Letters, Feb 24
24/02/2010 10:19:00 a.m.
Roading argument
“Will it fly?” (17 February): No, the proposed flyover near the Basin Reserve cannot be allowed to “fly”. The economically, socially and environmentally sensible way to ease traffic congestion in the area is to wait a little while until “peak oil” causes spiralling petrol and diesel prices. Then car commuters will abandon their cars in droves, and rush to board our public transport services. This road proposal, plus the proposed Transmission Gully Motorway ($1.0 - $1.4 billion, NOT $400 million as stated in your report), plus Kapiti’s proposed Western Link Road, plus proposed by-passes of Otaki and Levin, comprise Transport Minister Stephen Joyce’s Roads of National Significance (RoNS) road works for our region. Naturally these projects are welcomed by NZ Transport Agency. As Dave Rendall, a former Regional Manager of Transit NZ, NZTA’s predecessor, said at a Regional Land Transport Committee meeting, “I am a roading engineer, I love building roads”. The community is up against this powerful road-building culture in NZTA, funded by the Government trying to spend its way out of the recession, and supported by numerous industries and agencies strongly resistant to fostering change in our transport system away from dependence on cars, to dependence on public transport. The coming oil crisis, and the threat of climate change contributed to by our burning fossil fuels, mean we must stop increasing the capacity of our roading network.
J Chris Horne, Northland
Roading argument
It is foolish of A.R. Sampson to believe that I would make up evidence to show that in the US they are ripping up freeways as a result of the success of rail transport. Were correspondents to cite references for every statement of fact that they made, there would not be enough room in your publication for anything else. However, lest he do himself harm by holding his breath for too long, and for the edification of your readers, I will select two significant examples. The first is in Portland, Oregon, where Harbor Drive was ripped up in its entirety and the Mount Hood Freeway was never completed, the allocated money being used instead to build the downtown transit mall, eastside light rail and other transit projects. Refer to: http://www.preservenet.com/freeways/FreewaysHarbor.html
Perhaps the most telling example is the planned extension of the Sacramento freeway which was abandoned only half built. Instead, it was replaced by a light rail line and parking lots, and still there was plenty of land left over, as evidenced in the attached photo. If he wants to check its authenticity, he can visit the exact spot, the map co-ordinates being: 38°38’38.41”N 121°23’26.38”W. He really goes too far when he asks for route lengths – these he can look up for himself on the internet.
Demetrius Christoforou, Mt Victoria
Third world debate
[RE Capital Times, Letters, Feb 10] RO Hare has failed to realise that the reason why 3rd world countries remain impoverished is that their rulers pocket the money they receive for the foods which they export to us, to give themselves a luxurious lifestyle, leaving the greater part of their inhabitants in poverty. Just recently we saw on TV the disgraceful shanty towns in South Africa, in contrast to their fine buildings housing the rulers. That is indeed where democracy is needed.
Kathleen Loncar, Karori
What’s civilised?
H Westfold’s reply to a question I had posed to P Hayward saddens me that such ignorance of the history of colonialism was to them, lost in a fog of Western arrogance. The Aztec, Inca, Chinese and Indian nations, in their time were advanced civilised ones with extreme wealth. They were not backward or uncivilised. Does one have to be a Christian to be civilised? Those people and their land, to put it mildly, were raped and pillaged by the so called civilised, with no thought for the damage to their culture or living standard of the people they were exploiting. Would Hayward or Westfold give any credit to Cortes, Pizarro or King Leopold II in elevating the standard of Peru, Mexico or the Congo?
RO Hare, Lower Hutt,
(abridged).
“Will it fly?” (17 February): No, the proposed flyover near the Basin Reserve cannot be allowed to “fly”. The economically, socially and environmentally sensible way to ease traffic congestion in the area is to wait a little while until “peak oil” causes spiralling petrol and diesel prices. Then car commuters will abandon their cars in droves, and rush to board our public transport services. This road proposal, plus the proposed Transmission Gully Motorway ($1.0 - $1.4 billion, NOT $400 million as stated in your report), plus Kapiti’s proposed Western Link Road, plus proposed by-passes of Otaki and Levin, comprise Transport Minister Stephen Joyce’s Roads of National Significance (RoNS) road works for our region. Naturally these projects are welcomed by NZ Transport Agency. As Dave Rendall, a former Regional Manager of Transit NZ, NZTA’s predecessor, said at a Regional Land Transport Committee meeting, “I am a roading engineer, I love building roads”. The community is up against this powerful road-building culture in NZTA, funded by the Government trying to spend its way out of the recession, and supported by numerous industries and agencies strongly resistant to fostering change in our transport system away from dependence on cars, to dependence on public transport. The coming oil crisis, and the threat of climate change contributed to by our burning fossil fuels, mean we must stop increasing the capacity of our roading network.
J Chris Horne, Northland
Roading argument
It is foolish of A.R. Sampson to believe that I would make up evidence to show that in the US they are ripping up freeways as a result of the success of rail transport. Were correspondents to cite references for every statement of fact that they made, there would not be enough room in your publication for anything else. However, lest he do himself harm by holding his breath for too long, and for the edification of your readers, I will select two significant examples. The first is in Portland, Oregon, where Harbor Drive was ripped up in its entirety and the Mount Hood Freeway was never completed, the allocated money being used instead to build the downtown transit mall, eastside light rail and other transit projects. Refer to: http://www.preservenet.com/freeways/FreewaysHarbor.html
Perhaps the most telling example is the planned extension of the Sacramento freeway which was abandoned only half built. Instead, it was replaced by a light rail line and parking lots, and still there was plenty of land left over, as evidenced in the attached photo. If he wants to check its authenticity, he can visit the exact spot, the map co-ordinates being: 38°38’38.41”N 121°23’26.38”W. He really goes too far when he asks for route lengths – these he can look up for himself on the internet.
Demetrius Christoforou, Mt Victoria
Third world debate
[RE Capital Times, Letters, Feb 10] RO Hare has failed to realise that the reason why 3rd world countries remain impoverished is that their rulers pocket the money they receive for the foods which they export to us, to give themselves a luxurious lifestyle, leaving the greater part of their inhabitants in poverty. Just recently we saw on TV the disgraceful shanty towns in South Africa, in contrast to their fine buildings housing the rulers. That is indeed where democracy is needed.
Kathleen Loncar, Karori
What’s civilised?
H Westfold’s reply to a question I had posed to P Hayward saddens me that such ignorance of the history of colonialism was to them, lost in a fog of Western arrogance. The Aztec, Inca, Chinese and Indian nations, in their time were advanced civilised ones with extreme wealth. They were not backward or uncivilised. Does one have to be a Christian to be civilised? Those people and their land, to put it mildly, were raped and pillaged by the so called civilised, with no thought for the damage to their culture or living standard of the people they were exploiting. Would Hayward or Westfold give any credit to Cortes, Pizarro or King Leopold II in elevating the standard of Peru, Mexico or the Congo?
RO Hare, Lower Hutt,
(abridged).
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