Waipa Council, south of Hamilton, has outdone Auckland. In order to create new speed bumps on the main road north out of Cambridge, they actually lowered the road by a foot in height. A year of roadworks and disruption was inflicted on the town to dig up a perfectly good road (it was once part of State Highway One and engineered to carry 30,000 cars per day but, thanks to the Waikato Expressway bypassing the town, it is down to 3000), including the base courses, to achieve three speed bumps along a 200m section. Perhaps one could be justified as a pedestrian crossing, but there is no way three can be explained, other than the anti-car fanaticism that has infected councils across the country.
The cost exceeds $1 million per speed bump.
But wait, there’s more.
On a return trip a couple of months ago, I personally witnessed the intersection of Hooker Road and Cambridge Road having road markings repainted in the morning, only to drive back in the afternoon to see new seal being laid over the fresh paint. Some council project manager got the order wrong.
But wait again, there is even more!
In 2022, I wrote ‘Council to ban dogs from Dog Park’, about the actions of Waipa Council. They faked the legally required consultation process and misled the public. The article resulted in a huge backlash from angry dog owners, forcing the council to back down. There was even a half-hearted apology, which was completely undone when the very next ‘consultation’ excluded many elderly dog owners by being carried out solely online.
It seems they have learned nothing, and their total disrespect for the public has reached a new low.
Cambridge Connections is a program for the next twenty years of town planning and so is hugely important to the residents. The vital decision is the location of a new bridge, but the council is using it mainly as an excuse to charge for parking.
Four options were identified for the public, yet the council is so biased that it has already listed them as option A, B, and C. The option of not messing with existing roads and parking is, literally, not an option.
Not that this will make the slightest difference to the consultation process, because the public is only allowed to comment on Option C.
Here is the ENTIRE submission form:
The cost exceeds $1 million per speed bump.
But wait, there’s more.
On a return trip a couple of months ago, I personally witnessed the intersection of Hooker Road and Cambridge Road having road markings repainted in the morning, only to drive back in the afternoon to see new seal being laid over the fresh paint. Some council project manager got the order wrong.
But wait again, there is even more!
In 2022, I wrote ‘Council to ban dogs from Dog Park’, about the actions of Waipa Council. They faked the legally required consultation process and misled the public. The article resulted in a huge backlash from angry dog owners, forcing the council to back down. There was even a half-hearted apology, which was completely undone when the very next ‘consultation’ excluded many elderly dog owners by being carried out solely online.
It seems they have learned nothing, and their total disrespect for the public has reached a new low.
Cambridge Connections is a program for the next twenty years of town planning and so is hugely important to the residents. The vital decision is the location of a new bridge, but the council is using it mainly as an excuse to charge for parking.
Four options were identified for the public, yet the council is so biased that it has already listed them as option A, B, and C. The option of not messing with existing roads and parking is, literally, not an option.
Not that this will make the slightest difference to the consultation process, because the public is only allowed to comment on Option C.
Here is the ENTIRE submission form:
Don’t believe me? I’m not surprised. I didn’t believe it when I was first told. Check it out for yourself.
https://haveyoursay.waipadc.govt.nz/cambridge-connections-our-future-transport-plan
This is like a North Korean election where you can only vote for Kim Jong Un. Cambridge residents are furious. There is only one way back from here, and that is to sack the staff involved, but I don’t think the mayor, Susan O’Regan, has got the balls to do that.
Andrew B is a is a Hamilton City Councillor, a professional problem solver, a designer, and a small business owner. This article was first published HERE
5 comments:
A great write up Andrew, you are spot on with your write up and assessment. We have lived in Cambridge for 30 years and what a woke joke this council is. The sad part is it's the ratepayers who end up paying for it with massive rate hikes.
All by design. Councils (and governments) only agenda is fulfilling globalists Agenda 2030 plan.
Apart from contriving negotiations with maori, about the only skill councils now possess is contract letting. But to do well that is demanding. So council seize upon simple undemanding ones, as do the contractors; make work cncrete footpath needless replacement, speed bumps, bicycle lanes etc.
Christchurch consultation is just as bad. A diatribe on why you agreeing with them is important, telling you facts that are not facts or agreed to by the public, selective consultation only on preferred options. Confidence in CCC nose dived, yet more debt and more taxes are the outcome...............no matter who you vote for.
What about Wellington?!
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