Residents opposed to the Waterview motorway project in Auckland say a proposal to beautify a planned ventilation shaft next to a kindergarten and school is futile.
The consent process for the $2 billion Waterview Connection in Mt Albert is under way, with an independent Board of Inquiry considering the road.
The Transport Agency says it has employed an architect to help mitigate the visual impact of the planned ventilation shaft after concerns were raised about it in public submissions.
But Waterview resident and Eden Albert Local Board deputy chairwoman Margi Watson says the plans to turn the exterior of the structure into some sort of sculpture won't help.
She says it will still be an eyesore and is asking the agency to move it, or build it underground.
The parents of some children attending the kindergarten and school say they'll move schools to avoid the disruption and pollution from the project.
Transport Agency state highways manager Tommy Parker says he is confident the planned location is the best place for the shaft but he says the look of it is not finally decided yet.
