Marilyn Stephens, one of the leading candidates for a Paraparaumu Ward council seat, has added her voice to an ever-expanding list of expressway critics.
Ms Stephens warns against allowing the Expressway debate to be about the design details.
“Focusing on the details of design what corner goes where, whose house gets bulldozed, where do we get on or off the Expressway- shifts the debate off the real issues,” says Ms Stephens.
“The real issues are that the proposed Expressway rides roughshod over our community. It offers no local benefits, is backward looking, disregards our community, and would result in at least another decade of traffic congestion.
“I challenge those candidates supporting the Expressway to front up with the analysis or evidence of tangible benefits for the Paraparaumu community”
Ms Stephens says as a business and policy professional, she would be out of work if she put up recommendations for expensive proposals with no clear analysis or evidence to support them.
“If the Expressway is so great for Kāpiti, why are the pro candidates so shy about communicating those benefits to us.
“Building unaffordable roads is an unimaginative approach when what we need is an innovative, forward looking solution which takes into account the rail upgrade and future airport activities.
“The manner in which central Government seeks to impose the proposed Expressway shows a real lack of respect for our community,” says Ms Stephens.
“The planned Western Link local road offers a realistic local solution to a local problem and involved our community in significant consultation. It took many years and a lot of hard work by previous Councils to develop the final design. Work was due to start this month, would have been completed by 2012, significantly alleviating the congestion problem.”