Time to put city's road debate to bed

Nelson Mail editorial, February 2, 2011
It is time for the Nelson community to take a deep breath and let go of one of its favourite obsessions - the interminable argument over the need for a new cross-city arterial highway. The release of the latest experts' assessment of the city's roading needs has confirmed a feeling which has become increasingly clear since last year: in the greater scheme of things, Nelson does not have serious traffic problems, and certainly not to the extent to justify spending tens of millions of dollars and up-ending entire communities in the search for a "solution".
This will be a contentious conclusion, at least among those who have staked themselves on achieving radical changes to the city roading infrastructure. It demands a rethink by many in the community - the Nelson Mail included - who have previously accepted the need for a new road through Victory to counter peak-hour build-ups on Waimea Rd and to free up the waterfront. But there is little choice: the cost of a new road will clearly be out of all proportion to the problem the city faces.
In an ideal world - as in, one where money was no object and no engineering challenge too tall - the city would have long since shifted the state highway traffic off Rocks Rd to a new high-speed central route between Whakatu Drive and St Vincent St, presumably tunnelled to avoid destroying the amenity of the affected communities.
Nelson's reality, however, is that what congestion we do suffer amounts to a few minutes on the average peak-hour cross-city car trip; future traffic growth is uncertain; our state highway is long-established on the most direct route across town and to the port; past efforts to re-route the state highway through Victory have proved fatally flawed; Government funding for new roading projects is severely constrained; and on an initial analysis, any benefits of a new road would barely outweigh the costs.
In other words, the case for a new cross-city arterial road, or any variation on the theme, looks to be dead in the water. In the process, the arguments have caused significant rancour and disruption. The current investigation - which has really boiled down to yet another re-run of the old southern link debate - has highlighted how deeply the divisions and unease run. There will be those who continue to contend that the waterfront is too precious to tolerate heavy traffic; yet that, unfortunately, is what history and circumstance are clearly dictating shall be.
While the Nelson City Council is still weeks away from a final decision, its conclusion is surely foregone. The focus must now go on to finding more imaginative, pragmatic and realistic solutions to shifting people and freight across the city most efficiently, based on the current network. More immediately, the council must demonstrate its leadership capabilities, defuse the tensions, and put some serious energy into helping those parts of the city which are disadvantaged by having heavy traffic streaming past their gates.
The wider challenge is for everyone, especially those who have held to the conviction that the only way forward is on a new road sweeping down the Railway Reserve to St Vincent St, to finally acknowledge that such a vision has turned out to be a mirage.