Roads of National Significance

Help Us Save The New Zealand Transport Agency From Itself

Posted on 23/06/2015 by stb_nyltr0

In less than four weeks’ time, on Monday 20 July, the New Zealand Transport Agency’s appeal against the Board of Inquiry decision to decline resource consent for a Basin Reserve flyover begins.

Donate to help us defeat NZTA in the High Court

What’s astonishing is that the Transport Agency’s obsession with building a flyover at the Basin Reserve, no matter the cost to the taxpayer, no matter how outdated, ugly and discredited urban flyovers are, is being conducted in the face of research the Transport Agency itself has carried out. It’s described in this report:

Death of the car: Why Generation Y is turning to public transport

and you can find the study itself here:

Public transport and the next generation (NZTA Research Report 569, June 2015)

Historic New Zealand light vehicle traffic forecasts vs actual growth (Source: MoT)

The Transport Agency is supposed to be building transport infrastructure to meet future demand – so why does it continues to build motorways, flyovers and the other expensive nostrums of mid-twentieth-century transport planning, instead of spending money on public transport infrastructure for which there is a large and growing unmet demand?

One reason is that a Generation X Government with strong ties to the trucking industry is still committed to its $12 billion Roads of National Significance boondoggle. Another is that the New Zealand Transport Agency was created out of two bodies: Land Transport New Zealand (the policy part) and Transit New Zealand (the road-building part).

Ever since then, Transit has been the large, well-funded tail wagging the small policy dog. Because what Transit knows how to do is build roads, lots of roads, big expensive roads – and by golly, they’re not about to let some pointy-headed policy wonks and their inconvenient research studies stop them.

It seems that, like an addict who knows he or she should stop but wants just one more hit, the Transport Agency is incapable of saving itself from its roadbuilding addiction. So we’re staging an intervention to save NZTA from itself – and save an iconic part of Wellington from NZTA. Donate to help us bring this tragic flyover addiction to an end.

European Cyclists’ Federation Supports Save The Basin

Posted on 08/06/2015 by stb_nyltr0

It isn’t just Wellingtonians, or even New Zealanders, who can see that building a motorway flyover at the Basin Reserve is a very bad idea. We’ve had support from overseas as well – residents of cities in which flyovers are being torn down as the outdated relics they are have been shocked to hear that New Zealand is contemplating building a new one in the centre of the nation’s capital.

The European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) is the latest group to offer their support, and in their recent newsletter they carried an excellent article which concisely states the case against a Basin Reserve flyover and for a modern, sustainable transport system for Wellington. It’s well worth reading in full, but here is a key quote:

Major roads suck up resources that could be spent on infrastructure for cycling, walking and public transport and because of the principle of induced demand most road building results in increased congestion, not decreased. Conversely reducing road capacity by turning roads in to public spaces and green corridors actually reduces congestion, not increasing it. There is a growing body of cities that have implemented freeway demolitions with a huge positive effect on their cities.

Save the Basin is grateful to ECF for its support. Thanks, Kevin, Peter, and friends!

Ministry of Transport Research Shows Up NZTA’s Flawed Traffic Projections

Posted on 04/05/2015 by stb_nyltr0

In trying to justify the Government’s $12 billion “Roads of National Significance” motorway-building programme, which included a Basin Reserve flyover, the New Zealand Transport Agency makes great play of a projected increase in Vehicle Kilometres Travelled (VKT). The growth in VKT, they say, can only be dealt with by building more motorways.

It’s been known for a long time that the second part of this argument is false: there is plentiful evidence from all around the world, and from New Zealand, that building new roading capacity only induces more traffic, thus leading to bigger motorways, thus leading to more traffic…

But, at the Board of Inquiry into the Basin Reserve flyover proposal, NZTA’s claims of growth in VKT was also challenged. Submitters pointed to recent New Zealand research that shows young people, especially in cities, are turning off driving.

Now research by the Ministry of Transport shows that Vehicle Kilometres Travelled in New Zealand has not grown since 2007. You can view this on the Ministry’s own site and also read a detailed analysis by Auckland’s Transport Blog.

Which raises two very basic questions:

1) Why is NZTA continuing to claim that traffic demand will rise?
2) Why is the Government continuing to ignore its own research?

You might think – you might very well think – that this is because the Government has bet $12 billion of public money on continuing to ignore the evidence. But I couldn’t possibly comment.

Transport Realities Are Changing Fast. Is The Government Starting To Take Notice?

Posted on 17/11/2014 by stb_nyltr0

“Peak car” acknowledged by the Ministry of Transport

Following each General Election, Government departments prepare a Briefing for the Incoming Minister (BIM). Patrick Morgan of Cycle Aware Wellington has drawn my attention to the following passage from the Ministry of Transport’s BIM – emphasis is mine:

“The average distance travelled per-person in light passenger vehicles has fallen by around 8 percent, from a peak of about 7,600km in 2004, to around 7,000km in 2013. The total distance travelled over the same period has increased marginally (from 39.3 billion kilometres in 2004 to 40.4 billion kilometres in 2013) as a result of population growth. This trend is not unique to New Zealand – it has been observed in a number of developed countries.

There is some debate as to whether this trend is the result of economic factors or a more structural shift in attitudes towards personal transportation. The fact that this trend emerged before the onset of the global financial crisis gives cause to believe that social, behavioural and lifestyle factors (such as the proliferation of smart phones, social media, online shopping and video conferencing) may also be having an influence. A related trend is a reduction in the number of driver licences being issued. In particular, fewer young people are choosing to drive. This suggests that in some groups, the perceived merit of car ownership and use may be declining.”

(from http://www.transport.govt.nz/about/publications/briefingtoincomingminister/)

Save the Basin has already drawn attention in the media to New Zealand research showing that young people in urban centres are turning away from driving private cars. It’s great to see that the Ministry of Transport has picked up on this. The question now is: are the Government and NZTA willing and able to realise that the assumptions on which their transport thinking is based no longer apply?

Presentation draws together the many health benefits of reorienting transport planning

OraTaiao, the New Zealand Climate & Health Council, is playing an increasing role in drawing attention to the negative health implications of the Government’s obsession with funding motorways while depriving sustainable transport and active modes of financial support. Last week, Russell Tregonning of OraTaiao delivered an excellent presentation entitled Transport, Climate and Health: Wellington at the cross-roads that draws together:

the urgent need to reorient transport planning and spending to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport
the other public health and economic benefits that would flow from doing so – such as reductions in crashes, air pollution, and obesity and related ailments
the changing patterns of transport behaviour that are helping to change transport planners’ and Government’s transport thinking worldwide

We encourage you to download, read and share Russell’s presentation.

General Election 2014: A Clear Choice on Wellington Transport

Posted on 08/09/2014 by stb_nyltr0

Most transport policy discussions this election have focused on Auckland. So it was great to see that the Green Party has today released its Wellington transport policy.

As reported in the Dominion Post, the Greens’ plan is centred on a light rail system for Wellington, including light rail to the airport by 2025, and includes the retention of trolleybuses and the provision of new electric buses. There’s also money for cycleways and footpaths, and the funding comes from money National has earmarked for motorways. The plan is based on Generation Zero’s Fast Forward Wellington plan – another big tick for the effectiveness of Generation Zero’s transport lobbying.

New Zealand First also supports a light rail link to Wellington airport, and the centrepiece of its transport policy is a Railways of National Importance programme.

Labour’s Phil Twyford is reported in today’s Dominion Post as saying that Labour will concentrate on funding public transport, specifically bus rapid transit. Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson, who like the Green’s Julie Anne Genter, has been a strong opponent of plans to build a Basin Reserve flyover, has said that “Labour is committed to building a 21st Century integrated public transport network for Wellington” and that “Labour will support evidence based solutions that reduce traffic congestion and integrate public transport improvements.”

The Mana Movement makes a strong commitment to public transport in the nation’s cities: “Develop free and frequent integrated public transport systems in all major population centres, including buses, rail, ferries, walkways, and cycle lanes, to increase the use of public transport, eliminate gridlock problems.”

I couldn’t find the Internet Party’s transport policy as a separate document, but in their environment policy they have expressed support for smart and sustainable transport solutions.

United Future’s transport policy calls for the completion of the Roads of National Significance, but Peter Dunne has frequently expressed his opposition to a Basin Reserve flyover.

So those are the transport polices from the parties that oppose a Basin Reserve flyover. In contrast, apart from some welcome money for cycleways, National is still fixated on its Roads of National Significance – even ACT, with its call for benefit-cost ratios to be strictly applied, is arguably better. (I was unable to find transport policies for the Maori and Conservative parties.)

This may have been a murky election campaign, but on transport, there are clear choices between parties that support sustainable transport options, and those – primarily National – that want a future of more motorways and continued adherence to failed and outdated transport solutions.

Save the Basin Campaign congratulates Basin Reserve flyover Board of Inquiry on making the right decision

Posted on 22/07/2014 by stb_nyltr0

The Save the Basin Campaign today congratulated the Basin Bridge Board of Inquiry for declining approvals for the proposed Basin Reserve flyover.

Save the Basin Campaign spokesperson Joanna Newman said that the Board of Inquiry had made the only logical decision based on the evidence that emerged during the four-month enquiry hearings. “During the hearing,” said Ms Newman, “it became evident that the proposal would have a profound impact on the historic heritage of the Basin Reserve cricket ground and surrounding area, for very little transport gain, and NZ Transport Agency had conducted a biased and incomplete evaluation of alternatives to their flyover plan and ignored all of the improvements already underway in the adjoining War Memorial Park tunnel development.”

The Board seems to have listened to the many residents, cyclists, walkers and motorists who explained the unique character of the area and its value to Wellington and the nation, which would have been destroyed by the project. “We’re delighted that the Board has said no to what would have been an unnecessary, expensive, ugly and hugely damaging project,” said Ms Newman. “The Board heard from a number of experts that there are major changes underway in how people use transport systems. This decision represents a great opportunity for Wellington to move away from the outdated motorway-and-flyover model of transport planning and towards the sustainable methods of providing access and mobility that are appropriate to a modern capital city in the 21st century.”

“We hope that the NZTA and the Government have seen sense and will not attempt to overturn this decision,” Ms Newman concluded. “However, if they do try to overturn it, the community will certainly be ready for them.”

Transport Experts, Labour Party Agree: Basin Reserve Flyover A Crock

Posted on 10/02/2014 by tjonescan

Campaigners criticising a proposed project is one thing. Politicians criticising a proposed project is another thing. But when independent transport experts find gaping flaws in the claimed benefits underlying a proposal, then that proposed project has a problem.

And that’s exactly the situation with the proposed Basin Reserve flyover. A series of traffic and transportation peer review reports from consultants appointed by the Board of Inquiry has shown damning holes, inconsistencies and grossly inflated claims in NZTA’s proposals – faults that NZTA and its experts have chosen to gloss over.

You can find those reports here: http://www.epa.govt.nz/Resource-management/Basin_Bridge/ReportsAdvice/Pages/default.aspx under the heading “Traffic and Transportation peer review report” towards the bottom of the page.

Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson has highlighted one of thesee key issues in a recent press release, reported on Wellington Scoop:

Basin flyover “a colossal waste of money,” says Grant Robertson

To quote from the statement:

The travel time saved by the proposed Basin Reserve flyover amounts to only 90 seconds, not the claimed seven-and-a-half minutes, a new statement by experts and witnesses shows, Labour’s MP for Wellington Central Grant Robertson says.

“This flyover is costing $90 million but in the end will only save commuters 90 seconds. That is a colossal waste of money when they are other alternatives available to improve traffic flow.

“The claim has been made that the flyover will give seven-and-a-half minutes of travel time savings, but in material released late last week. The experts now agree six of those minutes actually come from a third lane in the Memorial Park tunnel and changes to the Taranaki Street intersection. These are completely separate developments from the flyover.

“It is significant that witnesses and experts agree on this. It puts into question the cost benefit claims about the project and should weigh heavily on the Board of Inquiry.

And of course, Grant Robertson is far from the only politician to criticise the proposed flyover. In addition to Labour, the Greens, United Future, New Zealand First and Mana have all expressed opposition to the proposed flyover. All these parties recognise a crock when they see one. It’s a pity NZTA and the Government are too blinded by their own arrogance to see the fatal flaws in its proposal.

PS: Here’s the same story covered by the Dominion Post: http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/9706340/Flyover-to-shave-90-seconds-off-trip

What’s The Basin Reserve Flyover Issue All About?

Posted on 07/01/2014 by tjonescan

In case you’re new to the issue, here’s a quick introduction to what’s being proposed for the Basin Reserve, why the Save the Basin Campaign is opposed to it, and what you can do to help.

What’s the Basin Reserve?

The Basin Reserve is a recreation ground near the centre of Wellington. It is best known for being Wellington’s Test cricket ground, and has often been praised for its setting and its beauty.

What’s proposed for the Basin Reserve?

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), as part of the current New Zealand Government’s focus on building more motorways rather than funding public transport, walking and cycling, is planning to build a 10-metre-high one-way motorway flyover on the north-western boundary of the Basin Reserve at an estimated cost of at least $100 million. If built, it will be clearly visible from many parts of the ground.

Hang on a minute, did you say “one-way”?

It’s bizarre, but true. All this effort, expense and disruption is for the sake of a one-way road, running east to west. In fact, one of the many concerns about this proposed flyover is that it, if built, it may need to be followed by a second unsightly flyover running in the opposite direction.

What effect would a flyover have on cricket at the Basin?

Nobody is quite sure, but a number of senior international cricketers and cricket officials have expressed serious concerns at the potential effects on players, and also on the Basin’s future as an international cricket ground. We’re told that ‘mitigation measures’, mainly in the form of a new structure designed to block the view of the flyover from the pitch, have been agreed, though details have yet to be released of this agreement, but these measures don’t appear to shield the flyover from many fielders or spectators.

Why does NZTA want to build a flyover?

The NZTA is trying to convert the present route through Wellington to Wellington Airport into a motorway designed to carry increasing numbers of cars, even though traffic volumes are dropping. It wants to build a flyover as part of this route, and has been determined to do so for many years, despite a great deal of evidence (that will be presented at the forthcoming Basin flyover hearings) showing that a flyover is not necessary. NZTA has deliberately skewed figures to make other transport solutions appear not to be viable.

Was there any consultation before NZTA went ahead with its plans?

If you can call it consultation: NZTA gave Wellingtonians the option of agreeing to a flyover, or a slightly different flyover. NZTA ignored the many submissions calling for there not to be a flyover and then announced one of the flyovers as the preferred option. This is, sadly, typical of NZTA’s approach to engaging with the public.

What happens next?

The Government has set up a Board of Inquiry to hear the resource consent application to build what NZTA persists in calling a Basin “Bridge” – presumably because it realises the public doesn’t like flyovers. The Board of Inquiry hearing is scheduled to begin on Monday 3 February and is expected to report by the end of May. Save the Basin Campaign and an number of other organisations are presenting detailed cases covering why a flyover is unnecessary and shouldn’t be approved.

We hope that this Board of Inquiry will fully and carefully consider the question of whether the flyover should go ahead. However, the Government set up the Board of Inquiry process to fast-track projects it wants to see go ahead, and so far, that’s what Boards of Inquiry have done.

If the Board rules that the project should not go ahead, it will have made the right decision. And if it rules otherwise, we still have other legal avenues open to us.

You keep saying the Government is behind this project. Do all political parties support it?

Absolutely not! In fact, five parties have stated their opposition to a Basin Reserve flyover: Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First, the Mana Movement and United Future. It’s entirely possible that the Government that emerges following the 2014 General Election may be opposed to a Basin Reserve flyover going ahead.

How can I help?

We’ve listed a number of ways, but the two most important things you can do are:

Donate to help us with legal and publicity costs
Sign up to our email list to find out about coming events – email stoptheflyover@gmail.com and we’ll add you to our mailing list.

Gareth Morgan Calls For An Urgent Review Of Wellington Region Roading Policy

Posted on 20/10/2013 by tjonescan

If you read one article online today, make it this one:

Gareth Morgan and Geoff Simmons: An urgent review of roading policy is needed to prevent Wellington going up a blind alley: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/9306413/Headed-in-the-wrong-direction

It takes a scathing look at the inadequate or nonexistent analysis underlying the Government’s Roads of National Significance plans for the Wellington region. It does list the proposed Basin flyover as one that has a mooted Benefit-Cost Ratio of greater than 1, but a little more digging would have revealed that the Basin BCR is only greater than 1 because NZTA rejigged their calculations to make it so.

When even such mainstream figures as Gareth Morgan are calling for a rethink, the Government and the relevant local authorities ought to see that they have a real problem with roading policy.

An Inspiring Saturday With Save Kapiti

Posted on 10/06/2013 by tjonescan

A number of us from the Save the Basin Campaign spent last Saturday at Whakarongotai Marae in Waikanae, at a hui organised by Save Kapiti spokesperson Bianca Begovich, and wonderfully hosted by the tangata whenua.

Save Kapiti are campaigning against the proposed Kapiti Expressway, which, like the proposed Basin Reserve flyover, is one of the current National Government’s “Roads of National Significance” proposals. The Kapiti Expressway would be a massive and (yet again) unnecessary motorway, designed to meet the interests of the trucking industry, that would destroy many homes and split Kapiti Coast communities apart.

The Government sent the Kapiti Expressway proposal to an EPA Board of Inquiry hearing which, true to the EPA’s role as a rubber-stamping mechanism, ignored the evidence presented to it by anyone other than NZTA, and decided in favour of the Expressway. Save Kapiti have appealed this decision, and their appeal will be heard in the High Court on 10 July – but, whatever the result of the appeal, they are also exploring other means of opposition that will become public in due course.

Save Kapiti, and other groups such as Alliance for Sustainable Kapiti (ASK) have spent three years and a great deal of money fighting this appalling proposal. It’s been hard, demanding work. But guess what? They are still going strong.

100 people attended the hui – even setting aside the contingents from Save the Basin and Generation Zero who attended, that is 90 Kapiti Coast residents who said, loud and clear, that they are not going to give in to NZTA and Government bullying, that they are going to keep fighting, and that the Kapiti Expressway is going to be stopped.

I was inspired by their commitment, determination, and unity. I was impressed by the strong support for Save Kapiti expressed at the hui by Greens transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter and Labour transport spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway (Labour and the Greens being two of the five parties who also oppose a Basin flyover). And it was great to get a sense of where Save Kapiti is going next. Much as NZTA and the Government would wish otherwise, one place they aren’t going is away.

But the hui was also a valuable source of tactical insight for the Save the Basin Campaign. One of the most interesting contributions came from a former NZTA manager who had resigned in protest over NZTA’s Expressway plans. I asked her what NZTA hated most, and the answer was: bad publicity. Every critical media release, every Letter to the Editor slamming their plans and calling attention to their bad faith, is something NZTA’s managers have to explain away to their bosses and to the Minister.

So the takeaway message here is: keep the bad news coming for NZTA. Keep writing letters to the paper. Keep commenting on flyover-related articles on Wellington Scoop and elsewhere. Tell your MP and your councillors that you don’t want and will oppose a Basin flyover. And watch out for some major opportunities to help Save the Basin with publicity over the next few months.

Also, remember that one of the best ways you can help right now is by donating to Save the Basin. Find out how here: http://savethebasin.org.nz/donate/