Trucks trash - Northern Advocate - 11th July 2011.

Roads being trashed

After making two return trips to Auckland from Whangarei on Thursday and Friday last week, I have a challenge for our senior decision making politicians; leave Whangarei at 0620am and personally drive through to Auckland, in your private vehicle. Personally experience the number of trucks impeding the flow of traffic, experience the large amount of pot holes and undulations in the highway, and also experience the road works and the mess they make of your car. Then over a coffee at a local café think about the future of traffic services to Northland, without looking through rose coloured glasses.

Hopefully without the chauffeur driven BMW trips, the taxis from home to departure points, or the air flights between centres on our national air carrier or special Air Force flights  in a helicopter or jet, you will get to really appreciate what the normal run of the mill people are actually concerned about.

Our roads are being trashed by the trucks. Keep our rail lines open to Northland or have separate dedicated city linking roads for the beasts that impede the traffic flows and gobble up many dollars on road repairs and maintenance, leaving our highways for the light vehicles they were designed to service. Lets’ be sensible the tracks are already there.

And as for the coffee, it’s not bad at McDonalds, Burger King, Wild Bean café or other cafes but possibly at tad more expensive than the coffee at Bellamy’s, or those purchased on the ratepayer’s credit card. Don’t forget to wash the dirt and cement splashes off your own car. Could this be a platform of a new TV program “Make the Politician drive”, with a bit of reality thrown in for good measure

Warren Slater

Maunu