Worth it or not?

Of course the inner-city bypass was worth it (March 12). Of course we need a decent road to and from the airport and eastern suburbs. I don’t think the recent study took everything into account. Now we at least have a reasonable flow in the westerly direction. Remember, before the bypass SH1 went through the city via Ghuznee and Vivian streets. Current congestion on Vivian St indicates the alternative to the bypass.

I believe if your reporter had interviewed people from the eastern suburbs as well as from Te Aro, the majority opinion would have favoured the bypass. David Williams, Hataitai

No, the inner-city bypass wasn’t ‘‘worth it’’, nor are most of the other big transport spends, which only encourage more driving. Bizarrely, greater Wellington has a geography most suited to an unbroken rail transit spine the length of the region, including through its CBD, and yet is one of few developed-world mid-size regions not to offer that choice for most citizens.

Plans to overcome this anomaly have been crushed by rail-transit-haters in favour of ‘‘four lanes to the planes’’ over the last 15 years, and there is every indication that Let’s Get Wellington Moving is continuing that trend.

The Dominion Post would do well to investigate what happened to those earlier light rail proposals, and whether they would have been a better solution. Brent Efford, NZ Agent, Light Rail Transit Association