What A Courier Thinks About The Basin Reserve

Someone who works as a courier got in touch recently to let us know his thoughts about NZTA’s proposed Basin Reserve flyover. We think these thoughts are worth sharing with you. NZTA, are you paying attention?

“Driving around Wellington and using the Basin reserve roundabout is a regular feature of my day. I have a car that ‘knows its own way to the airport’ as my wife works/flies out of Wellington airport with her employment (Air NZ) whilst my son instructs flying at the Wellington Aero club. Added to the frequency of driving to/from these two locations from Central Wellington is my courier work in and around the town. Yes, it is a town and sorry for those whose city status beliefs I may have offended.

My driving whilst on duty requires me to negotiate the Mt Victoria Tunnel to access Miramar/Hataitai/Airport and also to access Adelaide Street/Newtown and the delights of Island Bay. I do this at all hours of the day and evening in addition to my husbandly duties in taking said spouse and/or son to their work destinations,  Pac n’ Save in Kilburnie is also patronised by me/us in a private capacity which involves the Basin and tunnel.

The main point here is that the traffic flow around the Basin is easy and ‘businesslike’ with a sensible phasing of traffic lights. Very rarely indeed does traffic back up into the tunnel as you exit en route to the Basin. Proceeding in any combination of approaches/exits does not cause any issue, motorists use the two/three lanes affording approaches to each roundabout intersection with a high level of responsibility. Red light infractions are rare in my observation. Simply put there is no need to do this [build a flyover] as the light phasing is reasonable. The recent re-routing of the approach to the Taranaki Street intersection via top of Tory Street has not impacted the flow despite the new traffic lights.

In short, we have planners seeking to despoil the vista/amenity of Kent Terrace and a very ‘workable’ roundabout and traffic system (you don’t hear many people cursing the Basin route or seeking alternatives via Oriental Bay etc) to install a multi-million dollar concrete monstrosity. If the council want to serve the people of Wellington, they should create infrastructure and buildings that will serve us as far as our grand-childrens’ generation and maybe beyond.”

A Great Meeting – And Some Great Videos!

Our Save the Basin public meeting went very well this afternoon. Despite weather that was a touch on the damp side, over 70 people joined us at the Film Archive to watch videos, hear speakers, buy Save the Basin T-shirts, talk, and offer lots of support and many great ideas to the campaign.

As we’ve said before, the NZTA is, sadly, the last refuge of outdated 1960s transport thinking: the belief that motorways and flyovers are the way to build a modern transport system has gone the way of walk shorts and the 3 o’clock tea trolley elsewhere in the world, but it’s still alive and well at NZTA HQ and in the Beehive.

The three videos we watched from Streetfilms.org, a US organisation that makes short videos about ways to make transport and urban centres better, made this point very, very clear. We recommend that you watch them and share them:

Check out the whole “Moving Beyond the Automobile” series here: http://www.streetfilms.org/moving-beyond-the-automobile/

 

Campaign Resources Now Online

If you need information about the proposed Basin Reserve flyover, its implications, and the case against it, please check out this list of campaign resources, which will grow over time.

Facts About The Proposed Flyover (PDF)

Basin Reserve Heritage Backgrounder (PDF)

Basin Flyover Design Backgrounder (PDF)

Health Issues Relevant to the Proposed Basin Reserve Flyover: Information for the Basin Reserve Schools, by Dr Marie O’Sullivan (PDF).
Note: 4000 students attend school in the area around the Basin Reserve. This backgrounder highlights issues of concern to schools near the Basin, but also provides useful information to anyone concerned about the health effects of a Basin Reserve flyover.

These add to our existing resources, including our page on alternatives to a Basin Reserve flyover and our campaign video.

It takes money to create and distribute these resources, so please donate online or by mail.

Why The Delay, NZTA?

In the leadup to our public meeting on Saturday 20 April, a very interesting story has appeared today in Wellington Scoop asking questions about the delay in NZTA’s expected application to lodge its resource consent application for its proposed Basin Reserve flyover:

What’s the reason for the delay?

Wellington Scoop suggests that the reason for the delay may be a long list of requirements that such a concrete monstrosity could not possible meet. Lindsay Shelton, Editor of Wellington Scoop, is one of the speakers at our public meeting, and I’ll be keen to hear more about his thinking on this.

We don’t know how long this delay may continue: NZTA may lodge its application tomorrow, or they may take months. But let’s make one thing very clear: the Save the Basin Campaign is very much in favour of these delays. Long may they continue!

In fact, if NZTA delays long enough, maybe they will eventually come to the realisation that the entire misguided, unnecessary and just plain ugly Basin flyover project should be consigned to the dustbin of history.

How We Plan To Save The Basin: Saturday 20 April, 4.30pm, The Film Archive

How do we plan to save the Basin Reserve from the Government and the NZTA’s flyover plans? And what can our supporters do to help? That’s the focus of our “Rally to Save the Basin”, which is being held at The Film Archive, cnr Taranaki and Ghuznee Streets, from 4.30-6.30pm on Saturday 20 April – that’s this coming Saturday, folks!

We’ve got videos. We’ve got Save the Basin T-shirts. We’ve got raffles with some great prizes. And we’ve got a lineup of speakers who are going to tell you how we plan to get this done, and how you can help us do it. Speakers include:

  • Lindsay Shelton, editor of Wellington.Scoop and co-founder of Waterfront Watch.
  • Mary Varnham, publisher at Awa Press and founder of the “Chaffers Park Make it Happen” campaign.
  • Joanna Newman, Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson and Mt Victoria Historical Society Chair, with the wider historical perspective.
  • Tim Jones, co-Convenor of the Save the Basin Campaign, on the current state of play on the flyover campaign. Who stands where? What happens next? What are the key things the campaign needs to achieve?
  • Murray Parker, active Save the Basin Campaign member, on how supporters can get actively involved in the campaign and what help we need.

So if you want to know where the campaign stands, what happens next, and how you can help, this is the place to be.

Please invite your friends, join the event and invite your friends if you’re on Facebook, and come along!

Rally To Save The Basin: 20 April, 4.30pm, The Film Archive

Show your support for the iconic Basin Reserve and tell the politicians to “bowl the flyover”. Join us for speakers, films and support for better transport, better urban design and a better Basin neighbourhood. Find out where the campaign to Save the Basin is at and what you can do to help.

Where: The Film Archive, corner Taranaki and Ghuznee Streets

When: Saturday 20 April, 4.30-6.30pm

What: Save The Basin Campaign rally and public meeting with short films, speakers, T-shirts for sale and lots of other goodies.

Speakers will include Mary Varnham and Lindsay Shelton. More details to follow.

You can join the Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/529946067057428/

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