I recently got back an OIA request from the Ministry of Transport and one of the documents in it was a report on Auckland’s arterial roads. The report is dated December 2012 and the intent was to consider whether significant investment in arterial roads should be the next transport priority after the completion of the Western Ring Route and rail electrification. It’s pretty clear to me that this has come about as an exercise to find ways to avoid agreeing to the City Rail Link however I do think it was probably a worthwhile to do this piece of work anyway. Here is the intro where they also seem suggest that the motorway network is almost complete, not that it really matters to them as the goal posts just get shifted when needed.
The report then goes on to talk about how important Auckland’s arterial roads are for both freight and public transport. General traffic and freight volumes on many on the cities arterial roads are in some cases higher than some of the state highways in Wellington or Christchurch. If these roads were state highways, their volumes mean that many would fall into what the NZTA would class as the most important roads in the country. On the PT side they note that while about half of all bus passenger km’s occur on the arterial network despite it only making up about 4% of the roading network. They also once again make reference to the CRL:
Auckland’s regional arterial network, along with the Northern Busway, will need to provide the bulk of the capacity for future public transport growth, even if the City Rail Link is built
It would be helpful if they quantified the statement a bit as the City Centre Future Access Study showed that even with the integrated CRL and surface bus improvements, that by 2041 access to the city centre would increase by a greater amount on the rail network than the bus network (just). We also know that this is despite their being problems with the modelling including the MoT themselves suggesting it is underestimating rail trips.
Now sure they could be talking about the growth across the entire region however the previous paragraphs suggest they are just thinking about the city centre. It also goes to show just how insular and focused on stopping the CRL the MoT had been.
Moving on the report actually manages to acknowledge that roads just aren’t about moving as many people as possible but that in many situations – like in town centres – they also serve a critical place function and that a balance needs to be struck between the two.
The most interesting part of the report is the section on Congestion. They note that between 2001 and 2010 the city’s population grew by 250,000 people and that they would expect that to have caused increased congestion but ….. they haven’t seen that in the numbers, especially on the arterial networks in on the isthmus.
Right so congestion has actually improved. You can bet that wasn’t modelled into the assumptions of the various roading projects currently under way that are justified on the basis easing congestion. Despite this, the report suggests that there is likely to be a need for more investment going forward to cater for future population growth. It says that due to the significant impact these roads have not just on Auckland but the national economy that there is likely to be justification for the government providing a higher level of funding for these projects compared to the traditional method of using funding assistance rates. It even suggests that one possible way to get additional funding for big arterial road projects (like AMETI or the East-West Link) is to change the designation on them to become a State Highway therefore allowing the NZTA to pay for them fully – although this seems to be a last resort option.
Lastly it is the conclusion that provides perhaps the key point that should be taken away from this report. It suggests that giving greater priority to public transport and freight along arterials are where the most potential gains are. I have suggested in the past that we should perhaps be considering freight lanes and of course we fully support more bus priority.
Overall I think this report is quite useful to the debate despite seemingly being done as a way to see if they could use this as justification for attacking the CRL. The report shows that our arterial roads are very important for a number of reasons/modes and that over the last few years that congestion has generally improved. Most importantly for this blog is the suggestion that improved bus priority should be a priority.
Speaking of bus priority, it appears Auckland Transport will go through a whole electoral term without installing a single metre of new bus lane. Perhaps the PT guys at Auckland Transport need to be taking this report to their roading colleagues to start demanding some bus lanes.
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No speculation from our friends at the MoT as how population can grow but congestion fall….? The economy has generally grown over the period too, so perhaps it’s the steady increase in Transit use? More cycling and walking too? We all staying home?
And how do they get away with stating their assumptions [no one will catch a train] as a fact with no supporting evidence? An interesting but incomplete piece of work. The general thrust is; we need to find a way to spend on more roads in Auckland as our ones are nearly done and the next big ideas are clearly unjustifiable [Yes road Harbour Crossing that’s you].
The MoT still clearly thinks of transport as a series of independent modes and not as an interdependent whole. A worrying lack of sophistication or just an over-eagerness to please their current masters?
This report has many holes in it. With the new bus network there will be less buses on a number of arterial roads, especially Great South Road.
Of course there is a big clash between upgrading roads for freight and PT. With rail generally being favoured for longer distance travel (outside North Shore) buses need to pick up local traffic.
That means street environment needs to be reasonable. Especially as people are picked up and dropped off on different sides of the road, they need quality pedestrian environment.
For example roads of high arterial standard like Balmoral Road and Pakuranga Highway are very miserable for pedestrians, so buses need to wander down back streets to pick people up.
Also some roads that are treated as arterial roads, really should not be. For example Manukau Road should be downgraded after Waterview is built, and port trucks from Onehunga should not be using it.
“This report has many holes in it. With the new bus network there will be less buses on a number of arterial roads, especially Great South Road.”
While I blame the MoT for many things, not being able to time-travelfrom mid 2012 and anticipate where the new PT network in 2016 would run or not is not one of the things.
Well the report is dated December 2012. We first learned officially about the new bus network in early October although I guess you could say that as the RPTP was still in consultation it couldn’t be assumed to be happening. In saying that I do agree with the overall findings of the report.
Time travel may indeed be problematic, however, it should not be beyond the capabilities of the MoT to observe the trends of recent years in different traffic modes. Nor should it be difficult to take note of what is happening right now, in real time, in the real world.
They don’t need crystal balls or tea leaves. They just need to drag their collective mindset out of the 1950’s and realise that tarmac from here to the horizon has had it’s day and it’s time to move on.
Good call.
Well if they had talked to AT would have picked up the general trend, especially where there is big change planned on Great South Road.
Agree with some of the sentiment about prioritising freight and public transport on arterial roads.
However totally depends what they mean my further prioritising ‘movement’ over ‘place’. If this means removing on street parking for bus lanes then that is great.
If it means widening and speeding up traffic through town centres then that is terrible, we have already done way too much of that for 50 years.
Really need a more fine grained analysis of arterial roads too. Putting Balmoral Road and Great South Road in the same class as Dominion Road and Tamaki Drive could end up with perverse outcomes.
Port trucks shouldn’t be using a bunch of roads, why are they constantly driving up Symonds Street, along Quay Street and Hobson Street and Beach Rd. What was the purpose of all that money being spent on Grafton Gully if trucks just continue to destroy the innercity?
Symonds Street is the route for oversize loads. Because of the overpasses, etc. there’s no guarantee that oversize trucks can actually fit down the motorway.
Yeh well oversized loads are fine. However every few minutes down Symonds St there is a container or vehicles carrying truck that is clearly not overheight.
Its ridiculous with a 8 lane motorway a few 100m parallel.
Seems with Symonds St designed for quick flow for buses, this has attracted other traffic like trucks too.
Who knows? Maybe they’re going to destinations in the inner city or inner suburbs, since you can’t get off the motorway until Gillies Ave or St Lukes.
Lots go up Symonds st off ramp from the motorway, rather than Grafton Gully. Gillies Ave trucks just shortcutting from Onehunga. Should stick to motorways. Definitely port traffic as no container destinations in inner suburbs.
Bucket loads along Gillies Ave as well. Will they take advantage of the lowered traffic volumes on these roads once Waterview is open? Who knows?
The only way this city can be liveable and keep up with forecasted growth is to remove car dependency and complete the other networks. I don’t see why we can’t give buses and trucks priority in the network we can’t remark most of the existing roads as is. Agreed multi-modal arterials to growth areas needed and a considerable increase in specific off-road and on-road cycling and walking projects. When planned in entirety the bulk freight routes should almost be independent to the other modes. The skeleton ie the Congestion Free Network needs these arterials to be efficient and good use of the road corridor. Overall right now would say current network not running at 6/10 based on efficiency/ economic criteria
Actually think a simplified networks needed for the other modes as well ie car (already complete-probably limit to some areas) , freight,,on-road cycling and cycling,off-road cycling and walking,. All on just showing all the arterials or strategic collector rds.