Victory Road Slip

The west has been hit by storms recently.  Not as bad as those that have affected  the Nelson Tasman area, but still significant.  And locals are understandably nervous about the possible effects given what happened just over two years ago.

Within the past couple of weeks there was a significant slip on Victory Road in Laingholm..  This is an area that the local board and AT inspected last October.

For an extended period of time I have raised concerns with AT about its budget for managing and dealing with road slips, particularly on Victory Road.  As the issues are relevant I thought I would share an email I wrote 6 years ago.

This is the text of an email that I sent to the chief executive of AT on August 23, 2019.

"Dear Shane

I am writing to you concerning current budgets and practices for dealing with slips in the Waitakere area and particularly in Victory Road, Laingholm. 

I note that over the past few years I have had multiple emails from local residents expressing concern at the time taken by AT to resolve slips.  As I am sure you can appreciate the existence of a slip is something that will inevitably cause extreme stress and worry to landowners.

The problem is largely a budgetary one which is why I am escalating this to you. 

Recently the only slips that are dealt with out west are those that are considered to be of high or very high risk sites.  In the current financial year I understand that it is proposed to repair slips on the following roads:

·       Mountain Rd

·       Chamberlain Rd

·       Candia Rd

·       Huia Rd

·       Coutler Rd

·       Sunnyvale Rd

·       Whatipu Rd

·       Horseman Rd

·       Scenic Dr

·       The Drive

There are a number of other slips in the area.  The only immediate action for many is pinning a tarpaulin on top of the slip to minimise water flows.

With climate change and more intense weather events already occurring the frequency of slips will almost inevitably increase.  Can I urge AT to apply further budget to this area so that more slips can be addressed.

I have had a number of emails of concern about the stability of Victory Road.  After concerns were raised with me by local residents earlier this year I urged AT to take action as it appears that part of the road was slipping.  I am pleased to note that urgent remedial work is being taken now. 

I note that I have received and forwarded concerns about a number of properties on the road for at least the last six years.  The affected properties include XX, XX, XX, XX, and XX.  I understand that all of the properties have all been assessed as being of medium risk. 

I appreciate that there are complications relating to at least one of the properties with unregulated stormwater run off and encroachment issues but the frequency of the problem suggests that rather than dealing with these problems in a piecemeal fashion a more concerted effort needs to be made to ensure that the area remains stable.

Please find attached photograph of a further slip that has occurred in the past couple of days outside the property at XX.  Can the risk rating for this particular area be reassessed urgently?

To summarise:

1.    Can I invite AT to increase the budget for slips in the Waitakere area.

2.    Does AT have a plan to address Victory Road stability issues?

3.    Can the categorisation of the slip at XX be urgently reviewed because of this new slip?

I look forward to your response."

The response that I received was not from the chief executive but was from Customer Liaison.

The final response took 18 months to provide.  Here is what it said:

"Can I invite AT to increase the budget for slips in the Waitakere area?

AT has a limited budget available to undertake slip repairs and to protect locations that are prone to slips. This budget is not sufficient to undertake all the issues related to slips. In order to maximise the benefits of utilising this limited budget AT employs a “prioritisation” methodology to rank the slips so that the most urgent and high risk slips are rectified first on an annual basis. This methodology is implemented on a “regional“ basis and takes into account factors such as consequences for safety, availability of access, and alternative routes.

Does AT have a plan to address Victory Road stability issues?

Remedial works are currently ongoing for the slip on Victory Road (the site opposite between addresses XX Victory Road and XX Victory Road).

Can the categorisation of the slip at XX be urgently reviewed because of this new slip?

Remedial works have now been completed for the slip site at XX Victory Road."

I appreciate the enormous amount of work AT has completed in the past 18 months to deal with the effects of the Auckland Anniversary storm.  The amount of work is extensive and most of the repairs have now been effected.

But we need to get away from the situation where the city is only responding to slips.  Preventative work is all important, particularly in areas where locals know there are stability issues.

We need to have a good rethink about the way that we handle local roads.  We need to get into a preventive mode, not just a responsive mode.  What we are doing currently is not working.

Auckland Transport is undertaking a study into the potential for landslides to occur on the road network. I hope this will lead to a better understanding of the risks and steps needed to make the road network more resilient.