The Save the Basin Campaign today said that the New Zealand Transport Agency could spin its proposed Basin Reserve flyover however it liked, but the very fact NZTA felt it necessary to come up with various new cosmetic measures to try to hide the flyover showed that the project remained ugly, unnecessary and unjustified.
“NZTA can dress up their proposed flyover however they like, but no amount of spin and no amount of cosmetics can disguise the fact that the agency is trying to impose an ugly, outdated transport solution on Wellington that does nothing to meet Wellington’s transport needs,” said Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Joanna Newman.
“Flyovers might have been cutting-edge in the 1960s,” Ms Newman continued. “But in the second decade of the 21st century, the idea of building a flyover near the centre of a modern nation’s capital city is ludicrous.”
“All over the world, from Seoul to Seattle, from Portland to Leicester, cities are tearing down flyovers and replacing them with good urban design and sustainable transport solutions. Unfortunately, the Government and the NZTA seem to think that Los Angeles and Auckland are the transport models that Wellington should follow.”
“The Basin Reserve has come under many threats over the years,” said Ms Newman. “In the end all retreated in the face of public opposition because Wellingtonians have placed a high value on the unique character of this reserve, held in trust for them by the Council.
“Yet again, the Basin is under threat, and we are sure that, as they have in the past, Wellingtonians and cricket fans from around the world will rally round to protect it.”
“The Save the Basin Campaign is committed to stopping this ugly blight on the urban landscape from ever being built,” Joanna Newman concluded. “We have a range of methods available to us, and we look forward to using them.”
Joanna Newman
Spokesperson
Save the Basin Campaign