Might a toll be the quickest way to get the Hawke’s Bay Expressway widened to four lanes?

OPINION

Would you pay a toll to travel on a four-lane Hawke’s Bay Expressway?

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Transport Committee unveiled a draft regional land transport plan this week to restore and improve the province’s roading network, among other initiatives.

All up, the plan would cost $5.5 billion.

Most of that – $4.6b – is earmarked for multi-year projects across the state highway network, which would include the expanded expressway.

Then there’s an anticipated $888 million for local roads.

“Transport system investments are complex, but are essentially a partnership,” the committee said in a summary document.

“Councils and NZTA, as the road controlling authority, put their transport system investments in the [regional transport plan].

“If accepted, these will then form part of the national land transport plan and secure co-funding from the national land transport fund. The remainder of the investment comes from a local source, usually council rates.”

The fund is derived from fuel excise duty, road user charges and motor vehicle registration.

Rather than a rates rise, Act Party leader David Seymour favours the idea of tolls.

Seymour, the Minister of Regulation in the Government, laments the general lack of collaboration between the crown and councils across New Zealand on the issue of infrastructure.

Hawke’s Bay is a region where there’s currently cohesion, as the Cyclone Gabrielle rebuild gathers momentum.

That does come at a cost, though, and significant council rate rises are forecast.

Seymour’s glad Hawke’s Bay is likely to get improved infrastructure over the next decade, but dubious that higher rates or petrol prices should be the means of paying for it.

“It’s interesting,” Seymour said, during a visit to Hawke’s Bay on Thursday.

“You look at the State Highway 25 repairs in Coromandel, you look at the rebuild of the road in Kaikōura after that earthquake and you look at the amount of housing that’s been built surrounding Christchurch in the last 10 years, it seems we almost need a disaster for common sense to kick in.

“Our Government is committed to city and regional partnerships where central government and local government make a long term plan.

“We’re committed to revenue sharing where, having agreed what needs to be built, the central government shares more revenue with the local government and we’re also committed to finding new ways to fund and finance infrastructure.

“Because basically there’s a lot of places in New Zealand where people would choose to pay a toll if they could get somewhere faster, safer, and using less petrol. But, at the moment, that’s not even an option.

“I acknowledge that when you have a natural disaster you get some attention, but actually you shouldn’t need to have one.”