tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post4180537510246544035..comments2024-03-26T10:03:51.827+13:00Comments on Karl du Fresne: Traffic cones and white utes: symbols of NZ's decline as a road-builderKarl du Fresnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05054853925940134404noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-15025619627573001412021-09-15T11:12:09.943+12:002021-09-15T11:12:09.943+12:00Karl, it has long been my theory that most of thes...Karl, it has long been my theory that most of these cones do not, in fact, have any purpose at all. Some time ago someone bought a huge shipload for a job that was cancelled, so they must now be stored somewhere. Every Thursday some highly qualified official runs through a list of road names and thinks, ha, we haven't used that one for a while, and instructs his minions to spend Friday shuffling as many cones as possible. My husband and I can usually be heard on the weekend, as we pass idle cones strung out along a road that does not seem to be involved in any activity, past, present or future, muttering darkly "cone storage". This explains it all.Terry Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07523590286071998930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-7106811055445502352021-08-29T16:16:35.383+12:002021-08-29T16:16:35.383+12:00I have not investigated, so someone can help me ou...I have not investigated, so someone can help me out here, but I presumed we would be importing all of those cones from China. As for the placement of the cones. Not something any Tom Dick or Mary can do. Oh no. This has to be undertaken by a fully qualified 'Cone Placement Technician'. Meaning a tutor has to oversee a course that the applicant must succeed in, before being given their certification. So now we have created several more jobs which add to the cost of any project. The best scenario I have stumbled across, is the $-hundred million cost overrun of the proposed Mt Messenger by-pass, caused by a dope grower, who can afford to pay his legal bills in cash, as he loses court appeal, after court appeal. Police claim they are too busy with 'P' investigations, so don't have time to investigate marijuana growers. blacklerann@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01208546854636190697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-48457099944749000532021-08-26T19:56:55.354+12:002021-08-26T19:56:55.354+12:00Karl the transfer of all the roading work to the p...Karl the transfer of all the roading work to the private sector was a success. It led to lower costs, better decision making and better technology. It separated policy from operations, which is generally seen as a good thing. However in doing so it removed the ability of the operations people to stamp on silly ideas emanating from the policy wonks. When it was Ministry of Works, the powerful directors were those in the operations divisions because they had lots of staff and spent lots of money. They were able to persuade the planning people to keep a nice flow of work coming so their boys would have work to do. Now these functions are separate, policy people can come up with bright ideas to increase workplace safety and they don't have any financial responsibility. Daft ideas can be given free reign. davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00312282243883488495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-81028571536999807392021-08-26T19:17:30.117+12:002021-08-26T19:17:30.117+12:00Think ministry of health, education and oranga tam...Think ministry of health, education and oranga tamariki and all their incompetence transferred to NZTA and you will understand why they are so inefficient. Given all of what is going on in NZ at the moment do you seriously expect any better from any of the public service?<br /><br />I work for a land development company, we build new roads from scratch to fully finished in a couple of months. It’s easy when your sales depend on it. In fact it takes longer to get consents than it does to build.<br /><br />Even when using private companies NZTA management, approvals and funding slows the process down and adds about 20% to the costs. <br /><br />It will only get worse.Russell Parkinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01998289720002196469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-11307769563720125042021-08-25T16:39:23.644+12:002021-08-25T16:39:23.644+12:00I would commend Wayne Brown's latest article a...I would commend Wayne Brown's latest article about the competence - or otherwise - of those who make decisions about the necessities of our lives, including power and - well I never - vaccinations! What is said can be extended to NZTA and roading.<br /><br />It can be read here: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/wayne-brown-power-port-vaccine-rollout-why-are-all-these-stuff-ups-happening/SDMWA4FP5L2DWKMTRCVYKEJ2DQ/hughvanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13655840089502084282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-19073997545751383522021-08-25T12:15:50.547+12:002021-08-25T12:15:50.547+12:00I suspect the supplier gets paid by the cone, and ...I suspect the supplier gets paid by the cone, and that the OSH ‘expert” who specifies the number of cones gets an excellent lunch at Christmas and other times of the year, perhaps All Black tickets etc.JeffWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09534429520138555005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-83624779469194766292021-08-25T11:05:59.265+12:002021-08-25T11:05:59.265+12:00Are you sure Maori names are gifted. I would bet t...Are you sure Maori names are gifted. I would bet there is an accompanying invoice somewhere. CXHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07716356211635024878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-89659372111776163922021-08-24T22:40:12.978+12:002021-08-24T22:40:12.978+12:00This comment has been removed by the author.Eamon Sloanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03551803651059076248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-1493265639015415002021-08-24T16:08:40.316+12:002021-08-24T16:08:40.316+12:00Karl, you have committed a grave error - you have ...Karl, you have committed a grave error - you have referred to NZ Transport Agency without using any words that can be read by MaorisColinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17343388042517732526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-89080742900555804222021-08-24T14:06:25.118+12:002021-08-24T14:06:25.118+12:00One of the major causes of delays and cost over-ru...One of the major causes of delays and cost over-runs on Transmission Gully was the contract variations. This forced redesigns and in some cases rework. And many of these were big ticket items like beautification. It will also be late because of these lockdowns so that is more variations.<br />It is interesting though to see that one of these changes was to make it safe at 110km/h. I am betting that won't be the posted limit. <br />Chris Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10557217407223228656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-89871798275417184532021-08-24T13:55:17.686+12:002021-08-24T13:55:17.686+12:00This has long been a subject of contention in our ...This has long been a subject of contention in our household<br /> A whole battalion of drones sucking on the resources of our tax dollar.<br /> it takes at least two massive trucks six workers placing cones and waving flags etc etc <br />to get one weedeater working on the side of the highway <br />Great business if you can tap into itHikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17655371667067421078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-72130638975780200302021-08-24T13:49:48.355+12:002021-08-24T13:49:48.355+12:00There are rather a lot of cones out there, some of...There are rather a lot of cones out there, some of them appearing under employed. I've found it handy to keep a couple in the shed, to pop out the front and keep a space in anticipation of a firewood delivery. You can also trim one a bit to make a working vaudeville band megaphone.Don Frankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17801999410940938418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-5889397595635922852021-08-24T13:39:44.834+12:002021-08-24T13:39:44.834+12:00The laying out of the cones and their being gather...The laying out of the cones and their being gathered in again is a ritual with clearly a deep religious significance, much like the cargo cult observed in parts of the Pacific following WWII. The presence of the cones is intended to propitiate certain local spirits who might otherwise be minded to disrupt any proceedings that could, conceivably, get underway. The men and women standing around in hi viz jackets you have observed are in fact supplicants, while the flashing orange lights on the white utes (white is of course the colour of religious purity) are intended to summon the benign deities of the locality. I'm sure if you had stopped to ask, as much of this would have been explained to you as was judged sufficient to make you go away. These "mysteries", which clearly lie beyond your understanding, are conducted under the supervision of Waka Kotahi whose very name is an expression of the ineffability of pseudo-religious practice in today's modern Aotearoan bureaucracy.Odysseushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04745489060434244478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-48746874618332416202021-08-24T12:53:10.280+12:002021-08-24T12:53:10.280+12:00The cones often just delineate the area that the w...The cones often just delineate the area that the workmen use to park their personal vehicles. Often this area is on an adjacent road to the one being worked on so there is no legitimate reason at all for the impact on the traffic flow. You also see this around building construction sites in central Wellington, where half the streets are constricted at any time just to provide free parking for the construction workers. It reminds me (with frustration) of the story of the building of the Empire State Building in New York that I read several years ago. The tallest building in the world at the time took just 10 months to complete and all construction activity was confined to the site - there was no impact on traffic on the surrounding streets at any time during construction. Kiwiwithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10507667837257013301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-28724274256536128932021-08-24T12:14:06.088+12:002021-08-24T12:14:06.088+12:00I'm still trying to figure out why speeds are ...I'm still trying to figure out why speeds are reduced and cones are placed because, potentially, someone is working approximately 10 metres to the side of the road (At one stage just south of Hinds the work was actually in a fenced paddock beside the road).Tinmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02749937729383913466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442430064359197279.post-76728468563978330402021-08-24T11:24:28.570+12:002021-08-24T11:24:28.570+12:00Careful Karl, do not put the boot into Woke-a-Two ...Careful Karl, do not put the boot into Woke-a-Two Kahuis. You might be called out as being a Right Wing supremist.Anna Mousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03495660941246513311noreply@blogger.com