Hamilton Grey Power - July 2020
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A strong focus on improving local<br />
and regional roads<br />
In my last <strong>Grey</strong> <strong>Power</strong> column I mentioned my<br />
advocacy for local roading improvements at<br />
the Alison Street/Kahikatea Drive intersection<br />
and Dinsdale roundabout. I’ve been receiving<br />
lots of feedback and support for my proposed<br />
improvements.<br />
BY TIM MACINDOE<br />
- MP FOR HAMILTON WEST<br />
I’m also working on similar<br />
bottlenecks that are causes<br />
of frustration and safety<br />
risks at the Sandwich Road/<br />
Pukete Road intersection<br />
and the Avalon Drive/Norton<br />
Road/ Rifle Range Road<br />
roundabout.<br />
Recently our council has<br />
been considering lowering<br />
speed limits on several local<br />
roads. While I understand<br />
the case for some of those,<br />
I don’t agree that there’s a<br />
need to drop the limit on the<br />
Avalon bypass. That’s a safe<br />
route designed for 80/kmh –<br />
but we do need to improve<br />
the bottleneck that occurs at<br />
the Norton Road/Avalon Drive<br />
roundabout during peak<br />
traffic times.<br />
It’s a frequent source<br />
of frustration for city motorists,<br />
with slow crawls<br />
the norm for those on<br />
Norton Road approaching<br />
the roundabout in the<br />
late afternoon.<br />
I’ve been a fan of adding<br />
traffic lights to control that<br />
roundabout, and the Dinsdale<br />
one, during morning and<br />
evening rush hour traffic for<br />
some time.<br />
Please let me know if you<br />
agree with me, or if you<br />
have other ideas for improving<br />
the traffic flows in any<br />
of these areas.<br />
Major highways in our<br />
region also need fixing. Labour,<br />
New Zealand First<br />
and the Greens are great at<br />
talking but hopeless at delivering<br />
projects of any value.<br />
(Think KiwiBuild, Light Rail<br />
to Auckland Airport, their<br />
cancellation of the Waikato<br />
Expressway extension beyond<br />
Karapiro, and so on.)<br />
Recently MPs from those<br />
parties voted against my proposal<br />
in Parliament to get the<br />
Southern Links project underway.<br />
It’s a vital next step in<br />
improving <strong>Hamilton</strong>’s roading<br />
network to the south, to<br />
our airport and beyond. They<br />
oppose our projects but have<br />
delivered nothing of value in<br />
transport in our region since<br />
they took office.<br />
Recently National reaffirmed<br />
our commitment to<br />
building the Cambridge to<br />
Piarere section, for which local<br />
National MPs have long<br />
advocated but the current<br />
government stopped.<br />
This is fantastic news for<br />
our region’s residents and all<br />
who drive through the central<br />
North Island. It will save<br />
lives, reduce emissions, delays<br />
and frustration, and create<br />
jobs. I know most of my constituents<br />
will be as delighted<br />
as I am.<br />
Kind regards to you all,<br />
Tim<br />
Tim Macindoe<br />
MP for <strong>Hamilton</strong> West<br />
543 Te Rapa Road, <strong>Hamilton</strong><br />
07 850 6262<br />
timmacindoe.national.org.nz<br />
macindoe.office@parliament.govt.nz<br />
Funded by the Parliamentary Service.<br />
Authorised by Tim Macindoe MP,<br />
Parliament Buildings, Wellington.<br />
14 <strong>Hamilton</strong> greypower Magazine | <strong>July</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
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