The Auckland Transition Agency has released the draft structure of the Auckland Transport Agency (how annoying that their acronyms are the same). The management structure is shown in the diagrams below:
And a bit more detail:
At first glance I have to say “wow, it’s incredibly roads focused”. In the top structure we see roads mentioned four times and passenger transport only mentioned once. This compares to ARTA’s current focus, which is very much on passenger transport. Of course I realise that with the inclusion of transport departments from the various city councils we will have a tilt back towards roads, compared with ARTA’s current role, but this seems a wholesale massive swing back towards roads. Under the Chief Infrastructure Officer we have a unit dedicated to “Major Roading Projects”, but not “Major Public Transport Projects” too – what’s with that? Under the Chief Operating Officer we have three roading units, but just the one public transport unit.
This is what ARC Councillor Joel Cayford has to say about it:
The draft contains “the top three tiers” of the Auckland Transport Agency. Looking at this structure plan, with all of the boxes and all of the activities, I was reminded of a typical Council Traffic Engineering Department. It’s mainly about roads: planning new roads, project specs for new roads, planning options for new roads, assessing new road options, designing new roads. And of course I appreciate and understand that roads are part of the transport system.
However, in established and built up cities, new road projects are thin on the ground. Because there’s no land left for more roads. Instead emphasis is on re-allocating space on existing road reserves, providing much better share and quality for pedestrians and cyclists, and very much improving the look and feel of road edges, so that local economic development and economic activity is stimulated and thrives and flourishes.
Auckland needs to move to that way of thinking if it is to ever climb out of its current sprawling, energy and transport time wasting habits. And it needs institutions that reflect that need. ARTA – what we have now – does reflect that need. Its emphasis is travel demand management. Its driver is a Regional Land Transport Strategy which – while recognising the role that roads play in transport – calls for the delivery of multiple objectives and co-benefits.
There is very little balance in this proposed Auckland Transport Agency structure. It reflects colonial times – roads, roads roads – and roading infrastructure construction priorities.
I agree entirely. I wonder how much influence on this structure there has been from Wellington?
Processing...
This is depressing (unless you are John Roghan). There’s no other word for it. This looks to me like a way of Stephen Joyce and others imposing what they want for Auckland through the new super council. I would have expected this kind of rubbish 10 – 12 years ago but now it just looks even more out of touch. Auckland will fall further behind other cities in the world.
Let’s hope all the good work done on Auckland’s public transport over the last few years by the ARC does not fall by the wayside.
Do pedestrians or cyclists exist? Who is charge of cycle paths? Who is going to do their streetscapes and urban design? What about CPTED? You can’t just go affecting the urban environment without considering the design implications?
Excellent point TopCat, there does seem to be a great ignorance of walking and cycling in this structure.
It does seem like they could at least continue the farce of at least printing “walking and cycling” somewhere in the document.
I have a feeling amending this Agency will be high on the Greens priority list if they are part of the next Labour Government…
Well Labour did establish ARTA so they are not opposed to this kind of Agency one would guess. I think the future council itself is most likely to change the Auckland Transport Agency’s structure.
If Central Government legislates it’s structure I’m not sure they can do that, are you..?
Well if you can’t beat ’em and they keep releasing transit wishlists that don’t mesh with yours, then just get rid of them and it seems that Joyce is doing just that. This along with Rodney Hide’s idea of what a local council should look like i.e. “roads, poos and water” this new super council really is shaping up to be worse than the mess Auckland has now. I’m sure they’re going to insert a clause in there somewhere prohibiting the alteration of this by the local council much as they have banned the protection of trees by any local council in the updated RMA.
Jeremy, I think the legislation will set the board structure, but I can’t imagine it detailing the management structure of the agency.
RTC, I think you will find Rodney does not want water or wastewater to be something council does either.