I touched on the transport chapter of the Auckland Plan in Tuesday’s post, noting that it seemed to have taken a “we can’t pick this project or that one, so chuck them both in” approach. The list of transport projects proposed in the Plan is certainly extremely extensive:
The numbering doesn’t really seem to indicate anything like a priority list, perhaps being more of a listing from north to south in a rather rough way. Compared to a similar map in Auckland Unleashed, it would seem that a lot more large roading projects have ended up in the plan than was envisaged back in March. Major motorway projects like widening SH1 between Manukau and Papakura have been added, along with the absurd SH18-SH1 connection ($500 million to make the map look prettier). Puhoi-Wellsford has also obviously been added, along with the Onehunga to East Tamaki roading connection that has been pushed for as the ‘middle rung’ of the Auckland motorway system. I guess for some our motorway network will never be complete.
Of course we do get a sense of priorities when you look at the question of “when” the myriad of projects identified in the map above are likely to occur. As the plan covers 30 years, naturally it makes sense to split it into three time periods – the 2010s, the 2020s and the 2030s:
First Decade – 2011-2020:
• Integrated transport ticketing and fares
• Rail network electrification and increased train frequencies to 10 minutes
• Western Ring Route, Newmarket Viaduct and Victoria Park Tunnel completion
• Removal of pinch-points in the strategic road network to improve throughput (such as at Mt. Wellington on the Southern Motorway and others)
• City Rail Link completion
• City centre transport improvements (as described in the Auckland City Centre Masterplan)
• Substantial progress on the Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative, including Panmure elements
• Construction of a road connection between East Tamaki and State Highway 20
• Arterial road network improvements (with a focus on the movement of public transport and regional freight)
• Walking and cycling infrastructure improvements (includes completing 70% of the regional cycle network)
• Ferry network extension to Hobsonville and Beach Haven
• Route protection:
• Dedicated rail corridor between the Auckland Airport and the city centre
• Additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing (road and public transport)
• Rail to the North Shore
• Avondale-Southdown rail corridor
• Construct the Puhoi-Wellsford Motorway Phase 1; Puhoi to Warkworth
• Substantial progress made on advancing the transport projects identified in the Central City and Waterfront Masterplans
• Devonport wharf upgrade
That’s a pretty big list for the first 10 years. Some interesting observations is the absence of Penlink from the list (or even from the whole map), along with the high priority given to the road connection between East Tamaki and State Highway 20. It’s good to see a lot of focus will be on route protection for large rail projects, and of course it’s encouraging if we can achieve having the City Rail Link project built during this time period.
Second Decade – 2021-2030:
• Commence construction of rapid public transport from the city centre to Auckland Airport
• Commence construction of second harbour crossing
• Construct improved rail and road access to the port
• Extend the Northern Busway to Albany and from Onewa to the city centre
• Electrification of rail to Pukekohe
• Triple-track the North Island Main Trunk rail line (the Port to Westfield to Papakura) for rail freight
• Construct the Warkworth-Wellsford motorway
• Complete the Auckland Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative
• Improve airport road access – SH20A and 20B
• Complete the regional cycle network
• Continue removal of pinch-points in the strategic roading network to improve throughput
• Continue city centre transport improvements (as described in the Auckland City Centre Masterplan)
• Route protection:
• Constellation-Westgate- Henderson rapid transit route
• Extend the busway from Botany to Flat Bush to Manukau
• Extend the Northern busway to Silverdale
• Investigate extending the ferry services along both the north-eastern coastline and the southern coastline, especially for recreational and leisure opportunities
There aren’t too many surprises in the second decade. I am somewhat mystified by the desire to extend the Northern Busway into the city centra from Onewa if we are also planning for rail to be part of the additional harbour crossing. You’re really only likely to need one rapid transit option into the city from the North Shore: a rail line or a busway.
The third decade effectively ‘mops up’ the projects that hadn’t yet been completed by 2030:
• Renew optimisation initiatives to take advantage of technology developments
• Complete rail loop to Auckland Airport
• Continue improvements to the arterial road network (with a focus on the movement of public transport and regional freight)
• Complete construction of an additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing (road and PT)
• Construct the Avondale- Southdown rail connection
• Electrification of rail to Pukekohe.
It would be nice to see the construction of the Airport connection brought forward a bit, especially if improving transport in South Auckland is seen as a key part of the “Southern Initiative” – a core part of the Auckland Plan.
Of course any transport plan is pretty useless without the means in which to fund it – and this has inevitably been the problem for Auckland over the years, with many great plans for improving public transport in particular, but never a particularly supportive central government to back it up with the funding that they raise from petrol taxes. It seems that the Auckland Plan’s approach to this situation is not to necessarily argue with central government that more of the huge amount they plan to waste on motorways over the next 10 years should be redirected, but rather that Auckland should look at new funding sources:
Critical infrastructure projects, such as the City Rail Link and new Waitemata Harbour Crossing, are essential investments to enable Auckland to grow and be economically successful, but they will not be feasible using existing funding sources.
To enable Aucklanders to reap the transformational benefits of these investments, they will also have to bear a significant part of the costs of these planned improvements to the transport system.
Over the 30-year period, new funding mechanisms will be required to help finance approximately $10-15 billion total funding shortfall for transport infrastructure projects (such as the City Rail Link, additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing, rail to airport, AMETI and Avondale – Southdown rail). In addition to current funding mechanisms (rates, fuel taxes, road user charges and development contributions), additional mechanisms will have to be considered. The following funding mechanisms will be further investigated (see Chapter 12):
• tolls (of new and potential infrastructure)
• road pricing (network or congestion charges)
• increases in parking charges and/or parking levies
• increases in passenger fares that reflect service quality and reliability improvements.Transport improvements over the 30-year period must be agreed by Auckland Council and central government, and must benefit users and those who contribute funding. It is likely that a different mix of funding mechanisms will be used for different projects. This work will be done jointly by the various planning and delivery agencies. Again, council and central government will have to agree to any such new funding packages. The transport direction set out in this Plan is informed by funding currently available, and potentially available from new funding mechanisms.
These funding mechanisms could result in additional costs for people who use the transport system, but the improvements they fund will ultimately lead to a better transport system for everyone.
These mechanisms should also help manage the level of congestion on the road network, which will make journey times more reliable. However, there may be unintended impacts on communities that will have to be managed and mitigated.
The most appropriate target date for introducing a new form of transport revenue, for example road network pricing, will be when Auckland’s new electric train services (2014/15) and Waterview are opened. (2016/17). This means Aucklanders and central government must undertake the feasibility work between 2012 and 2015, with a proposal for implementation ready around 2016.
It would seem that Auckland Council has bought the argument put forward by the NZ Council for Infrastructure Development, that there’s no point arguing over whether more of the government’s motorway money should be spent on public transport projects in Auckland, but that we need to look at alternative funding mechanisms for these projects. I don’t necessarily have a problem with exploring these options (although network pricing is fatally flawed as it will encourage more people onto local roads). In particular I think that betterment levies are a great way to capture the benefits of rail projects (in the form of land value uplift) and use that benefit to help repay the cost of the project. I also remain somewhat skeptical over whether the public will ever accept any form of road pricing that comes in the form of trying to collect more revenue, rather than as a congestion busting technique that raises money in an alternative way to petrol tax.
The real crux of the matter will come down to whether these additional revenue sources turn out to be feasible or not, and if there are problems with them – which projects get cut or delayed. Because in the end, I just don’t think we’re likely to be able to afford all the projects listed above over the lifetime of the Auckland Plan.
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The Plan looks good, but as you have pointed out there seems to many projects, for them all to be covered. I think the satellite towns that have the most potential are out near Kumeu, located closer to Auckland (motorway with proposed bus lanes into town and Albany) whilst still being future proofed with the rail line. Highlighting Warkworth as a area for growth is effectively giving the government ‘more’ reasoning to why the holiday highway is so important for Auckland.
The council ideally needs to have land around the location of new infrastructure, then they can reap the benefits of the increased accessibility and increase in land prices. Whether or not the council property CCO has the ability or finances to do such strategic investment, I would presume not… However, I can see it being hard to gather funds out of existing land lords, in saying that, it still can be done particularly in the CRL. The ideal would be to get upfront finance to help the project along, not just at the end.
Notice that the ferry to Takapuna is on the map but not listed on projects for either decade. Anyone know the plan for this?
I assume it’s part of the last bullet point in the second decade.
Interested to see the Avondale-Southdown rail link listed to happen within 10 years. That’s been proposed (and land reserved) for probably 30-40 years, without any progress. I can’t see it being built any time soon. It makes sense in terms of trains that want to bypass Auckland City altogether, presumably goods trains, but how many of those are there these days?
It’s proposed in the 2030s, not within the next 10 years.
I liked the idea of a spur line from Avondale, built after the Waterview connection…..someone proposed it the other day….
Aah, the proposal is just to identify the corridor in the next 10 years. That at least should be doable.
I can’t work out what they have planned for the Northwest. Does this mean the NW motorway won’t have a bus lane as currently planned, and we’ll all be forced into Henderson to trans-ship onto a train for the long drag into town.
I would have thought as the quickest and most direct link from Westgate to Great North Road and/or the CBD the NW motorway would have some kind of indicated status.
The ferry services have a massive draw card not only from a commuter point of view but from a visitor/tourism perspective. The more people that witness the Hauraki Gulf the better. You only have to look at the success of the City Cat in Brisbane to see the tourism potential, and comparing the Brisbane river to the Hauraki Gulf? well there is no comparison.. From what I understand there has been a proposal put forward for a wharf in Takapuna, bit it was described to me as in the “medium term”, so your guess is as good as mine to the time frames associated with that!
You would think in terms of cost a Wharf at Takapuna would be one of the easiest projects here to implement. Not sure whay they would wait until post 2021 to do this.
Completely agree, I think a linear service should be extended along the bays, have the northern Busway servicing the majority of the populous, and then ferries servicing more localised catchments, the travel reductions would be huge. I think the ferries wouldn’t have to be of large size, I think the Brisbane example could be used as an exemplar. Quick, efficient cats. The docking on their wharfs seemed seamless, quick turnarounds, only one other two people on the ferry, and this was battling with the river current so can do doubt be implemented along the bays in the will was there.
Pretty comprehensive Transport Plan indeed. For the most part I agree with the options set out but not all.
I could go into a long winded argument about whether I support or disagree each point but I’d say that would be a Masters Thesis in its own right.
Anycase on the plan itself a phrase comes to mind – Opportunity Cost. Something I was taught in Economics 101 at high school. Looking at the plan the opportunity costs of missing a potential transport project (scarce funding/resources) could be very high. So something the planners and Auckland Citizenry have to work out is if we chose a project over another – what is the opportunity cost and we willing to accept that opportunity cost.
Food for thought.
On a lighter note, got an email (probably automated) from the Council; saying as I contributed to the Auckland Unleashed Document, they are looking forward to me contributing in the formal submission process.
Don’t worry I will be – just need to find the time to finish my submission (cursed RWC :P)
I certainly agree with you regarding opportunity costs. I see the huge cost of the additional harbour crossing project eating up all the money that could be spent on expanding Auckland’s rail network to really leverage off the investment in the CRL.
Mate, you’re dreaming if you think the SH18 to SH1 connection is just to tidy the map up. Before you dismiss the needs of the North Shore maybe you should actually go there? Kilometre long queues on the off ramp, leading to both on ramps and on the roads that cross this section of highway need to e resolved, and not just to ‘tidy up the map’. This is proably the second worst congestion on the shore and piss easy (and cheap) to solve.