save the basin reserve!

The NZ Herald is reporting that the projected cost of the Waterview tunnel in Auckland has blown out by nearly $1 billion before the project has even commenced:

The cost of building the proposed twin tunnels was originally estimated at $1.89 billion but that has now increased to around $2.77 billion.
...
Mr Joyce says that amounts to 1.6 per cent of New Zealand's GDP or between three-and-a-half and four times the total current annual state highway construction budget.

If you're following along from home, that's a 47% increase in costs. So does anyone seriously believe that the Basin Reserve flyover can be constructed for the stated $33 million?

The Standard is reporting that the National Government intends changing the definitions in the Resource Management Act so that "amenity value" can no longer be used as an assessment criteria for development:

We have received information that National’s plan to change the definition of ‘environment’ under the RMA in their 100-day legislation roll out will consist of removing the legal protection of a range of important parts of NZ’s environment, such as eco-systems, amenity values (e.g. the look and appearance of a landscape or townscape) and the human factors that affect the environment (e.g. constructing a building within a sensitive landscape, or a factory making too much noise near houses).

The RMA currently defines the environment as:
(a) Ecosystems and their constituent parts, including people and communities; and
(b) All natural and physical resources; and
(c) Amenity values; and
(d) The social, economic, aesthetic, and cultural conditions which affect the matters stated in paragraphs (a) to (c) of this definition or which are affected by those matters

National is set to reduce the definition of environment to only “natural and physical resources”.

The effect of this change on the Basin Reserve would be enormous. The sound of bat on ball - undisturbed by boy racers and truck exhausts - is clearly an amenity value, as is the cultural and historical significance of the Basin. If these enjoyment and heritage values will no longer be considered, then the NZ Transport Agency will have carte blanche to destroy the Basin Reserve for future generations.

We're appalled.

Quite a number of reports were created as part of the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan, some of which made comments about how a flyover would impact on the Basin Reserve. Because most people don't have the time or energy to wade through hundreds of pages of documentation, we thought it might be useful to pull out what Opus Consulting had to say about the flyover:

"The elevated structure for the grade separation of the Basin Reserve will be visually prominent and will affect the perception, symbolic character and context of the Basin Reserve and will impact on the overall character of the wider surroundings. The grade separation may also adversely affect the experience of those using the Basin Reserve."

Even the Council's own consultants think the impact will be significant. Perhaps it's time for the pro-flyover politicians to read their own reports ....

The United States Department of Transport is reporting (PDF) that vehicle miles travelled (VMT) fell dramatically year-on-year, spurred by the double-whammy of high petrol prices in the first half of 2008 and the increasingly deep recession in the second half. The DoT notes:

Travel on all roads and streets changed by -5.3% (-12.9 billion vehicle miles) for November 2008 as compared with November 2007. Travel for the month is estimated to be 230.4 billion vehicle miles.

Cumulative Travel for 2008 changed by -3.7% (-102.1 billion vehicle miles). The Cumulative estimate for the year is 2,656.2 billion vehicle miles of travel.

The Wellingtonian's front-page story this week has highlighted the divisions in the Wellington City Council over the Basin Reserve flyover. Reporter Alex Johnson notes that "Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast has pre-empted a council decision later this year by saying that the flyover will almost certainly go ahead". She then goes on to say that other Councillors - such as Deputy Mayor Ian McKinnon - are convinced that the flyover has yet to be approved.

While the Mayor's intransigence is unwelcome news, it's unfortunately not surprising - she has previously gone on record as saying that the second Mt Victoria tunnel should be constructed "regardless of what submitters [to the study] say".

We're very encouraged that some Councillors seems to be getting cold feet over the flyover - perhaps they are beginning to realise what the impact of a huge concrete structure that destroys the atmosphere of the ground will be. Long may their realisation grow!

Wellington City Councillor John Morrison is a Trustee of the Basin Reserve Trust and a pro-flyover advocate. Like a majority of WCC Councillors, he voted in favour of the flyover with no clear idea of what it would look like or how it would impact on the Basin Reserve.

He recently took exception to Lindsay Shelton's coverage of the issue on Scoop, and has written a response - to which we replied. Both Cr Morrison's comments and our feedback are reproduced below:

Image credit: freefotouk via Flickr, some rights reserved

A recent academic study reaches the conclusion that "selfish driving causes everyone to pay the price of anarchy" - a result that has significant implications for how traffic networks are planned and managed.

In December, Kent Duston wrote to the NZ Transport Agency (formerly Transit) requesting some information regarding the Basin Reserve project. The request to NZTA asked for:

• Any architectural or engineering drawings, sketches or plans of the flyover or its environs
• Any artists' renderings, concept sketches and the like of the flyover or its environs
• All estimates or quotations for the construction costs of that NZTA holds, along with the assumptions and logic for how these figures were arrived at
• A full list of all the buildings that are intended for demolition as a direct and indirect result of this project
• Details of any geotechnical investigations that the NZTA has made or has been provided with for the Basin Reserve area that are relevant for this project.

People are barely back from holidays, and already volunteers are out spreading the word about the danger to the Basin Reserve.

At the Firebirds one-day State Shield match against the Auckland Aces on Tuesday, five volunteers were handing out flyers about the flyover to spectators - the vast majority of whom were very concerned about a huge motorway project destroying the atmosphere of the Basin.

Maria van der Meel from the Save The Basin Campaign hands flyers to cricket fans outside the Basin Reserve.

We'll be at most matches this summer, making sure fans are fully informed about the flyover plans. You can find information about the dates using the "Fixtures" link to the right.

Long a source of balanced and detailed reporting on local issues, the Wellingtonian ran a story about the Basin Reserve campaign in this week's issue. There was also an editorial that explores both sides of the debate, and asks for feedback on the project. You can let your views be known by e-mailing the Wellingtonian editor[at]thewellingtonian.co.nz.