Before Christmas the NZ Transport Agency began an "engagement process" with groups who are regarded as stakeholders in the Basin Reserve project. (This is euphemistically referred to as the "Basin Reserve Traffic Improvements", rather than being called a flyover. George Orwell would be proud.) In a series of meetings - which included the Save The Basin Reserve Campaign - NZTA outlined the next stages of the consultation process. The timeline is as follows:

Mid 2009 - early 2010: Scoping study, technical investigations and option development where the alternative designs for the Basin Reserve will be developed in secret by NZTA staff and their consultants
Early 2010: Phase I consultation with the general public (more about this below)
Mid - late 2010: Option evaluation and selection of preferred option by the NZTA Board, followed by work on refining a preferred option. Phase II consultation with the public will follow at the conclusion of this phase.

The key part of the timeline is the Phase I consultation, which according to the NZTA project staff is due to commence at the end of February 2010 - a mere six weeks away as I write this. The consultation process will last for a further six weeks. The NZTA staff committed to making "all the information about the project" available on their website, but to date all that has been provided is a small collection of pages here.

The key message: there will be a scant six weeks when the public can make their feelings known about the Basin Reserve flyover.