Looking closer at motorway traffic trends
The other day I put together a post that pointed out how traffic volumes over the Harbour Bridge have actually been falling over the past few years – which really calls into question why we are thinking about spending around $5 billion on another harbour crossing.…
3 Comments ART Light Metro: An affordable solution for new rapid transit in Auckland?
The transport section of the recently released Draft Auckland Plan makes for very encouraging reading, with the main priority being the development of Auckland’s transport infrastructure into a single cohesive network integrated with land use and development. The main ‘principle’ for achieving this (apart from a much needed look at revised and new transport funding mechanisms) is the development of Auckland’s railways into a true rapid transit system.…
When to close the rail network?
An article in Thursday’s Herald highlighted an interesting conundrum facing Auckland Transport – do they want the rail network shut down in the week before Christmas, or do they still want it closed on the day of the Big Day Out music festival?…
Harbour Bridge traffic flows
One of the many reasons why I oppose an additional road crossing of the Waitemata Harbour (along with the insane price tag and the horrific environmental effects) is that I simply don’t think it’s necessary. Let’s take a look at monthly averaged daily traffic flows across the Harbour Bridge over the past few years – thanks to this excellent data from NZTA: The gaps in the data (it would be really nice having the earlier months in 2007 in particular) limit comparison to some extent, particularly as 2008 was an incredibly unusual year for traffic volumes (it’s when petrol prices skyrocketed through $2 a litre for the first time).…
How to connect up North Shore rail?
While it’s most likely that we are at least 10-15 years away from seriously considering starting construction of any railway line to the North Shore, given that at its city end the line will need to link into the rest of the railway network in one way or another (either directly or by way of a transfer), there are a matters which need consideration in the relatively near future.…
Are high-rises appropriate for Wynyard Quarter?
Ever since Wynyard Quarter opened to the public back in August, it has been a resounding success. I’ve been down there twice myself, on opening day and then on the day of the All Blacks versus France game, and the place has been buzzing both times.…
The real benefits of the City Rail Link
My post on Tuesday, which looked at the ongoing debate occurring over the economics of the City Rail Link (and the huge under-counting of benefits under New Zealand’s system, by comparison to the UK’s system), prompted some interesting debate in the comments over what the real benefits of this project are, and who experiences them.…
Making best use of comparator city studies
Jarrett Walker’s Human Transit blog has a post up about the study which compares Auckland to 13 other somewhat similar cities that I posted about yesterday. The post also usefully links to a full copy of the report. Jarrett helped put together the study, which compares many elements of Auckland’s public transport system to systems in Wellington, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Edmonton, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, Honolulu, Portland and Seattle, coming to the general conclusion that on a lot of measures Auckland falls dead last.…
The disputed economics of the City Rail Link
A few months back when Auckland Council and the government released vastly different results from their (supposedly) joint review of the City Rail Link’s business case, we learned that the process of determining whether a project is “worth it” is not the objective exercise that is so often portrayed.…
Auckland’s PT internationally poor
An article in the NZ Herald yesterday picks up on the comparator city study that I blogged about previously here and here.
Auckland Transport is under pressure from its political masters to work harder to improve bus, rail and ferry services after a damning international comparison.…
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