Northern expressway

Press, 14 March 1985, Page 12

Northern expressway

Sir,—After reading a recent newspaper article on a petition being presented to the Ministry of Works by the residents of Cranford Street urging the immediate construction of the northern expressway because of the noise nuisance, can someone in authority please say why it is intended to site the new motorway adjacent to residential property when other land appears to be available. This surely is just transferring the problem from one area to another.—Yours, etc., R. J. MARSH. February 22, 1985.

[The District Commissioner of Works, Mr R. D. Grant, replies: “The petition mentioned by Mr Marsh was presented to the Christchurch City Council and currently is being considered by its committees. At this stage it has not been referred to the Ministry of Works. It concerns the construction of the northern arterial through the St Albans area up as far as Winters Road. Mr Marsh’s inquiry relates to the section of the northern arterial north of Winters Road extending to Chaneys. The location of this section of the northern arterial from Winters Road to Chaneys was set in the 19605, and has been shown in the Waimairi District Scheme. since 1971. While the scale of the work has changed with time, the western boundary has varied very little in the area north of Winters Road. This boundary was set to provide a limit to the extent of any future urban development, to protect the high-quality soils to the east for agricultural use and to serve as the separation to the green belt. The road location arose after careful consideration by the then Regional Planning Authority and with the joint approval of local authorities and National Roads Board. Urban development has occurred after the decision to locate the road. While the pattern of subdivision has been influenced to some extent to ensure the effects of the adjacent road would be kept to a minimum, the properties have been purchased with this knowledge. The width of the roading requirement varies from 40-60 metres and this will enable landscaping and mounding to reduce traffic effects. Relocation further eastward is not an answer, as urban development would be likely to extend to the new limit. Also there would be loss of prime agricultural land. These are all relevant matters which the Waimairi District Council will consider in making its recommendation to the Minister on the review of the district scheme.”]