Politicians cross the road to experience traffic jam
Clad in hi-vis vests, a group of Labour politicians tried to cross an increasingly busy section of State Highway 6 at Richmond, near Nelson.
It was not easy. They had to wait for a break in the traffic in Gladstone Rd to get over the southbound lane to the painted flush median strip and then await a second lull in passing vehicles to get across the northbound lane.
Tasman District Council activity planning manager Dwayne Fletcher was with them. Fletcher said that without any change to the roading network, that congestion in Gladstone Rd was expected to get much worse over the next 10 years.
It was tipped to get so bad that frustrated motorists would likely fan out through the smaller residential streets of Richmond in their search for a way through. Joining Fletcher on that dash across Gladstone Rd this week was Labour candidate for Nelson Rachel Boyack, Hutt South Labour list MP Ginny Andersen, Te Tai Tonga MP Rino Tirikatene and O¯ ha¯ riu MP Greg O’Connor.
Labour Party Nelson electorate chairman Brian McGurk watched from the safety of the footpath. The Gladstone Rd crossing was part of a wider tour of the fastgrowing area, including Lower Queen St and the Richmond West Development Area. Developer Andrew Spittal and Tasman district mayor Tim King were also on the visit to the Richmond West Development Area, where about 1200 homes are expected to be built over the next few years. That fastpaced development is expected to generate about 12,000 additional vehicle movements a day along Lower Queen St, on top of about 12,000 already travelling along the increasingly busy road. Lower Queen St joins SH6 at an intersection controlled by signals.
An upgrade of the NZ Transport Agency and local roading network in the Richmond area has long been pushed by many residents, along with the council and local politicians.
Boyack, who has called for a focus on improving the roads around Richmond, said she wanted her Labour colleagues to see the infrastructure needs of the area ‘‘so the MPs can take that back to Wellington’’.
The goal was to get roading upgrade projects for the area ‘‘shovel ready . . . and then argue incredibly strongly to fund them’’.
‘‘We have got to get the business case and resource consent done,’’ Boyack said. ‘‘I see my role as pushing for it and advocating for it.’’
The visit by the Labour politicians follows a push by King for the Government to put three key highway projects on its schedule of work for the fast-growing region, including SH6 at Richmond.
During the politicians’ visit this week, King said he would take every opportunity to reinforce the need for infrastructure investment. ‘‘Everything travels through the Gladstone Rd-Lower Queen St intersection,’’ he said.