Residents call end of the road on noise
Auckland residents have reached the end of the road with having to tolerate motorway noise.
Ellerslie Residents Association (ERA) secretary Bryce Bartley is calling for immediate action to reduce the impact of traffic noise from State Highway 1 (SH1) and invites the Transport Minister to experience the problem for himself.
According to Bartley, residents feel that traffic on SH1 has increased noise to unacceptable levels.
‘‘The increased noise we are facing from this motorway is absolutely crazy,’’ Ellerslie resident Troy Elliott says.
No official decibel readings have been recorded, but NZTA Auckland Highway Manager Brett Gliddon acknowledges the noise has increased and says a design team is working on a noise barrier investigation in the Ellerslie area.
In October the ERA, Findlay St and Hewson St residents established a group to ensure motorway barriers are constructed to alleviate the problem.
Bartley says that during a mayoral candidates meeting in Ellerslie earlier this year (now mayor) Phil Goff referred to the issue. ‘‘Phil said it was a disgrace that there was no noise protection for Ellerslie from the motorway,’’ Bartley says.
Ellerslie Business Association town centre manager Megan Darrow also supports the implementation of sound barriers.
‘‘Our village is the closest town centre to a motorway which makes it highly accessible, yet remains one of the few places where there are no sound barriers,’’ Darrow says.
Gliddon says NZTA is preparing a business case to investigate barriers where residential areas are exposed to noise along the Auckland motorway network.
‘‘As part of this investigation, elevated residential noise exposure has been identified adjacent to the motorway in Ellerslie, and noise barriers have been identified as a solution for portions of the motorway in this area.
Gliddon says the barriers investigation is at a concept level with general barrier locations being identified.
Exact locations, barrier height, and barrier construction have not been confirmed.