Action group Finish Our Road (FOR) has started a petition asking that Kāpiti Coast District Council support a new business case for the Peka Peka expressway interchange.

‘We need to get the business case done properly, and we need KCDC to support that,” says spokesperson and Ōtaki Community Board member Marilyn Stevens. “The business case done previously by NZTA was flawed and incomplete.”

A decision by the Transport Agency last year to not go ahead with an interchange was based on its business case.

“The flawed business case needs to be re-done with emphasis given to the government policy of safety, access, the environment and value for money,” Marilyn says. “It was compiled under the previous government’s policy and then changed at the last minute to fit the new policy. It failed. 

“We’re asking for the continued support and assistance of KCDC on this matter and have already been given the support of the Ōtaki and Waikanae community boards. It’s important to have a robust business case as this will be a good starting point for NZTA to fund full connectivity at Peka Peka in the future.”

A statement from FOR said it also wanted KCDC to ensure that the land needed to build the ramps would not be sold. NZTA owns the land because it was originally intended for full connectivity at Peka Peka. If it sells the land, a decision to reverse the interchange decision would be harder, FOR says. It is recommending that KCDC add the project to the Regional Land Transport Plan.

FOR says that without the Peka Peka ramps, most Te Horo and Peka Peka trips to and from the south will use Waikanae local roads. As a result, an extra 2300 vehicles a day will use those roads, meaning an extra six million kilometres a year travelled.

It says NZTA limited the scope of its business case to access at Peka Peka, and the poor connectivity for the Peka Peka and Te Horo communities to the expressway.

“It is about much more than this,” the FOR statement says “NZTA says its reversal of the previous decision to go ahead with the south-facing ramps at Peka Peka is because the current government has different priorities for its roading funding.  Yet in its business case, it did not apply the new government’s guidelines which focus on increasing safety, improving access, safeguarding the environment and achieving value for money.”

FOR says NZTA should have considered:

Safety – no safety analysis has been done on the impact on the communities of Waikanae and Waikanae Beach. Extra traffic forced onto local roads will make these suburban streets more dangerous, while the expressway offers safe travel.

Access to economic and social opportunities – travel times (measured by FOR in low traffic periods) are expected to increase by one minute when travelling between Peka Peka and the Waikanae interchange, and by five minutes when travelling between Te Horo Beach and Te Horo township, and the Waikanae interchange. The south-facing ramps at Ōtaki South will only offer a faster route for those north of Te Horo township.

Environmental – the local Waikanae and Peka Peka environment will deteriorate due to the increase in emissions from the additional traffic which will include large trucks. Total emissions, including greenhouse gases, will increase because  distances being travelled will increase.

Value for money – NZTA didn’t work out whether the Peka Peka ramps were the “right roads” following the Government’s new policy and then work out the best cost.

Future proofing – NZTA has not considered the effects on traffic volumes on zone changes in the Proposed District Plan where land has been rezoned from rural to rural residential.  This intensification has not been considered. It also has not considered proposed subdivisions north of Waikanae. 

•  The petition is online at www.for.org.nz/petition or can be signed at Harrison’s Garden Centre, Peka Peka; Café Te Horo; and Shine On Hair Design at Hyde Park, Te Horo.