An appreciation of Auckland
This guest post by our esteemed planner friend Darren Davis appeared on his excellent blog Adventures in Transitland, and is reposted here by kind permission. With City Rail Link opening this Sunday (13th September), it’s timely to appreciate the sheer breadth of Auckland’s public transport transformation since the turn of the century.…
10 Comments Let’s build resilience, reform government and reimagine our cities
The Post has been running a series of think-pieces on how to fix the country, and invited Greater Auckland director Matt Lowrie, among others, for an ideal “first 100 days” plan. We’re happy to share Matt’s take with our readers. Turns out you can say quite a lot in 750 words!…
How we got the CRL: Interview with Simon Bridges
To mark the opening week of the City Rail Link, here is the second interview in our ongoing series on the origins of the project. This one is with former transport minister, and former leader of the National Party, current chair of Waka Kotahi/NZTA, and CE of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Simon Bridges.…
Weekly Roundup 4-September-2026
Kia ora and welcome to our weekly roundup of stories about what makes cities great, including our own. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday, we exposed how electioneering is bulldozing sensible policymaking (again)
On Tuesday, Connor exposed the true cost of the Warworth to Te Hana PPP (an outrageous nine billion)
On Wednesday, Patrick examined the gratifyingly sensible Auckland Motorway Strategic Plan
And on Thursday, we ran a guest post from Auckland Transport about level crossing options on the Western Line.…
Western rail crossings – getting ready for even more CRL benefits
This is a guest post from Auckland Transport’s Head of Level Crossings, Tom Willetts. (The header image is one of ours, showing the level crossing at Rossgrove Ave, as seen from a waiting vehicle.) Greater Auckland will be taking a closer look at the proposals in a post next week – stay tuned!…
The (really good) Auckland Motorway Strategic Plan
Waka Kotahi/NZTA has released an important new document for our region: the Auckland Motorway Strategic Plan (AMSP), which is fully endorsed by the Minister of Transport Chris Bishop and Mayor of Auckland Wayne Brown.
It’s really very good; comprehensive and reality-based.…
Warkworth to Te Hana deal to cost us over $9,000,000,000?
A few weeks ago, I asked what Warkworth to Te Hana (WW2TH) will actually cost us. A fair question, given the government’s rush to sign a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for this new four-lane expressway ahead of the election, without releasing the numbers of what it will really cost.…
Election silly season bulldozes sensible transport policy (again)
Last week it was deeply frustrating to see major parties of both the government and opposition say they won’t increase fuel taxes and road user charges, including Labour saying they won’t increase them at all for the next three years.
As reported by Stuff: Nicola Willis has clarified that halting a planned fuel tax is a National Party position, not yet official Government policy.…
Weekly Roundup 28-August-2026
Kia ora and welcome to our weekly roundup of stories about what makes cities great, including our own. Today’s header image shows a skateboarder enjoying Dunedin’s George St: image via NZIA/ Jasmax, see related story below. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday, we took a look at the Mayor’s Meola musings, and why they’re a distraction
On Wednesday, a guest post by Darren Davis shared thoughts on what he’s learned in Queensland
On Thursday, we ran a throwback post on the long history of options for the next harbour crossing Greater Auckland in the News
Patrick spoke with RNZ’s Checkpoint about the benefits of de-congestion pricing, and followed up with Stuff on the same topic:
Greater Auckland co-founder and director Patrick Reynolds supports the idea, saying fewer cars would mean faster journeys for motorists who chose or needed to drive, while money could be invested in public transport and cycleways.…
Throwback Thursday: A History of Harbour Crossing Options
With new plans (or, at least, plans to get a plan) for the Waitematā Harbour crossing in the news, here’s a timely throwback. This post by Matt Lowrie was originally published on 5 June 2019. The more things change, the more they remain the same!…
Processing...