 Residents met in the rain to discuss their concerns over the kerb and channelling of Waiheke roads. At an open air meeting last Sunday called by Cycle Action Waiheke chairperson Tony King-Turner, a group of around 25 islanders agreed to try and halt planned kerb and channelling in sections of Te Toki Road. They have formed a new group called the Te Toki Road Action Group and are writing to Auckland Transport and Auckland deputy mayor Penny Hulse about the design of the road’s upgrade and the need for future consultation. The new group is planning a campaign entitled ‘Paving Over Paradise’ that aims to encourage islanders to let council know what they think about the issue. A second public meeting has been called at the Te Toki and Wilma Road intersection for this coming Sunday 19 February at 4pm. If it is wet, the meeting will move indoors to the home of nearby residents Danielle and Roger Fillion, who live at 38 Te Toki Road. Group members want to see sustainable solutions considered and discussed before any more work is done to sections of Te Toki Road and others on the island. Cycle Action Waiheke member Tom Ransom said a traffic engineer he had recently spoken to had said there was no reason why the road shouldn’t be tilted to let the water run toward the stream. “Kerb and channelling here would lose about a metre of road.” Mr Ransom said Sustainable Urban Design Systems (known as SIDs), would be a better solution – and much cheaper. The Gulf Islands’ branch of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society is backing his view. Chairperson Brian Griffiths said the society had become increasingly concerned about the apparent intention of Auckland Transport to extensively replace swales with concrete kerbing and channelling on Waiheke’s roads. He said the methodology was destructive and increased flooding and lack of filtration through soil during heavy downpours because stormwater was channelled via concrete kerbing, catchpits, stormwater manhole inspection pipes and culverts. “This type of road engineering is also much more expensive because of the concrete components and associated extra earthworks required,” he said. Mr King-Turner said Te Toki Road definitely needed repairing but what was needed was a new design with community input. The Te Toki Road Action Group is bypassing the Waiheke Local Board because it says past efforts by residents or groups to be heard have been futile. “We were for a while getting good outcomes with the transport forum but that’s all gone. They’re completely ignoring us,” resident Jerome Partington said at the meeting. “We’re just the people who turned out today. I’ve heard from lots of people on the ferry and buses concerned about this.” Okahuiti Ostend Residents and Ratepayers Association chairperson Paul Walden said he had talked to Waitakere Local Board members who told him there had been similar roading issues under the former Waitakere City Council but their relationship with Auckland Transport had been good – with the community having input on proposals. He claimed letters to the Waiheke board from the association had been ignored and there had been conflicting responses from Auckland Transport. Waiheke Local Board chairperson Faye Storer said it would be helpful if some of the protest group’s claims about what the board had or had not done were substantiated by the actual correspondence. “To my knowledge, all correspondence or approaches to the board have been acknowledged,” she said. “The Te Toki works being undertaken by Auckland Transport are a major safety upgrade funded by Transit NZ.” Auckland Transport spokesperson Mike Isle echoed Ms Storer’s comments. He said Auckland Transport had commissioned engineers’ assessments to ensure long term integrity and safety of both Te Toki and Ocean roads and they formed the basis of the works. “The work is being done as a matter of urgency, given the deplorable state of the surfaces and the need to get it fixed before the onset of winter. “The community can be confident that these works are needed,” he said. • Diana Worthy
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