Great gully expectations
?People have great expectations for transmission gully,? says Pautahanui Residents Association president Allen Gray. Mr Gray says the ?greenfield? highway development will stop pollution from entering the harbour and reduce ?terrible? traffic problems. The hard facts of what will happen are easier to determine he says, but the effects on the area are more complicated. ?[Transmission Gully] was first suggested in the 1890s, so the discussion has been around for a while, the US Troops offered to bulldoze it through during the war but it was turned down at the NZ Cabinet, it was during the war and finances were tight,? says Mr Gray. The Pautahanui community will be drastically altered by becoming a major east-west intersection on the new State Highway. Mr Gray says creating a green-belt in Pourira and ensuring the developments are ecologically sound are two points that need attention. Economic benefits will come to the area, such as a decent water and sewerage system at ?the top of the list?. ?It?s going to mean a lot, it?s an issue the Porirua and greater Wellington councils need to think very carefully about. ?From our perspective we are a rural area, and having such a major junction will bring larger volumes here ? the main thing for us is preserving the inlet, the heart of Porirua,? he says. Plimmerton, Paremata and Pukerua Bay council project manager Ian Barlow says locals are concerned congestion will get much worse with the highway being relegated to stage two. ?These communities got behind it and pushed very strongly for Transmission Gully ? for them it was an absolutely single-minded position. ?People are questioning the way it has been laid out, and that it might be a long way away,? says Mr Barlow. At Pukerua Bay pedestrian safety and access are the main talking points. ?They are very concerned about [the timeframe], they need something urgently and in five years the situation will be much worse. ?It?s going to get more difficult there and the people in the know still have to some up with a final solution,? he says. Meanwhile, in Paremata locals are discussing an Environment Court decisions that promised the community would be returned to a two lane road if Transmission Gully went ahead. One of the courts recommendations was that the old bridge into Paremata be knocked down. ?The residents are saying they want it as two lanes, and having the old bridge removed completely is key to this.? Mr Barlow says the costal route will become an alternative highway, especially if a toll is introduced.
