save the basin reserve!

There has been a predictable reaction from the NZ Transport Agency to the Architecture Centre's innovative designs for the Basin Reserve - it's too hard and too expensive. According to the Capital Times:

The NZTA, is quick to dismiss the idea. "It would be a major engineering challenge to build a tunnel under the Basin Reserve - the ground conditions are very difficult and the water table is high. It would also be a expensive solution, and the necessary funding is not available", says Rob Whight, Wellington state highways manager.

So let's take a look at NZTA's claims.

Fresh from its consideration of the shape of the city in 2040, the Architecture Centre has taken a look at the Basin Reserve and come up with some innovative approaches. As they so eloquently put it:

The Basin Reserve for instance, may not need to be continuously ringed with roads for traffic. Indeed, we are most concerned that the Basin Reserve is currently reserved mainly for use as a giant traffic roundabout - there are better uses for a Basin than that, and there are certainly better roundabouts. But what if the traffic was to go elsewhere?

Their proposals display all the innovation and lateral thinking that seems so absent from the NZ Transport Agency and their flyover-obsessed traffic engineers. There are tunnels, enhanced green space, and genuinely fresh ideas that we hope will see the light of day when consultation on the Basin Reserve begins at the end of February.

Over on wellington.scoop Lindsay Shelton is asking how the NZ Transport Agency has become the object of so much contempt from local communities. He notes that even columnist Karl du Fresne at the Dominion Post is increasingly skeptical about the performance of this agency:

The DominionPost is reporting that shortages of engineers are likely to drive up the costs and delay the completion of infrastructure projects across the country:

New Zealand will suffer a shortage of engineers and technical professionals as it embarks on multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects over the next decade, industry sources say. The shortage could push out the timeframe and cost of some projects ... Major infrastructure schemes in the pipeline include the development of the Government's seven roads of national significance – including Transmission Gully in Wellington ... The shortage could mean projects took longer to complete, cost more than expected, or that very few suppliers bid for contracts.

The takeaway message? Expect the $51 million currently being quoted for construction of the Basin Reserve flyover to look like a distant memory in a couple of years.

The NZ Transport Agency has created a few web pages about the Basin Reserve flyover, and it's pretty apparent they are trying to hide their real intentions behind some slick PR spin. Having looked at their Frequently Asked Questions and Orwellian answers, we thought it might be useful to provide the real responses to the questions.

Before Christmas the NZ Transport Agency began an "engagement process" with groups who are regarded as stakeholders in the Basin Reserve project. (This is euphemistically referred to as the "Basin Reserve Traffic Improvements", rather than being called a flyover. George Orwell would be proud.) In a series of meetings - which included the Save The Basin Reserve Campaign - NZTA outlined the next stages of the consultation process. The timeline is as follows:

Mid 2009 - early 2010: Scoping study, technical investigations and option development where the alternative designs for the Basin Reserve will be developed in secret by NZTA staff and their consultants
Early 2010: Phase I consultation with the general public (more about this below)
Mid - late 2010: Option evaluation and selection of preferred option by the NZTA Board, followed by work on refining a preferred option. Phase II consultation with the public will follow at the conclusion of this phase.

The key part of the timeline is the Phase I consultation, which according to the NZTA project staff is due to commence at the end of February 2010 - a mere six weeks away as I write this. The consultation process will last for a further six weeks. The NZTA staff committed to making "all the information about the project" available on their website, but to date all that has been provided is a small collection of pages here.

The key message: there will be a scant six weeks when the public can make their feelings known about the Basin Reserve flyover.

The Basin Reserve is now in mortal danger.

Yesterday Transport Minister Steven Joyce announced a massive roading project, running from Levin in the north to the Airport in the south, that will cost taxpayers more than $2.5 billion, disrupt communities, demolish homes, and destroy the Basin Reserve as a test cricket venue. Within the Wellington CBD It includes the construction of a flyover at the Basin, two tunnels at The Terrace and Mt Victoria, a four-lane expressway across the city, the four-laning of Ruahine Street, and much more.

The reason for this profligate spending and wanton destruction is that the trip from one end of the Road of National Significance to the other - the full Levin to airport journey - will allegedly take 25 minutes less. From this very ordinary time-saving, the road-centric traffic engineers have extrapolated all manner of hypothetical economic benefits, most of which are based on outdated assumptions and discredited research. And in this calculus of destruction, the heritage of the Basin and it's value as one of the worlds best test cricket venues is essentially worthless.

So it's time to stand up and fight for the Basin. Since the early 1900s, various local and central government politicians have attempted to run roads through, over and under the Basin. At every turn, the people of Wellington have defeated them, and kept the Basin Reserve as the green space and world-class cricket venue it is today.

But Steven Joyce's white elephant of a flyover is the greatest attack on its integrity the Basin has ever been subjected to. It comes from a government determined to build roads at all costs, that accepts money from trucking lobbyists, and which is driven by an Auckland-based minister who cares nothing for the heritage values and urban fabric of the capital.

More information on how to take action is coming soon. But it's time to get angry about this flagrant and arrogant attack on the Basin Reserve.

The decision to deface the Basin Reserve with a hugely expensive flyover is a slap in the face to Wellingtonians who have overwhelmingly opposed it, says the Save the Basin Reserve campaign.

Earlier today the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) confirmed that they intend to push ahead with the project as part of the Levin to Airport “Road of National Significance”.

The campaign’s co-convenors Cr Iona Pannett and Kent Duston condemned the project saying that the $50m+ price tag did not justify sacrificing the Basin’s iconic ground in order to save a few seconds of travel time.

“The irony of NZTA proceeding with Transmission Gully on the basis of 89% support, yet also proceeding with the Basin Reserve flyover in the face of 89% opposition will not be lost on those who have made their feelings be known about the project,” said Mr Duston. “It’s pretty clear that the Minister is prepared to listen to submitters – but only when it suits his agenda.”

The Agency’s threat that the Minister will exercise his call-in powers under the Resource Management Act is of real concern, said Cr Pannett. “This may significantly limit community involvement at a local level, and leave cricket lovers and those concerned about the heritage values of the Basin Reserve without a voice.”

“Serious questions have to be asked about the costs of the project,” said Cr Pannett. “In one document released today, it says that the project will cost $36m; in another $51m. The National Land Transport Programme released in August of this year said it would cost around $47m. This shows that the Agency has no real idea what the project is likely to cost in the long run, as costs have already doubled from the original estimates of $27m in 2006,” said Cr Pannett.

“The benefit cost ratio looks increasingly illusory, as it appears to show an average saving to drivers of only 11 seconds,” said Mr Duston. “In a recession, the Government should be exercising restraint around expenditure, not indulging in expensive white elephant projects that will damage an iconic part of Wellington.”

For those of you who are connected to Facebook, there is a Save The Basin Reserve page with over 1,500 members. Details are here. Join up today!