Category: roading

A Tale Of Two Cities

Posted on by tjonescan

Auckland. New Zealand’s largest city.

After several years of pooh-poohing the idea, the Government reverses its stance on funding (or at least partially funding) the Auckland central city rail loop. (Update: We have been told quite firmly by Auckland transport friends that it is not a loop!)

Even though the Government is delaying the project by five years and is coy on where the money will come from and how much it will pay, it’s still a big step forward for sustainable transport in Auckland and a triumph for Auckland mayor Len Brown, who has stubbornly maintained his support for the project in the face of Governmental and NZTA opposition. Well done, Auckland, and well done, Len Brown!

Wellington. New Zealand’s capital city.

The Government and the New Zealand Transport Agency push ahead with a roading-based transport ‘solution’ for Wellington that includes a proposed Basin Reserve flyover. The NZTA, Greater Wellington and the WCC release a public transport spine study that claims light rail will be too expensive for Wellington. The Mayor gives her support to a “bus rapid transit system”.

No sooner have the study’s conclusions been released than two Victoria University transport researchers expose how NZTA has cooked the books to greatly inflate the apparent cost of rail relative to other options. And transport researcher Kerry Wood also points out the biased costings in NZTA’s study.

A tale of two cities. In Auckland, civic leaders keep advocating for the best solution, and eventually, after much derision from their opponents, they get what they stood up for.

In Wellington, the Government and NZTA are using similar tactics. They have tried to tilt the playing field in favour of the ‘solution’ they want. They’ve been caught out.

Will Wellingtonians and their civic leaders see through the spin and continue to push for the best possible sustainable transport solution for Wellington, or will we cave in?

It’s up to us.

Government’s plan to construct Roads of National Significance is a decade too late, says Canadian transport expert

Posted on by tjonescan

Todd Litman, a transport expert visiting Wellington from the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, told a recent Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Centre seminar that the Government’s Roads of National Significance plans (which include the proposed Basin Reserve flyover) are a decade too late, because car use has peaked.

As reported by Wellington Scoop, Todd Litman said:

It’s time to employ a new urban planning model – one that favours accessibility over mobility – in order to meet increased consumer demand for walking, cycling and public transport.

Todd Litman went on to make some points that all New Zealand transport planners – and political parties – should be listening to. To again quote the Wellington Scoop report:

Decline in the auto industry is due to an ageing population, increases in fuel cost, urbanization, traffic and parking congestion, roading costs, changing consumer preferences, environmental and health concerns. He cited an Economist article from 22 September 2012 that went further, showing how the next generation is less inclined to get behind the wheel, and not even learning how to drive until later in life, if at all.

“Change in consumer demands is a terrific opportunity to save money and satisfy people’s demand for walking, biking, and public transport,” he added. “Unfortunately, the planning community is not taking advantage of this. We need to expand the scope of planning objectives. Formerly, it was focused on the speed of travel. I think there are a number of other objectives.”

The full presentation and audio from Todd Litman’s presentation have now been placed online by Motu. You can access them here:

http://www.motu.org.nz/building-capacity/past_public_policy_seminars#2013

We’d like to congratulate Motu for having the foresight to organise this seminar – and thank Todd Litman for bringing a reality check to a New Zealand transport planning scene that is dominated by outdated assumptions and business-as-usual thinking.

Did You Know NZTA’s Proposed Flyover Only Runs From East To West?

Posted on by tjonescan

When people hear about the 9-metre-high, 380-metre-long flyover the New Zealand Transport Agency is planning to build next to the Basin Reserve, one thing above all else comes as a surprise to them – that the proposed flyover runs only one way.

That’s right – NZTA’s proposed flyover would run from east to west – that is, from the Mt Victoria tunnel towards the National War Memorial and the new tunnel under Memorial Park.

So if people from the western suburbs try to tell you that the proposed flyover will make it easier to get to the airport, you can quickly put them right.

(Of course, even if you were travelling from east to west, the proposed flyover will only lead you to a long wait at a set of traffic lights – so it’s not like eastern suburbs residents gain anything, either.)

What A Courier Thinks About The Basin Reserve

Posted on by tjonescan

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.”