Auckland Transport's (AT) lofty price estimates for new infrastructure projects have a local board member up in arms.
The agency put a $260,000 spending cap on each of three pedestrian crossings planned to be raised in Papakura, south Auckland, which Papakura local board member George Hawkins said is way too much.
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"We are waiting to see what the costs are made of, whether local contractors are being used. We don't think it will be anything like $250,000 per crossing," he told Newshub.
He lashed out at the Council Controlled Organisation, which he claimed was pulling figures out of thin air.
"People want accountability, they don't want people coming up with wild figures and expecting people who think about these things believing them."
AT said the figures are a ballpark and it's expected to cost less. On top of that the installation is more complex than it appears, AT says, and each raised crossing will need lighting, drainage and underground facilities.
The crossings are three of seven safety projects being undertaken in the Papakura area.
Auckland Transport said in a statement on Monday other safety improvements will be made at Settlement Rd near the Presbyterian Church, at Elliott St near Ray Small Park, and at Manuroa Rd at Old Park, all expected to cost $65,000.
Similar changes will be made on the intersection of Porchester Rd and Manuroa Rd, which is expected to cost $78,000.
The funding has come from the Auckland Transport Community Safety Fund, which was launched after the introduction of the regional fuel tax.
Newshub.
