The Plan

I haven’t posted for a while and Josh being a way gives me a chance to get back in the groove. One of the reasons I haven’t posted for a while is because I think our brains work about 10 times as fast as money is available and about 50 times faster than most policiticians brain’s move. I know what I think we should do and instead of talking about it want to put it into action, so for the record here is my basic plan for the next 30 – 40 years:

CBD:

– Increase the viability of walking and cycling in the CBD by selling and developing 4 of the 5 five council owned car parking buildings (leaving the one under Aotea Square) and use the funding to complete the other parts of this CBD plan, the sites can be used for mixed use high rises and/or public space
– Two lane Nelson and Hobson St by changing the ramps

– Remove the lower Hobson St ramp and create a public square
– Pedestrianise High St and Queen St from Customs St to Victoria St
– Run a Dominion Rd light rail line up Queen St
– Increase shared streets across all non arterial roads in the CBD

– Strongly advocate for the CMJ to be “capped” or placed in cut and cover tunnels and the CBD and inner suburbs reconnected
– CBD tree planting programme
– Funding for artworks in parks and squares
– City and Sea project to be developed as quickly as possible

Transport:

Light Rail:

– As part of the Dominion Road upgrade in 2016 I propose a light rail route be built, using modern light rail vehicles and operating at 5 minute frequencies from 0600 – 0000 hrs, this is the busiest bus route in Auckland and identified as a QTN in the RLTS

Rail:

– It is important to recognise the council currently has little control over the development of the rail network except for stations, the good work of upgrading stations begun by ARTA should continue until all are upgraded

Advocacy of the central government for the following things should occur:

– The CBD rail tunnel be aggressively advocated for, it is the most important transportation project in the country and will double the rail network’s capacity (the same as building a new 70+ km electrified rail network in Auckland), for a single piece of less than 5km of rail infrastructure.
– Ontrack be removed from Kiwirail and become a part of the NZTA, so it is able to access funding from the National Land Transportation Fund. Currently Ontrack’s funds for capital develop must compete with funding for Health and Education, etc from general Treasury funds, rail having no access to funding from the National Land Transportation Fund, nor are rail capital projects able to compete with roading projects for funding is crazy, as evidenced by the fact that Puhoi to Wellsford has easily secured funding and the tunnel seems to have no readily available funding option.
–  Advocate for a completed rail network by 2040, consisting of the following projects in order; CBD tunnel, Airport Line, Eastern Line/Southdown to Avondale, North Shore

Ferries:

– The estimated value of Fuller’s Ferries is $45 – $50 million dollars, I propose the AT agency purchase Fuller’s. This will incur a $3 million p.a. interest cost but allow the council to make the investment in ferry stock expansion Fuller’s will not, due to 5 year contract cycles, it will also allow for wharf expansion throughout the Waitamata Harbour and to reduce the usurious fares currently charged Waiheke residents to prop up the rest of the network

Walking:

– Investigating a traffic modelling study of whether reducing Auckland’s urban speed limit to 40 km/hr would increase traffic speeds overall and increase smooth flowing traffic and make pedestrians safer
– Continue and expand ACC’s footpath renewal programme
– Build new footpaths and walkways
– Walking safety initiatives

Bus:

– The Bus system is by far the area where Auckland can make the biggest gains in motorised alternatives to the car. If Auckland achieves ARTA’s goal of 100 million trips via PT by 2016, 80 million will be via bus. However the potential for even greater growth in Auckland’s bus system is huge. Winnipeg a Canadian city with no commuter rail and no busways and a similar amount of bus resources per person to Auckland has ridership per annum 3 times higher than Auckland. Toronto with a similar rail and tram system and similar bus resources has 5 times the ridership. The difference is that these cities apply the “network effect”. The new Council should write into the AT agency’s statement of intent that the AT will review all bus routes to use existing resources to apply the “network effect” and use the powers in the PTMA to introduce an Auckland wide system within 18 months. Routes are organised into a “grid”, which then runs at high frequencies from 0600 hrs to 0000 hrs, a zonal fare system and easy transfers to allow users, once they are on the “network”, to move quickly around the city

– An aggressive bus laning programme of roads that form part the “network effect”

Cycling:

– Completion of the bicycle network outlined in the RLTS within 5 years. Cycle way projects have some of the highest BCRs of any transport projects in the country
– Bicycling safety programmes

Roads:

– Completion of the Western Route and Penlink, further upgrades to existing arterial and rural roads as required

Focussing on completing of both the “grid” bus network (with full route bus lanes) and the cycle network within one to two terms is by far the most effective way to make a fundamental change in Auckland’s transport patterns.

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