North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Fury at ignored ‘goat track’
More than 250 people attended a public meeting to demand immediate action from Auckland Transport on the poor state of a notorious Long Bay road, referred to locally as a ‘‘goat track’’.
The East Coast Bays residents filled the hall of Long Bay Baptist Church on March 8 to question officials on why long-awaited improvements to Glenvar Rd had not occurred.
Members of the community said they had been waiting for more than a decade to see realignment at a dangerous intersection with Lonely Track Rd and upgrades on the road and were sick of seeing it fall by the wayside.
Every day, cyclists, motorists and pedestrians took their lives into their own hands to use the stretch of road, which intersects with East Coast Rd, an arterial route, residents told the meeting. People struggled daily to get in and out of the road, which sees cars reduce speed from 80kmh to 50kmh just before the intersection.
Albany Ward councillor Wayne Walker, who attended the meeting, said he did not feel safe when using Glenvar Rd. ‘‘It’s a really dangerous intersection, there is a lack of time if you’re turning right in or out. It’s also a really hazardous road to walk on, as you can barely call them footpaths. It’s not a safe road.’’
Glenvar Rd had been left out of the draft Regional Land Transport Plan and was not on a list of 300 worst intersections in Auckland.
It was, however, one of the three key priorities for the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board.
‘‘It’s something that should have happened over seven years ago. It’s something that was needed then, but is needed even more now,’’ board chairwoman Julia Parfitt said.
Todd Property, which had been working in partnership with AT to build Glenvar Ridge Rd as part of its Long Bay Development, said in a statement they had repeatedly asked AT to prioritise Glenvar Rd’s upgrade.
East Coast Bays MP Erica Stanford was gathering submissions to take to AT and the Capital Review Committee in April.
AT’s chief strategy officer Cynthia Gillespie said she could not guarantee anything would come out of the submission process, but encouraged the community to continue to raise its voice. ‘‘The squeaky wheel does get the oil.’’