Ok so the second update I received was regarding the two motorway extensions happening in the area as part of the Western Ring Route. The SH18 Hobsonville Deviation and the SH16 Brigham Creek Deviation will be opening early! (assuming all continues as planned).
Below is a photo from the pamphlet which shows an aerial view Hobsonville Road interchange and the SH18-SH16 flyover. The photo looks west towards Westgate shopping centre, Massey and Royal Heights.
The photo demonstrates the massive area that is involved in the construction of the motorway. 2 years ago this area looked completely different its hard to even picture it.
Of course it is an achievement to finish a project of this magnitude early and I'm sure a significant number of people had to work very hard to manage it, but I find it seriously hard to comprehend why new roads are continually being built around Auckland.
For me it seems blindingly obvious. Petrol prices continue to rise and while we may get the odd joyful moment of a reduction in prices, in reality they will continue to climb. So then why are more roads built? Shouldn't we be encouraging people to find alternate ways to travel?
These are all things I plan on focusing on in my next few posts but for now I will leave you with some thought provoking quotes.
"The automobile has not merely taken over the street, it has dissolved the living tissue of the city. Its appetite for space is absolutely insatiable; moving and parked, it devours urban land, leaving the buildings as mere islands of habitable space in a sea of dangerous and ugly traffic."
~James Marston Fitch, New York Times, 1 May 1960"
It wasn't the Exxon Valdez captain's driving that caused the Alaskan oil spill. It was yours."
~Greenpeace advertisement, New York Times, 25 February 1990
"A commuter tie-up consists of you - and people who for some reason won't use public transit."
~Robert Brault
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