Ruwade Bryant/Stuff
Road cones and construction workers pictured on Manukau Rd. (File photo)
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has said he spent $145 million road cones and traffic management is “unjustified”.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking on Monday, Brown said he wants to fine Auckland Transport (AT) contractors who provide “excessive and unnecessary” traffic management.
“It used to be ‘security at a reasonable price’, now it’s ‘security at any price’,” he told Hosking.
“You can rent those beautiful trucks with pylons, plant them wherever you want, put down pylons and charge like crazy and it gets completely annoying.
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“I’ve had a few hissing fits and they’re listening to me at the AT now.”
Brown is under pressure for one predicted a $295 million shortfall in the Auckland Council budget.
THE COUNCIL OF AUCKLAND
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said in his inaugural address that he saw $25 million in cuts to council headquarters. (First published October 28, 2022)
He hopes to do that by tackling AT’s spending on road cones and traffic management, and wants a new “tailor-made and focused” traffic management plan to achieve this.
As well as AT, he has written to Chorus, Vector and Watercare about a “four-step approach” to reduce road closures and roadworks, and meeting with councilors about their work to help.
“It had been bugging me for a long time, even when I was running Vector again. It costs more to do the traffic management than to actually lay the cables.”
He said contractors anger drivers so much, “they’ve created a road rage potential that could easily outweigh any safety concerns they’ve done in the first place.”
In October 2022, a commuter from Auckland told Stuff his doctor diagnosed him “PTSD-like symptoms” thanks to the traffic cones.
RICKY WILSON/Zo
Wayne Brown said spending $145 million on road cones is unjustifiable.
Electrician Greg Cramond commutes from Mangawhai, north of Auckland, and has to drive across the city to work sites.
“It’s apocalyptic. There are way too many traffic cones everywhere you go. I understand it’s for safety reasons, but why do they keep slowing down traffic even when no one is working?”
to contract firm of Fulton Hogan imports about 100 tons of traffic cones annually, about 20,000 pieces.
So told estimator Beaudene Pumipi Stuff no one knew exactly how many road cones there were in the country, but the industry consensus was one cone for every Kiwi.