Where’s the return?
I feel I must make comment on the content of the front page stories of Friday (June 5).
On the left side is a story about the Minister of Finance saying the south needs to reignite itself, and is followed up on Saturday’s paper with the story that tourism has greatly increased over the past year. On the right side of the front is the story about the soon to be constructed new bridge over the Kawarau River. That seems to be a case of Government saying one thing and doing another.
I believe that NZ Transport Agency has its head in the sand over this proposal and has backed itself into a corner over this issue.
As the SDC councillor on the Southland and Otago Regional Transport Committee I asked the question (at a couple of meetings several months ago) what about the bypass Frankton option?
I was shot down by both NZTA and the Queenstown Lakes District Council and from the tone of the discussion it was evident to me that the decision to build a new bridge on the same site was politically motivated to solve a problem as soon as possible.
This is not a local problem, it affects the lower South Island tourism industry and most importantly all the residents of the whole region who ultimately are paying for it through their taxes, rates and road user charges. We should be building infrastructure to cater for future expansion, not putting a band aid on an existing problem.