Defending Westfield
It’s not often that I defend mall operators Westfield – in fact usually I’m slamming them for the auto-oriented, pedestrian hostile designs of their shopping malls. But there’s an article in today’s Herald which is just stupidly harsh on Westfield doing something reasonable that I feel compelled to offer them a bit of support.…
20 Comments Trams are actually on their way back
The NZ Herald today has reported on the laying of the first tracks around Wynyard Quarter and while those who keep an eye on transport related sites like this one will have known about it there were some interesting aspects in the article that I think are worth mentioning but first, here is a photo of the current works, more can be found on the CBT forum or on AKT As well as securing a lease of two heritage trams from a museum in Bendigo, Victoria, the Auckland Waterfront Development Agency also hopes to borrow an electric light-railcar for demonstration purposes during the Rugby World Cup.…
Forcing urban sprawl
There are two big planning developments that will happen throughout this year which will inevitably reignite the “sprawl versus intensification” debate that has been going on in Auckland for many decades. The two big planning issues are the development of the Auckland Spatial Plan and the ‘urban’ changes being proposed to the Resource Management Act. …
The importance of perception
A couple of events in recent months that seem otherwise unrelated got me thinking about how Aucklanders perceive public transport – and the importance of that perception. The first is the ongoing construction of a large carpark almost on top of the Britomart railway station and the second was the massive opposition to the removal of on-street parking along Dominion Road: from residents but particularly from businesses.…
More Northwest Motorway Widening
A lot of focus on the ‘Western Ring Route’ in recent times has centred on the Waterview Connection project and to a lesser extent the SH20 Manukau Connection project. Sneaking under the radar have been two further sections of the Western Ring Route that are also supposedly necessary to finally ‘complete’ this motorway project: one from Henderson Creek to Huruhuru Road Bridge and another from the Huruhuru Road Bridge to Westgate.…
We could have integrated ticketing in place tomorrow
A comment by “Bob” on yesterday’s blog post about “what 2011 holds in store for public transport” got me thinking about integrated ticketing. “Bob” noted the following:
I have yet to hear anyone explain why we need a special Integrated Ticket (other than the daftly obvious – seamless transfers; yes, I get that!).…
What does 2011 hold in store for public transport?
Looking forward to this year, there are four main things that I think will be particularly interesting to follow regarding the development of Auckland’s public transport system. They are: The opening of the Manukau Rail Station. I have been somewhat sceptical of the Manukau Rail Link in the past, as I have wondered who will use it without a southern connection.…
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