consideration.
The ‘process’ starts officially at Council in March
If you have other issues you think should be added for debate, please forward them on to either myself, Council or any Tamahere community committee member.
Watch here for further bi-monthly updates so you know when to become fully involved in the decision making processes.
Decisions made through the upcoming Structure plan review process will help shape Tamahere’s future, and will affect generations to come.
The catalyst for a review, was my proposal to shut Newell road at the Airport road end, with a new outlet being formed along Council owned land from Devine road to Airport road {next to Regal Haulage}.My reasoning behind this is ‘fourfold’.
1. We fix an historical problem straight away. Newell road has been a perceived shortcut for many many years. We would reduce the traffic flow by between somewhere between a quarter and a third, of whom are not local residents. Newell road would then be suddenly a lot safer, with only locals driving it with the added bonus of making it more possible to get our kids biking to school, both at Tamahere and Hamilton.
2. Land Transport N.Z {Transit} are going to demand, once the expressway has been completed,{10 to 15yrs} that access to Devine road at the on-ramp to S.H 1 be blocked off. If we do nothing now and this does eventuate, then all parents who live on the east of S.H 1 wanting to drop their kids off to school, will twice a day have to travel down to the present Airport road / Newell road turn off, down to Devine road and around to the School. This proposal, potentially, would eliminate 1 km per trip per vehicle.
3. It will help facilitate access to whatever we as a community decide to do with the remaining Council owned land{ see following}
4. And believe it or not, we can fix all these problems for less money than is currently earmarked in Councils books. This will become apparent during the process.
.There are two other major issues that I would like to see ‘sorted’ through the review process.
We as a community along with Council, need to decide what we are to do with the surplus Council owned land {approx 10 acres} bordering the Tamahere Model Country School.
Road safety issues arising from our ever busier local roads needs close attention. Within the Country living zone, which is basically ‘large lot residential’ and encompasses the entire Tamahere ward which is not zoned Rural; there are hundreds more houses to be built in the very near future. Cycle ways / Footpaths / Walkways will become and have become a necessity. Where we build them, what we build and how we fund them, needs to be revisited, going on the feedback I have received from the locals.
Our ‘rural’ roads speed limits and safety issues on the likes of Tauwhare, Matangi, Pencarrow and Bruntwood roads also need serious consideration.
The ‘process’ starts officially at Council in March
If you have other issues you think should be added for debate, please forward them on to either myself, Council or any Tamahere community committee member.
Watch here for further bi-monthly updates so you know when to become fully involved in the decision making processes.
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