Hopes of being able to alleviate Welcome Bay's traffic woes by diverting school pupils were dashed last week when the possibility was raised in discussion at the City Transformation Committee meeting.
'How on earth after 15 or 18 years of ‘Smart Planning', did we miss the fact that there is no intermediate or secondary school in this area with what is close to 2000 - 1978, and I guess the latest census will increase that number,” says committee chair Cr. Larry Baldock.
The figure of 1978 intermediate and secondary school aged pupils living in Welcome Bay is provided in the Welcome Bay/Ohauiti planning study currently underway.
School traffic is a major contribution to morning congestion out of Welcome Bay. The peak hour bumper to bumper crawl up to the Welcome Bay roundabout lights and down to Turret Road, disappears during school holidays.
'Clearly a school located between Kaitemako and Ohauiti would make an enormous difference to the amount of traffic coming out of that road every day,” says Larry.
'What should we do now, knowing this information with the Ministry of Education? Are we taking it up with the ministry of education?”
Planning staff agreed a college in Welcome Bay would have a substantial impact on traffic, and that they will raise the issue at the six weekly meetings council staff has with the ministry.
'We've been advised that at this point in time, the ministry isn't actively looking at intermediate or secondary schooling out in that area. They are in other parts of the city,” says strategic planner Andrew Meade.
'We hope to get that to change. But as we know with locating the proposed supermarket out in this catchment it isn't easy to find suitable land, and a secondary school requires 8-10ha of land. To find that relatively flat land out in the catchment is going to certainly be a challenge,” says Andrew.
'Given that we are trying to find as much housing as we can - there is potential for about 3500 houses - it would be pretty irresponsible to go ahead and release that for development if we hadn't solved both education and traffic,” says Larry.
6 comments
Typical
Posted on 09-04-2018 12:30 | By rastus
So the left hand has not known for many years what the right hand has been doing - so nothing changes despite all the $100,000s spent on consultants/staff and the city's resources!
pretty irresponsible?
Posted on 09-04-2018 12:33 | By Lvdw
Pretty irresponsible? It is a blooming joke to release all those potential houses to be built in an area that is already overcrowded, over congested, inadequate roading, no supermarket, no efficient bus service... need I say more? Just call Welcome Bay the new Auckland of the Bay.
school
Posted on 09-04-2018 16:29 | By dumbkof2
too busy trying to drum up support for an unwanted museum
Thinking outside the square!
Posted on 09-04-2018 17:20 | By Hopeful
City transformation committee - pointless committee - Why dash such a brilliant idea. Welcome Bay resident/ratepayers have long been forgotten by the TCC regarding amenities that service that community, while newer suburbs have flourishedThe fact it caters to a need (student number forecast) and that it would alleviate incoming CBD traffic woes - is genius. It may have been cheaper to have built a school than a fancy under- bridge and a road that leads to a one lane bridge ???
Good God
Posted on 09-04-2018 17:34 | By waiknot
So Council has only just worked out Welcome Bay is a dormitory suburb with basically one road in and out? There must be a few overpaid town planers on the payroll. Alternatively Larry has only just caught up.
When’s the infrastructure part
Posted on 09-04-2018 20:09 | By Tgaboy
Going to start? I have no frighten idea why welcome bay is being identified for such high numbers of new houses when we have nothing to support this increase. No decent roads. No supermarket. A small shopping centre that looks like a ghetto. Whats wrong with council?!
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.