The NZ Transport Agency is thanking the Kapiti community for their submissions on the MacKays to Peka Peka Expressway, and says the feedback will be carefully considered by the Alliance as it develops a final route proposal.
NZTA Regional Director Jenny Chetwynd says the Alliance is now analysing submissions, and a comprehensive report summarising feedback will be released in April. Around 1600 submissions were received.
"We are grateful to the people of Kapiti for taking the time to review our proposals and give us their feedback. This will provide us with additional knowledge and local insight to help guide us towards developing a refined proposal."
"We appreciate that these proposals do have a significant effect on the community, and we thank people for taking the time and effort to make their views known to us."
Ms Chetwynd says the content of submissions reflected a wide range of views, ranging from support to opposition, and a mixture of both.
The specific issues relating to the expressway proposals raised most often in the submissions include:
Ms Chetwynd noted that a number of the submissions discussed issues that fell outside the scope of consultation, including alternative routes or an upgrade to State Highway 1, and the NZTA appreciated that these were important issues to the local community. She said the NZTA was committed to responding to all of the points raised in submissions to ensure the community had a good understanding of the wider issues surrounding the project before the final stage of consultation.
Ms Chetwynd says the next stage will see confirmation of the alignment proposed and more detail of the design made public in May. There will also be an opportunity for people to make a formal submission when the proposed expressway is notified through the Environmental Protection Authority process. This is anticipated to be no later than the first quarter of 2012.
