Category: press release

Save the Basin Campaign: Basin Reserve Confusion And Mixed Transport Messages Weaken Welcome Light Rail News

Posted on by stb_nyltr0

The Save the Basin Campaign has welcomed elements of the “Let’s Get Wellington Moving” Wellington transport plans revealed last night, especially the news that light rail is to be included as a priority element of those plans.

But Save the Basin, which was one of the groups that helped defeat the 2011 Basin Reserve flyover proposal, has criticised the continued uncertainty over the future of the Basin Reserve area, and the mixed messages contained in the leaked plans.

Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Tim Jones said “If the Dominion Post report is accurate, there are some good things in these plans. Save the Basin supports the development of a high quality, sustainable Wellington transport network, and getting on with implementing a light rail spine using an appropriate route would be a major contribution to this. So that’s great news.”

“Yet many other things in these plans aren’t so great,” Mr Jones continued. “First of all, Save the Basin has consistently supported at-grade roading changes at the Basin – that is, changes at the current street levels. But these latest plans appear to include grade separation, which means some roads going over or under others. The Dominion Post article talks in very vague terms about tunnels near the Basin, but detail is completely lacking. Save the Basin is absolutely opposed to a Basin Reserve bridge or flyover, and we cannot support any grade separation plan for the Basin that doesn’t explicitly rule out such bridges or flyovers.”

“It’s great to see that cycling would get a boost in these plans,” Mr Jones said. “But, as a group that supports walkability, we are disappointed that walking appears to have been treated, yet again, as the unwanted guest at the party.”

“But the worst thing about these proposals,” Mr Jones commented, “is that they continue to entrench the dominance of roading, by proposing to spend billions more dollars on State Highway 1. Despite the Government’s stated commitment to evidence-based decision making, this proposal appears to ignore the immense body of evidence that says that building more road capacity merely ends up putting more cars on the roads.”

“One of Let’s Get Wellington Moving’s stated objectives was to reduce Wellingtonians’ dependence on private vehicle travel,” said Mr Jones. “Where is the evidence that these proposals pay any more than lip-service to this objective? Where is any attempt to make the sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that the city and the nation have already committed themselves to make?”

ENDS

Tim Jones
Spokesperson
Save the Basin Campaign Inc.

 

Tired Motorway Sales Pitch Falls Flat, Says Save The Basin Campaign

Posted on by stb_nyltr0

The leaked transport proposals for Wellington read like a sales pitch gone badly wrong, said Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Tim Jones.

“The tired, dated ‘four lanes to the planes’ concept is well past its sell-by date,” said Mr Jones. “A Government that’s focused on making climate change, public health and transport choices that work for everyone just isn’t going to hand over the billions of dollars required for new motorways.”

“When it comes to the Basin Reserve, all we have yet again are rumours and suggestions,” Mr Jones continued. “Until Save the Basin is presented with clear, detailed design proposals, we cannot and will not endorse any proposal that is not at the same grade as current roading, or that may threaten the Basin Reserve,” Mr Jones said.

“We need a transport system that works for everyone’s future in a changing climate,” said Mr Jones. “That means major investment in better walking and cycling, with a light rail route running through the CBD, continuing to Newtown and the hospital, and going out to Miramar and the airport. Light rail is the most efficient way to move people who don’t need to use the roads, and that helps free up the roads for those who do need them – including people on buses.”

Press Release: Save the Basin Campaign Congratulates Wellington City Council

Posted on by stb_nyltr0
A artist’s impression of what the Sussex Street side of the Museum Stand could look like after refurbishment, including a new entrance for the NZ Cricket Museum.

Save the Basin Campaign applauds Wellington City Council’s proposal to save the historic Basin Reserve Museum Stand.

“Not only are they keeping it, earthquake-strengthening it and restoring its unique heritage features, they are creating a greatly enhanced facility”, says STBC co-convenor Joanna Newman.  

“If this plan is approved by Council, the Museum Stand will be better for spectators, provide many more facilities, and make the world-renowned NZ Cricket Museum easier to access both on match days and non-match days.”

The Basin Reserve is one of the world’s best cricket grounds, but it’s not just about cricket. From junior rugby on Saturday mornings, to functions in the RA Vance stand, to a quiet place to sit and have lunch, the ground is used day and night, and all year round.

With assistance from the Basin Reserve Trust, Wellington City Council has come up with a proposal that is affordable, responsible and forward-looking. Renovating and improving the Museum Stand ticks all the boxes.

By restoring and giving the Museum Stand new life, the Council is recognising the special place this Heritage New Zealand registered site has in the hearts of Wellingtonians and people around the country. 

“We can continue to be proud of this unique community and cricket venue and of its custodianship by our City”, says Joanna.

Further reading

Restoring it, not bowling it

Save the Basin Campaign appalled that Basin Reserve flyover plans remain on the table

Posted on by stb_nyltr0

The Save the Basin Campaign has said that aspects of the new Wellington transport plans unveiled today “feel like a slap in the face of the new Government”.

Several of the new “scenarios” for Wellington transport unveiled today by Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) – made up of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), Greater Wellington (GW) and Wellington City Council (WCC) – show that a version of the failed Basin Reserve flyover project (known as the Basin Bridge) remains on the table.

“NZTA’s Basin Reserve flyover project was an utter failure, and was rightly rejected by the courts,” said Save the Basin spokesperson Tim Jones. “LGWM and especially NZTA know people don’t want this failed flyover plan, yet here they go again!”

“It seems LGWM has learned nothing from NZTA’s track record of defeat,” said Mr Jones. “Have the last two years of ‘engagement exercises’ been a sham? What’s the point of putting us through all that malarkey only to come up with the same old, tired, motorway-dominated proposals?”

“These plans will not get Wellington moving. The induced demand of a road-first approach will just make traffic chaos throughout the city worse. We need to create viable transport alternatives to reduce dependence on private cars, and make travel easier and safer for the people who really need to use the roads.”

Mr Jones said that many other aspects of the new scenarios felt like a deliberate slap in the face of the new Government.

“The attempts to factor in the new Government’s aims of reducing carbon emissions and become a carbon neutral economy by 2050 are pathetic. There appears to be no attempt to take into account the new Government’s transport priorities. These scenarios look like they were drawn up by the National Party and rushed out at the end of the year to try to sneak them under the radar.”

In the 2014 Basin Bridge Board of Inquiry decision rejecting the previous flyover proposal, NZTA was taken to task for the many deficiencies in its consultation process. Mr Jones said the timing of the current round of consultation showed LGWM hasn’t learned from NZTA’s failures.

“LGWM has chosen to run a crucial consultation phase from now till mid-December, when people are caught up in the pre-Xmas rush,” said Mr Jones. “That looks a lot like a cynical attempt to minimise public input.”

“When and if LGWM provides a meaningful level of detail about their plans,” Mr Jones concluded, “Save the Basin will be able to decide if any of these scenarios are worth further consideration. Right now, it looks like LGWM needs to go back to the drawing board.”

Action Station makes a vital contribution to Save the Basin

Posted on by stb_nyltr0
Basin-2-cropped

As Wellington Scoop has reported, Community campaigning group Action Station has made a vital contribution to the campaign to save the Basin Reserve from a massive motorway flyover which the New Zealand Transport Agency wants to build there.

Despite a Government-appointed Board of Inquiry ruling in 2014 that a Basin Reserve flyover should not go ahead, the New Zealand Transport Agency took the matter to the High Court in July, attempting to overturn the Board’s decision.

NZTA is able to spend millions of dollars in taxpayer money to pursue its flyover obsession, which puts community groups such as the Save the Basin Campaign and the Mt Victoria Residents’ Association, which jointly opposed NZTA’s appeal in the High Court, at a huge financial disadvantage.

Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Tim Jones said “We’re delighted that Action Station agreed to help with our fundraising. Their support allowed us to reach a new audience and provided a crucial boost to help us meet our fundraising target for our legal fund. Our supporters may not be able to spend up large with taxpayer money, as the Transport Agency does, but they make up for it with determination and commitment.”

For Action Station, Nina Atkinson said “ActionStation exists to make it easy for progressive New Zealanders to take action on the issues they care about. Hosting the crowdfunding campaign and asking our community to chip in for this people-powered effort was the very least we could do and we’re so glad it helped.”

basin_handover

Fundraising through Action Station raised close to $2000 for the legal fund. The cheque handover took place at Tuesday lunchtime at the northern entrance to the Basin Reserve, near where NZTA wants to impose the flyover monstrosity. The High Court hearing on NZTA’s appeal finished on 31 July, and the hudge’s verdict is now awaited.

Community groups join together to back Board of Inquiry decision on a Basin Reserve flyover

Posted on by stb_nyltr0

Local groups that believe the decision by the Board of Inquiry into the Basin Bridge project should stand, are energetically raising funds to defend the decision against the New Zealand Transport Agency’s appeal to the High Court.

At the same time, they are taking the lead by organising an event to discuss what could happen next at the Basin Reserve in the context of Wellington’s development as an attractive, liveable and modern city.

The event, entitled “No Bridge at the Basin – What Now?”, is being organised by the Save the Basin Campaign Inc. and the Mt Victoria Residents’ Association, in partnership with the recently-formed group FIT Wellington (Fair, Intelligent Transport Wellington). It features a panel chaired by Mary Varnham and including Julie Anne Genter, Russell Tregonning, Sarah Poff and Michael Kelly.

Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Tim Jones said, “Despite the fact that the Basin Bridge Board of Inquiry made the reasons why a flyover at the Basin Reserve should not be built very clear in its report, the New Zealand Transport Agency and local authorities have failed to take its findings on board. ”

The New Zealand Transport Agency’s appeal against the Board of Inquiry’s decision to decline resource consent for a Basin Reserve flyover is set to be heard in the High Court starting on 20 July 2015, and the Save the Basin Campaign and the Mt Victoria Residents’ Association will be jointly represented at the hearing by Matthew Palmer QC.

“This event gives Wellington residents who support the Board’s decision an opportunity to talk about what they want for the Basin and for Wellington’s transport system”, Tim Jones said, “as well as contributing towards the costs of our legal representation at NZTA’s appeal.”

The Pizza & Panel evening is being held on Thursday 12 March from 6-8pm at New Crossways, 6 Roxburgh St, Mt Victoria. Admission (including the cost of pizza) is $20 full/$10 concession.

Save the Basin Campaign Media Release: Greater Wellington and the NZ Transport Agency need to learn from their mistakes

Posted on by stb_nyltr0

The Save the Basin Campaign has criticised the paper that Greater Wellington will be considering on Tuesday about the implications of the Basin Bridge Board of Inquiry’s draft decision to decline consent for a Basin Reserve flyover.

The paper calls for the establishment of a joint governance group between the NZ Transport Agency, Greater Wellington and the Wellington City Council to accelerate planning on local transit projects ‘to enable them to facilitate and support a solution to the Basin Reserve’.

It’s a concern that, despite the Board’s decision, the parties believe ‘the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan is still fit for purpose and forms and appropriate basis for developing the transport network of this key corridor’.

Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Tim Jones said “The NZ Transport Agency, Greater Wellington and Wellington City Council have already had one go at coming up with a so-called ‘solution to the Basin Reserve’. The end result was their proposal for an outdated, ugly, inappropriate and unnecessary flyover. Rightly, the Board of Inquiry rejected this proposal in its draft decision.”

“Rather than looking at the fundamental flaws in their flyover proposal, it appears that Greater Wellington and the NZ Transport Agency may try to bundle a Basin flyover up with some other transport projects in an attempt to make it more palatable,” Tim Jones said. “But however it is packaged, a flyover is still completely inappropriate for the Basin Reserve and the surrounding environment – as the Board of Inquiry found.”

“It’s time for Greater Wellington and the NZ Transport Agency to recognise that they have been barking up the wrong tree,” Tim Jones said. “It’s time for them to pay attention to what flyover opponents argued and the Board has found: that there are non-flyover transport options worth serious consideration.”

“It’s also time for the Wellington City Council to stand up for Wellington, its heritage, and our iconic Basin Reserve,” Tim Jones concluded. “We need a genuine solution based on Wellington’s needs, not a failed ‘solution’ imposed from above.”

Save the Basin Campaign criticises retrospective approval for War Memorial Park creche move

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The Save the Basin Campaign and the Mt Victoria Historical Society have jointly written to the Basin Bridge Board of Inquiry to criticise the Government’s granting of retrospective consent to the move of the Home of Compassion Creche. The groups contend that the creche has not been legally moved under the War Memorial Park Act, and that the Basin Bridge Board of Inquiry should consider the Basin Bridge proposal as if the Creche remained in its original position. The Board is currently considering whether to grant resource consent approval to the proposed Basin Reserve flyover.

Commenting on the Government’s move to grant retrospective resource consent to the move via Order in Council, Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Tim Jones said “This is yet another abuse of power and due process by the current Government. In Christchurch, the Government tried to use the laws passed to deal with the Canterbury Earthquake to make larger zoning changes, until the High Court stopped them. Here, the Government is using the construction of a War Memorial Park which is meant to be a solemn commemoration of war and the fallen as a cynical ploy to try to improve its chances of gaining approval for a pet roading project.”

Mr Jones continued “During the Board hearing, lawyers for opposing groups demonstrated that the New Zealand Transport Agency had badly messed up the process with respect to its planned movement of the Creche, which it wants out of the way so that the proposed flyover can go through and over the creche’s former site. Instead of rethinking the ugly, expensive and unnecessary flyover project, the Government has chosen to circumvent the democratic process by pushing through a retrospective Order in Council.”

“We believe this is an abuse of due process and the rule of law. This Government acts as if it believes that it is above the law. It needs to be brought back down to Earth,” Mr Jones concluded.

 

Three Months, Two Flyovers, And Some Branded Umbrellas

Posted on by tjonescan

Last week was quite a week for the campaign to stop a motorway flyover being built at the Basin Reserve. Events happened so rapidly that we never got round to covering them here, so here is a quick recap of the week.

Three-month extension to Basin Flyover Board of Inquiry

It had been evident for some time that the Basin “Bridge” Board of Inquiry was not going to meet its original, or even its revised, timetable. To their credit, the Board wrote to the minister and asked for an extension, which the Minister has now granted.

The Board was due to present its final report on 31 May. It now has until 31 August to report, which means that its final report, and any consequent legal action, will be happening around the time of the General Election.

Subsequent to this decision, the Board released a revised draft hearing timetable.

If you are a submitter who is making an oral submission, someone calling witnesses, or an expert witness, make sure you check this timetable and the further changes that have already occurred. Some submitters have already found that they have been scheduled to appear twice. Most individual submitters will now be scheduled to appear on Fridays. Due to the extension, there may also be a change in the hearing venue, which is currently the Amora Hotel.

Coverage of the three-month extension

Three-month extension announced – Minister “disappointed” (Wellington Scoop)

Reaction to decision (including Save the Basin’s reaction) (Dominion Post)

Delay to flyover hearing “good news, inevitable” say Labour MPs (Wellington Scoop)

Correspondence from Board’s lawyers shows that strength of cross-examination from flyover opponents was a major factor in the Board’s request for an extension (Wellington Scoop)

Other highlights of the week

New pictures give clearer view of Basin flyover impact (Dominion Post)

Radio New Zealand investigates all the money the New Zealand Transport Agency has been splurging on promoting the Government’s Roads of National Significance Projects – aka its plan to cover the country in motorways. (Although it’s the smallest item discussed, I particularly liked the fact that NZTA spent some  money on ‘branded umbrellas’. I feel we can all sleep more soundly knowing how well public money is being spent.)

The Wellington Civic Trust raises an issue that’s been bubbling under at the flyover hearings: the likelihood that approval for one Basin Reserve flyover would soon lead to a second flyover, running in the opposite direction, being built. (Dominion Post)

NZTA forced to combat allegations that it added the sub-standard combined pedestrian walkway/cycleway to the flyover proposal as a sop to Wellington City Council. (Dominion Post)

Save the Basin Campaign Press Release: Proposed Flyover Ugly, Unnecessary and Unjustified

Posted on by tjonescan

The Save the Basin Campaign today said that the New Zealand Transport Agency could spin its proposed Basin Reserve flyover however it liked, but the very fact NZTA felt it necessary to come up with various new cosmetic measures to try to hide the flyover showed that the project remained ugly, unnecessary and unjustified.

“NZTA can dress up their proposed flyover however they like, but no amount of spin and no amount of cosmetics can disguise the fact that the agency is trying to impose an ugly, outdated transport solution on Wellington that does nothing to meet Wellington’s transport needs,” said Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Joanna Newman.

“Flyovers might have been cutting-edge in the 1960s,” Ms Newman continued. “But in the second decade of the 21st century, the idea of building a flyover near the centre of a modern nation’s capital city is ludicrous.”

“All over the world, from Seoul to Seattle, from Portland to Leicester, cities are tearing down flyovers and replacing them with good urban design and sustainable transport solutions. Unfortunately, the Government and the NZTA seem to think that Los Angeles and Auckland are the transport models that Wellington should follow.”

“The Basin Reserve has come under many threats over the years,” said Ms Newman. “In the end all retreated in the face of public opposition because Wellingtonians have placed a high value on the unique character of this reserve, held in trust for them by the Council.

“Yet again, the Basin is under threat, and we are sure that, as they have in the past, Wellingtonians and cricket fans from around the world will rally round to protect it.”

“The Save the Basin Campaign is committed to stopping this ugly blight on the urban landscape from ever being built,” Joanna Newman concluded. “We have a range of methods available to us, and we look forward to using them.”

Joanna Newman
Spokesperson
Save the Basin Campaign