The government’s refusal to consider adding on-off ramps to the Waikato Expressway’s southern access to Cambridge is sort-sighted.
Chris Bishop
And it is disappointing that the decision has been made despite prompting from Taupō MP Louise Upston – who lives close enough to the present turn off to know how limiting it has become.
The pressure on central Cambridge at the St Andrews Church roundabout is a significant issue which requires a significant answer. Adding additional on-off ramps – a move which has been advocated by The News for several years – is an obvious panacea.
The New Zealand Transport Agency’s report to Transport Minister Chris Bishop that there has been no significant change in demand or need for the on ramp since 2013 beggars’ belief.
Louise Upston
To put that into perspective, from 2013 to 2024 Cambridge’s population jumped from 16,800 to 22,400 – a lift of more than 33 per cent.
Evidence of that comes with last week’s Citizenship Ceremony in a packed Cambridge Town Hall which Upston attended.
Local government is well aware of how the town has grown – central government acknowledges the growth, but at the same time has said no to extra off ramps and put a much needed Cambridge primary school on hold.
