 They argued that the original choice between building Transmission Gully or upgrading the coastal route was a false dichotomy, and that in reality neither option was necessary or desirable.Some opponents of the Transmission Gully project believed that its overall cost is too high, and that the region has insufficient funds to spend on it, with a benefit/cost ratio of 0.6.The previous Mayor of Wellington, Kerry Prendergast, has described the project as "unaffordable".