A lot of pies

A lot of pies

EDITORIAL

“There’ll be a lot of pies,” said my partner, after studying the plans released by NZTA for the new Mt Victoria tunnel.

I thought he’d lost his mind, but he was referring to the vast number of workers in high-res we will eventually see – if this project goes ahead – who inevitably will also need to buy lunch and coffees as they work on the new tunnel and the significant changes around the Basin Reserve.

Perhaps his assessment of the dietary habits of roading workers is out of date, and they are all nibbling on sushi these days, but overall, the message is correct – this is a massive project and it means years of construction and disruption for our area.

With that comes some benefits probably, such as jobs and the economic boost of activity in the neighbourhood.  It might be time now to start thinking about investing in a coffee cart!

Studying the plans, I have to say I feel some relief for Mt Victoria.  Things could have been worse – thankfully there’s no flyover. 

Nevertheless, the impacts will be significant, so have your say in short period available to us.  Make sure you check the boxes on NZTA’s survey form to reveal more options for giving your feedback.

Design elements to consider might be access to and from our suburb resulting from the new roading layout.

For instance, residents wanting to drive north or west will have to use Elizabeth St or Majoribanks Street to get onto Kent Terrace – there will be no access from Ellice Street or Pirie Street. 

We should also be concerned about the construction of the project – the noise, disruption and vibrations, and how these will be managed.  And we may wonder what will happen to the turn-of-the-century houses along the route that NZTA owns – will they be bulldozed or is there a chance to move them elsewhere?

We should engage, even though there is still the outstanding question of whether the Government will ultimately find the money to see this go ahead – a project that has been on the cards since the 70s and never actually managed to get off the drawing board.

In other words, will there be lots of pies, or is it all still pie in the sky?

This is the last edition of The Local for the year – we’ll be back in February.  Thanks for all your support, feedback and engagement, and I wish you a relaxing summer break.