Ōtaki highway tolls to reach vital services unfair - mayor

Ōtaki and surrounding communities could be split off from vital resources they depend on - or hit in the pocket - if a planned toll goes ahead on State Highway 1, a mayor says.

Yesterday the government announced the Ōtaki to north of Levin highway and two other new highways (the Penlink highway in North Auckland and the Takitimu North Link) will be tolled - taking the number of tolled roads in New Zealand from three to six.

But apart from one other road - which is dangerous - the Ōtaki community depends on SH1 to be able to travel north, Kāpiti Coast District Mayor Janet Holborow said.

The closest large centres to Ōtaki and its surrounding communities are north - Levin and Palmerston North. And Ōtaki is part of what was the former MidCentral DHB region, so its residents use Palmerston North Hospital.

The lack of alternatives to the tolled road means residents will be hit hard in the pocket, Holborow said.

There are no public transport options offered on the route, she said.

(Though the Capital Connection return train service does operate on weekdays it only runs once a day.)

"The northern part of our district has a lot of people on low or fixed incomes, so these tolls will be unaffordable for a lot of people and they don't have access to public transport options as an alternative. So it'll have a huge impact on those people living in Ōtaki," Holborow said.

Working from home was not an option for most people, so many people travelled along the route to get to and from work.

Residents should not be penalised for using the new highway, she said.

"The Ōtaki community board is certainly concerned about this as well, and it's a widespread concern in the community that there isn't a good range of public transport options.

"We've got some new trains coming but they're about five years away, and until then there isn't really even a public transport option, so they need to be able to travel on the new safe road for free," Holborow said.

The alternative road is the current State Highway 1 - which has some of the country's most dangerous sections of road, and has had 49 deaths and serious injuries in the five years to 2017.

The mayor of Palmerston North, Grant Smith, previously called the section of road one of the most dangerous in the country.

"We're going to be working hard to make sure if we can't reverse this decision, that the alternative road will be made as safe and high quality as possible, because at the moment it's not really a viable alternative," Holborow said.

She said when she gets the chance, she wants to engage in talks with the government about Ōtaki's situation.

Site investigation earthwork and test trials have begun on the Ōtaki to north of Levin highway project.

The Transport Agency website described the new highway as a 'vital transport link' for the area, which would "dramatically improve safety" and be more resilient.

Public consultation on the tolls ended in October.

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