A petition with about 4000 signatures opposing a new motorway in Auckland has been handed to the Mangere – Labour MP Sua William Sio Saturday, November 30, to be tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
The billion dollar East West Link is a priority for the government as it tries to create better connections for trucks carrying freight between Onehunga and East Tamaki.
Four options are being considered including one that could save Kings College in Mangere with a hugely expensive tunnel.
The petitioners claim all four potential motorway routes will lead to the demolition or removal of hundreds of houses and other community facilities.
Auckland Transport planner Ian Blundell told a meeting of affected businesses the options are not rigid and the final plan could combine a mix of elements from all four.
"The preferred option will likely be a pick-and-mix, taking the best of each and creating a solution."
An estimation of about more than 6000 heavy freight vehicles a day travel along Neilson and Church streets in Onehunga – more freight than on most state highways.
HIGHWAY OPTIONS
■ Option 1 involves redistributing traffic away from the southeastern arterial intersection in Pakuranga by building new roads or upgrading existing roads between it, Otahuhu and Favona.
■ Option 2 is the same as option one but also includes provision to improve connections with the Metro Port at Onehunga.
■ Option 3 connecting the "industrial belt" and a new road constructed along the northern edge of the Mangere Inlet, over the Tamaki Estuary and linked with Highbrook.
■ Option 4 would focus east-west traffic in a "high-capacity corridor" from Mangere to Pakuranga.
