Palmerston North MP and Labour transport spokesman Tangi Utikere was taken to Mosgiel by Ms Leary on Saturday to let him see the traffic issues that plague the growing town.
Ms Leary said while from an economic development perspective, she supported the idea of an inland port, the issues of productivity and road safety had to be looked at hand-in-hand when assessing the proposal.
‘‘I want him to be able to understand first-hand the importance of considering the inland port and the perennial traffic issues together, rather than separately, which doesn’t make any sense at all,’’ Ms Leary said.
‘‘And I wanted him to see the traffic issues we have [at Mosgiel], visibly and viscerally.
‘‘We’re just sitting there outside, just looking at the extent of the traffic, even on a Saturday and trying to imagine what it would be like with logging trucks going through.’’
While she would leave the connectivity solutions up to ‘‘the experts’’, Ms Leary wanted to ensure there was some joined-up thinking.
‘‘Otherwise we’re going to have perverse outcomes that are going to cause safety issues.
‘‘We already have safety at stake for school children.
‘‘We’re going to have the increased foot traffic from the extension to the retirement village.
‘‘So safety first.’’
Mr Utikere, who also spent time with Port Otago’s chief executive Kevin Winders, said it was good to get a ‘‘first-hand’’ view of the safety issues at stake.
‘‘The reason why the National Land Transport Fund, in the government’s own words, is over-subscribed is because of their inability to be able to plan and to cost their roads of national significance.’’
