By Shelly Warwick – Ōtaki Ward Councillor
Leaving home this morning and getting onto the old SH1 just north of Ōtaki was brilliant. Usually at this time of the year it can take half an hour, at a crawl, to get from Waitohu Valley Road (just north of the ramp) to the roundabout.
With the new Peka Peka to Ōtaki (PP2O) Expressway opening and diverting traffic around Ōtaki it will make it much more pleasant to get around town for both locals and visitors. It may cause some downturn in customers for the shops at the Railway for a while, but it may also be an invitation for locals to once again stop at the shops and eat out at our cafés, which many do not currently do as it is too busy and too noisy with the truck traffic rumbling through our town.
At this time of the year most people travelling through our little town would not stop anyway as it is way too hard to get out of the traffic, and then even harder to get back into it. I’m sure all the work that has been done over the last couple of years by Elevate Ōtaki will help to draw people off the Expressway and establish Ōtaki as a destination to stop, shop and eat as people travel north or south. Elevate Ōtaki is a group in charge of a $300,000 package which was co funded by NZTA and KCDC to ensure there was promotion of the Ōtaki Railway shopping precinct prior to the opening of the PP2O. They have planned for this day and how to support local business to continue to thrive.
Next will be the opening of the Shared path CWB ( Cycleway, Walkway, Bridleway) around mid to late March, which will draw many people from the south up to Ōtaki – by means other than a car. The Railway shopping area being less congested by traffic and trucks will be a much more pleasant place to have lunch and a look at the shops.
For those in Ōtaki this EWY opening has been a long time coming and is very welcome, and as a local I won’t miss the big trucks or the congestion one little bit. It is a great Christmas present.
