Transport in 2011: some steps forward, some steps backwards
Trying to get my head around whether 2011 was a good year or not such a good year for advocates of a more balanced transport system like myself, is a bit of a challenge. There were a number of good things which happened, but at the same time there were also a number of steps backward.…
21 Comments Boulevards – the best of both worlds?
Urban transport is a tension between the “through” and the “in”, as I have described many times before on this blog. We need to shift people around a city, but often that process of shifting them destroys the quality of the city itself.…
Improving bus efficiency
I have noted in previous posts how many of our long-haul bus routes duplicate the rail network, leading to needlessly wasted money on subsidising buses and trains that compete with each other for passengers. Running all those Howick and Eastern buses right past Panmure station, Ellerslie Station, Greenlane Station, Remuera Station, Newmarket Station, Grafton Station to terminate right next to Britomart station seems a rather pointless exercise in my opinion.…
Peak Traffic ctd.
Admin’s post the other day about Peak Traffic got me thinking about what some of our state highways would look like if we graphed their traffic volumes. Luckily the NZTA have published state highway volumes from between 1975 and 2010 which makes this fairly easy to do (although there are some gaps in the data which is a little annoying).…
Holiday works on the rail system
While the rail system is shut to trains over the next few weeks, quite a lot of important works will be taking place. I’ll try to get out and about over my break to take some photos of what’s going on, but here’s a summary from Auckland Transport:
While most Aucklanders are enjoying their Christmas holidays, train stations and other parts of the rail network will be getting an upgrade.…
Peak traffic?
Another article has highlighted that Auckland’s traffic volumes aren’t growing anymore – rather stagnating and even falling slightly:
More Aucklanders are leaving their cars at home for the commute to work as high petrol prices bite.
New figures show almost 900 fewer cars a week travelled over the Auckland Harbour Bridge this year compared with last year.…
Don’t drive north tomorrow
Tomorrow, December 27th, is the one day of the year we actually could do with the Puhoi-Wellsford holiday highway. Here’s what happened last year:
Bumper-to-bumper traffic stretched almost the length of the 7.5km toll road between Orewa and Puhoi for three hours from late yesterday morning.…
Playing in the Streets
This looks awesome:
Playing in the Streets clears Queen Street of traffic for a day and opens the road up for kids, young people and families. Aucklanders will be free to populate the roadway, creating a space of joy and amazement in the heart of the city.…
020 tweaks implemented in February
Tweaks to the 020 route, including the introduction of an 020X service, will occur in February. These tweaks were proposed a few months back, in response to some complaints about the severance of links between Freemans Bay and K Road.
The current and proposed routes are shown below: The route is a bit more higgledy-piggledy – which is never ideal.…
Analysing critiques of the City Rail Link
I am glad that the “City Rail Link” name for the Britomart to Mt Eden Tunnel has replaced previous names for the project – like the CBD Rail Tunnel, the CBD Rail Link and (my least favourite) the CBD Loop. Calling this project a “City Rail Link” emphasises the fact that its benefits are not just felt in the city centre, but across the whole of Auckland.…
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