Stuck in traffic: Petone problem getting worse
Gridlock in Petone is now a weekend reality – no longer restricted to weekday rush hours.
The Lower Hutt community has transformed in recent years from a quiet place to shop and grab a coffee, to a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam, especially on Saturdays.
The area is a victim of its own success, as well as a victim of planning that allowed a cluster of major retailers to sprout up at around the same time in a small area.
Big-box retailers Kmart, Bunnings, Rebel Sport and Briscoes, along with two supermarkets, and the well-established Warehouse means it’s a haven for weekend shoppers from around the region – all struggling their way through the clogged streets at the western end of Petone.
Leo O’Sullivan has run his supermarket there for 24 years and has watched as the congestion has worsened. He sees people trying to take shortcuts to beat the queues every day.
Recently, it got to the point where he was forced to close a service lane being used as a shortcut by frustrated drivers trying to avoid delays on Petone’s main street, Jackson St.
In the morning, the ‘‘rat runners’’ drive through his carpark trying to reach the Petone Esplanade, despite speed bumps.
Congestion both on Jackson St and the Esplanade, which links with southbound State Highway 2 into Wellington, has got much worse in recent years, O’Sullivan said.
And he is in no doubt where to put the blame. ‘‘There does not appear to have been any planning by [Hutt City] Council.’’
Karen Arraj-Fisher has lived in Petone for more than 40 years and has witnessed plenty of change. She works on Jackson St and watches the impact of congestion every day.
She recalled the 1970s when Petone was a working-class suburb, where people relied on the Gear Meat Company and Ford Factory for work.
‘"People had large families and, generally, could not afford a car.’’
It is now a destination for Wellingtonians wanting to enjoy Jackson St’s vibrant cafe scene or check out the latest bargains.
Traffic on the Petone Esplanade had also got much worse, she said.
Frustrated truck drivers avoid the Esplanade and, instead, now use