save the basin reserve!

The Wellington Civic Trust has a long history of convening public discussions about the future of our city, and on Saturday 8 August they'll be hosting a forum on the Basin Reserve precinct. The intention is to look at the entire Basin Reserve area as a whole, given the large number of initiatives in the area. Subjects will include:

• The Adelaide Road precinct and the effects of proposed Council development
• The impact of the proposed supermarket on the site of the old Boys Institute in Tasman Street
• The proposed Basin Reserve flyover
• The on again/off again park in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Buckle Street

The Trust has the view that all these changes are being considered separately by different officials, and that Wellingtonians need a holistic view of how the Basin Reserve precinct will be changed if all these projects proceed.

The venue for the forum is St Joseph's Church at the southern end of Brougham Street, and an agenda and brochure can be found on the Civic Trust's website.

It's being widely reported that the Waterview tunnel in Mt Albert has been dropped in favour of an above-ground option that will see the demolition of hundreds of local houses. The reason given for this change in approach is the cost - Transport Minister Steven Joyce claims that more than a billion dollars will be saved as a result. However as No Right Turn points out, the savings are largely illusory and come as a result of the Minister gaming the system; an interest component of $550 million is selectively added to the tunnel costs whilst being omitted from the above-ground option.

However there is an interesting lesson for the Basin Reserve flyover proposal. In much of the government's recent pronouncements the need to "save money" has been front and centre; cuts to public sector jobs and the demise of that butt of many jokes, the national cycleway, spring to mind. This does not bode well for the Basin Reserve.

There's an interesting new blog in town ... Sketches From A Worker's Playtime. Check it out.

Wellington architecture blog Eye Of The Fish has an interesting discussion on the Memorial Parkway, the strip of land in front of the War Memorial in Buckle Street that was intended by the last government as an extension of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

Given the proximity of this area to the Basin Reserve, there's been some conjecture that the two projects would end up being linked by the transport planners. It's worth taking a look at both the original article and the comments that follow.

We were handing out flyers at the Basin Reserve today and talking to some of the people attending the New Zealand vs India test match - and we met a great bloke named Ken Willcox from the Epping Bulls Cricket Club in Sydney.

Greater Wellington Regional Council has just started consultation on its Regional Land Transport Management Programme. The purpose of this programme is to outline all land transport projects and their priority for the next three years (2009-2012) as well as as indicative activities over the next three and a 10 year financial forecast.

Greater Wellington Regional Council has started consultation on its Regional Land Transport Management Programme. The purpose of this programme is to outline all land transport projects and their priority for the next three years (2009-2012) as well as as indicative activities over the next three and a 10 year financial forecast.

Worringly, the Council has placed the Basin Reserve flyover as no 2 on its list of priorities. We are asking people to put in a submission reqesting that the project be dropped, and submissions closed on Friday 24th April at 5:00pm.

You can make a written submission in a number of ways:

E-mail it to info@gw.govt.nz
Submit online using the online feedback form
Post it to RTLP Submissions, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Freepost Authority Number 3156, PO Box 11646, Manners Street, Wellington 6142

The submission should be addressed to the Regional Transport Committee. We'll be posting a sample submission later on today, although we recommend that you modify it as necessary to reflect your own views. This will give your submission far more weight. In your submission include your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address if you have one.

It is also possible to make an oral submission. This is a very effective way of letting the Council know your views. Submissions will be heard May/June. Just indicate on your written submission that you wish to be heard.

So do it today - the future of the Basin Reserve hangs on getting the public's view heard!

On Sunday the Mt Victoria Historical Society hosted a walk around the Basin Reserve, highlighting the heritage of this important precinct. The walk was hosted by Joanna Newman and Alan Olliver from the Historical Society. Thanks to the Wellington wind and the bells of the nearby Carillon, the audio quality is a bit patchy in parts, but the tour is an interesting insight into the heritage of the Basin Reserve.

Basin Reserve Historic Walk from MountVictoria on Vimeo.

Image credit: Darren Hester via Flickr.

The cost over-runs for the Basin Reserve flyover appear to have started even before the design is finalised.

Back in December, we requested some information from the NZ Transport Agency - and were completely rebuffed. So we have now asked the Ombudsman to investigate to see whether NZTA's decision to withhold information is legal under the Official Information Act.

The text of our complaint is as follows: