The Kapiti Coast District Council has agreed on its submission regarding a controversial overhaul of State Highway 1 north of Wellington.
The Government has deemed the highway from Levin to Wellington airport a Road of National Significance and the Transport Agency is consulting on three possible routes for a new expressway through Kapiti.
But the Kapiti council has voted 6-3 in favour of a fourth option: it wants the state highway widened to four lanes, a two-lane Western Link Road built nearer the coast and beefed-up rail services through to Palmerston North.
Analysis done for the council shows that projected traffic volumes don't justify a motorway.
Councillor Anne Molineux believes however that the proposal is unrealistic and misguided.
Mayor Jenny Rowan said this is one of the biggest decisions to be made by the council in a very long time.
