Meetings on city proposals planned

Posted by on 20 July 2005 | 0 Comments

PUBLIC meetings are to be held in the Manawatu District early next month to update residents on the planned closure of Milson Line and the proposed second bridge across the Manawatu River.

Palmerston North City Council officers gave an informal briefing to Manawatu District Councillors this week and the district council is to hold the meetings in Feilding and Bunnythorpe.

The city council proposes to permanently close Milson Line to allow runway extensions at the Palmerston North International Airport and is studying a variety of options on a second bridge crossing upstream of the city.

Manawatu District Council Assets Group Manager, Richard Kirby, said findings of a recent study on the traffic effects of a Milson Line closure were presented at the informal briefing, as well as the road stopping process and the consultation needed for the new bridge options over the Manawatu River.

“It gave an indication of what the strategic thinking is of the city and the impact this will have on the district,” said Mr Kirby. “The traffic study basically showed that the increased travel times for traffic heading to the city from the district are negligible, largely because there are so many alternative routes available.”

Mr Kirby said the only major effect was the increased travel time to the airport and the city was hoping to have the Airport Drive link to Railway Rd completed to mitigate this effect.

“Although travel times will remain largely the same it is still important that the alternate routes be upgraded to make the trips more efficient,” he said.

Dates, times and venues of the public meetings will be advertised.

Source: Manawatu District Council.

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