New Lower Hutt motorway plan leaves residents feeling like ‘sitting ducks’

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lower Hutt residents have been left feeling like “sitting ducks” as a proposed motorway threatens to cut through their neighbourhood.

A preferred route for the new four-lane route linking Lower Hutt and Porirua, has been approved by NZTA Waka Kotahi.

At peak times, the Petone to Granada road will shave off up to 23 minutes of travel time between Lower Hutt and Porirua.

The project, which is currently slated to cost more than $2 billion, is designed to better connect the Lower Hutt to State Highways 1 and 2, ease congestion and increase the road network’s resilience to accidents and natural disasters.

While some residents back the plan, it has left others feeling scared and angry, with claims it has already affected a house sale in the area.

Living in the project’s shadow

Lisa’s family have for 20 years lived in their century-old home on Hector Street in Petone.

They are among those the NZTA has sent a letter saying the Government may need to acquire their property.

She said she “felt a little bit angry, a little bit apprehensive” at the news.

She went to the NZTA’s community information sessions to learn more.

But as the project is still in the early planning stages with many details to be confirmed, she has been unable to get as clear answers as she wants.

Lisa said her family were left feeling like “sitting ducks” as they wait for further developments.

“But what if we want to move or what if we want to do other things?”

She worries about the options that will be available to her family amidst the uncertainty.

“Obviously, they were like, we’ll offer compensation and stuff like that, but it’s not always guaranteed that compensation will be enough to buy the same value of house in a different area.”

She understands the need for the road.

“I think the commute is awful. The road is being built [with] good intentions.”

But Lisa wonders if building the road is the right choice given the cost of living and fuel crisis, and the impact on the environment,

Her ecological concerns have been echoed by many residents who question why the road’s design had been chosen over other options when it has the “greatest impact” on the environment according to the project’s investment case.

The route curves around Percy reserve and below the Korokoro hills before potentially cutting through Gilberd Bush Reserve and Seton Nossiter Park to reach Grenada.

Officials chose the design as it was less steep and provided the best value for money.

NZTA is currently conducting ecological surveys and geological investigations.

One property owner, who RNZ has agreed not to name, said the project was already affecting him.

After putting his house for sale, a neighbour called his estate agent to let him know the street would be next to the off-ramp for the proposed road.

“So received kind of a slightly disappointing e-mail from the agent saying, ‘obviously this sort of complicates the sale’,” he said.

The buyers who had been interested in his house pulled out because of this.

“It just puts us in a really awkward situation due to the uncertainty.”

He renovated the property for months and is now unsure whether he’ll be able to recoup the costs on top of the estate agent and photographer fees to prepare for the sale.

“I was disappointed that NZTA were not more proactive in engaging with the community.

“They’re focused more on the people who are directly impacted, but there was no communication with those who are kind of adjacent.”

He is concerned that his status as an “adjacent” – someone whose house will not be acquired but who will be impacted by the project – might limit his right to compensation and how much his feedback on the project will be considered.

Michelle Stronach-Marsh is a resident of Riddlers’ Crescent, a street filled with historic homes which was originally in the path of the road.

She’s glad the path has changed but remains deeply worried about the road’s impact on the wider community.

“We have a lovely community of vibrant people from all walks of life and we’re able to walk everywhere. And I think for me it would see what is a tight-knit community being pulled apart for a road.

“I just can’t understand why we would just keep building roads when we should be looking at making our community more resilient through other means.”

A vital piece of infrastructure

Those in favour of the road argue that major infrastructure project will inevitably affect some some residents – but the benefits to the wider community outweigh these costs.

Mike Fisher, the former chair of the Petone community board, wants to see the project go ahead. “It’s a key missing piece in the region’s roading network.”

He is hopeful that if the project is submitted for fast track approval it will speed up the delivery of much-needed infrastructure.

“We’ve talked about it for years and years and years and it just keeps getting put off, but it’s not going to get any cheaper.

“So, I think it’s very timely and let’s get going – let’s get the bulldozers out.”

NZTA says it working to inform residents

NZTA said in a statement that it recognised that people living near a planned project might experience impacts from the construction and operation of a new road.

“Our direct, one‑to‑one engagement is focused on landowners whose properties may be required for a project, as these owners have specific legal rights and processes that apply to them.

“At the early stages of planning, that group is typically limited to properties within a proposed alignment where land may need to be acquired.

It said it was getting information out to the community, including those whose properties would be end up being adjacent to the potential motorway.

“While these properties are not classed as ‘directly affected’ for land acquisition purposes, they are not ignored.

“NZTA keeps the wider community informed through updates on project websites, newsletters, community information sessions and dedicated project inboxes, and we respond to the enquiries that we receive.”

Chris Bishop, who is the MP for Hutt South, spoke to RNZ but only in his capacity as Minister of Transport.

He said the “potential for disruption to residents and businesses from infrastructure projects large or small is always front of mind for delivery organisations”.

“Whilst this preferred option [for the Petone to Grenada Road] does not remove all the impacts on residents, it does reduce them appropriately in a cost effective and efficient manner.

“At the referral stage [of a Fast Track application], comments will be invited from various people including relevant local authorities. Through these comments, the Minister for Infrastructure, as decision maker, can gain a good understanding of the project, including from a local perspective, helping to inform the minister’s decision-making on a referral application.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand