Tomorrow I start work as a transport planner for the Council, and so ends my stint as a blogger on this site. As I outlined in more detail in this post and this post, this blog has meant a lot to me over the past few years and it has been truly awesome to see it develop from a personal blog that pretty much nobody read into what the site is today – something that is seemingly quite influential and gets around 2,000 views a day during the week.
However, my sadness in ending my involvement with the blog is tempered by my excitement for what I’ll be doing in the new job – and also by my confidence (fully reinforced by this couple of awesome recent posts) that the future of the blog is in good hands. I have updated the “Contact Us” page – with Matt L generally being a first point of call for news related matters and each blogger being contactable for feedback on their posts. I’ve found this to be helpful over the years, and many links sent through via email have inspired countless blog posts.
It’s been fun.
Processing...
You did good!
And nice to know this blog will be in good hands now that you’re moving on. I really enjoy reading it.
AC
Hear hear! Thank you so much Josh, it’s been heartening to see the progress you mentioned, and also to see some of your ideas get traction in the wider media and policy circles.
Here’s hoping you don’t get swallowed by the machine.
Congratulations on your new job! It is sad to see you leaving blogging and I hope that you are able to continue to do so albeit within Council confines.
Good luck with the new job Josh and don’t get too disheartened if you cannot achieve any change you would like to implement within a set timeframe – that’s company politics for you. Looking forward to you running Auckland Transport in a few years 🙂
Congrats on the new job! I’ve only come across your blog recently, but it’s already become a regular read. Thanks for your efforts.
Enjoy the new job Josh!
Thanks for all the time spent working on this blog. Its been a real pleasure to read it, and I’m sure you will make an excellent transport planner
Thanks heaps for the massive effort you’ve put into this blog. I have learnt a tremendous amount, especially about induced demand and the trade-offs involved in transport planning. I hope that the people who’ve learnt so much through this blog can make a difference.
Thanks again, and best of luck with the job 🙂
ax
Thanks Josh for being an inspiration and great help in the past and good luck for the future to you and your family.
Thanks for creating this great blog. It provided a platform for intelligent debate, one that even the politicians couldn’t ignore. All the best in your new job.
Thank you again Josh for all the amazing writing. I’ll miss your analysis and ideas. Any chance you write the odd blog post giving info on what you’re up to and plans (however vague) kind of like what is expected of senior employees at companies like google?
Thank you, and all the best for your new job. From the other end of the country I have read almost daily, and it has increased my knowledge of transport and urban planning issues immeasureably – and not just relating to Auckland
Thanks for all the hard work, Joshua. We will be seeing you around. Possibly even more often, as you change the system from the inside now 😉
Congratulations Josh on brilliant job on making this site one of the most important and influential in Auckland – if not New Zealand. I
am sure you will achieve even greater things within Auckland Council.
Mike I hope you will keep visiting the site as us lesser mortals try to keep up Josh’s high standard….
Thanks for the kind words Mike.
Hi Josh,
Your input here will be sorely missed by myself and our team here that work in the area of masterplanning and urban design. We often discuss your posts (and others posts). Keep up the good work and AC, I am sure we will no doubt cross paths in your new role at some stage. To the others posting now I haver found them to be just as well reasoned and researched so there will be no dropping off in the frequency with which I visit the blog.
Thanks for all your efforts over the last few years.
Josh,
Long time lurker and occasional poster from over the water. I’ve been impressed at the quality and quantity of posts you’ve been able to consistently deliver over the last few years. Good luck with your new job, you’ll be sorely missed by an audience beyond NZ.
HW
I was giving a Labour party candidate friend of mine a right old education on the inter-relationship of housing and public transport before the last election, and I must confess most of my ideas I got from this site. Congratulations on your influence and onwards and upwards!
First-time poster here. As a recent returnee to NZ and new Auckland resident, your blog has been an invaluable source of info about PT, and a thought-provoking resource about how to make cities better. I love the breadth and depth of thought that goes into the site.
Best of luck with making a difference on the inside, and I’m sure the crew will carry on the good work in the site.
G
Go well, sir. Much gratitude for your consistently brilliant work here, which I’m confident you will continue from inside the beast.
Kia ora Josh,
I’m a bit late to add my thanks and congrats on the new job. This blog has been a fantastic and prolific source of information and I commend you on creating a community that will continue even after you’ve moved on. Please stay in touch!
Thanks for dropping by Julie, and definitely keen to stay in touch. I seem to remember that you’re moving back to Auckland?