Northern Access Transport Study

🚣 Issue: Northern Access Transport Study – is it really none of our business?

📌 Overview

A proposed second bridge over the Waikato River, under the Northern Access Transport Study, was touted as a key infrastructure decision. But behind the traffic modelling lurks a familiar pattern:

Qualified dissent silenced. Critical decisions made behind closed doors. Cost: $70M+

⚠️ My Concerns

  • Deliberate exclusion: I was not involved in the brief or steering group, despite my expertise in this field as probably the most qualified individual in the district.
  • Public locked out: The $300K study was withheld from elected members until after its completion in July 2024. Shareable copies of these reports were released to myself only in July 2025, and anyone interested can read them here: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; and Part 4
  • Predetermined outcome: Preferred Option B2 was baked into the 2024/25 Council Long Term Plan (LTP) without any deliberation by elected members.
  • Cronyism: Steering group stacked with Mayors favourites. Transparency compromised.

🔝 My Position

This isn’t about opposing a second bridge. It’s about opposing a process that decides first and justifies later. Taupō deserves better than Machiavellian committee stacking, withheld reports, and the illusion of participation. Infrastructure isn’t just about asphalt – it’s also about trust. Apart from that, I know from my own professional experience that having a client which knows much less than the consultant yet specifying what their work will entail is a fraught exercise at best.

My own suggestion to consider a dynamic three-lane arrangement for the existing bridge (at 10m the bridge deck is wide enough) along with a direct connection to Waikato Street never had opportunity to be tabled for consideration, refer below diagram. I believe that this could be a good enough long-term solution for Taupō and that no second bridge will actually be necessary. Not only that, but there has been no assessment of the existing Waikato bridge structure to determine when it needs refurbishing or replacing – so going ahead as currently planned, Taupō might be in for TWO new bridges not just one!

🗓️ Timeline

  • Aug 2023: Tender for the study was issued. I attempted to delay this happening until more proper consideration of its objectives, and was sidelined on the basis that governance should apparently not be interfering with operational matters as this.
  • Feb 2024: Steering group appointed my Mayor Trewavas. I was deliberately sidelined from inclusion, despite my experience and previously displayed interest.
  • May 2024: The Draft LTP was signed off by elected members which included the recommendations of this study for a $70m solution.  I declined to sign, partly because of the lack of information surrounding this study.  I subsequently discover that a draft copy of the completed study has been around for at least several weeks beforehand, but was never shared.
  • July 2024: I submit a Notice of Motion for a workshop for elected members to happen, and this was passed by majority decision.  I attempted to secure a date as soon as possible, but this was subsequently pushed out to May 2025 some ten months afterwards.  I also refuse to sign off on the final version of the LTP, partly because of lack of transparency surrounding this and other projects.
  • May 2025: Workshop of elected members was held on 22 May 2025 that was as fine a gaslit display of smoke and mirrors as I have ever seen.

📂 Supporting Links

Background notes from September 2022 to November 2024

Herald article of 26 June 2025

🔍 Unanswered Questions

  • Why have elected members and the public been almost completely excluded from this conversation?
  • Why did the consultant reports remain confidential for so long, and as at September 2025 still haven’t been released for public viewing?
  • Do we even really need another bridge anyway?