Aotea Station & the Elliott Street tower
On Wednesday it was announced that consent had been granted to build a $350 million, 209 metre skyscraper on the empty site at the corner of Victoria, Albert and Elliott streets. This site is location right up against Aotea Station on the City Rail Link, which will be dug out underneath Albert Street in the block between Wellesley and Victoria Streets.…
45 Comments Including travel costs changes housing affordability
When it comes to the debate around sprawl, intensification and housing affordability one of the most persistent arguments for opening up more greenfield land is that land costs at the edge of town are much cheaper and therefore opening it up for development can help in making houses more affordable. …
Steven Joyce on the CRL in Parliament
Julie Anne Genter questioned Steven Joyce in Parliament today about the City Rail Link. Perhaps the most laughable comment is when Joyce claims they are speeding up the project, not slowing it down. If they were speeding it up then at the very least they would be looking to have it started at the same time the council is wanting for it to happen.…
Why being a liveable city is important economically
Len Brown made a big deal in his first term about making Auckland the world’s most liveable city and projects like the CRL are key to that vision. But when it comes to business and Auckland’s economy is that vision worth it or should we instead be focused on keeping rates as low as absolutely possible – as the likes of Cameron Brewer would have us do.…
Big test for Auckland Transport this weekend
This coming weekend is perhaps the biggest test of Auckland Transport’s ability to manage transport to and from events since the Rugby World Cup – and remember they didn’t do too well on opening night of that tournament. There are three pretty massive events on over the weekend: the Latern Festival in Albert Park, the NRL Nines at Eden Park and an Eminem Concert at Western Springs.…
Photo of the day – Royal Hotel
We learnt today that one of the city’s long standing holes will finally be filled in. Many people (including myself) have never known it any other way but it hasn’t always been a carpark. The building that used to be on the site – the Royal International Hotel – was demolished in the 1987 just one month before the stock market crash.…
Massive CBD tower announced
One of the reasons Lens suggestion of a $250 million kick start to the CRL is so interesting is that there are a heap of large private sector projects underway along the cut and cover portion of the route and it there is likely to be a lot of value working in with them as they are being built rather than waiting till they finish construction only to dig up the road in front of them for a few more years.…
Decision made on Sarawia St
The Sarawia St level crossing has long been an issue for numerous reasons, these include: It’s the only road connection for Laxon Terrace and Youngs Lane
It’s the busiest and most complex crossing in NZ in terms of rail movements thanks to the nearby Newmarket Junction and station
The gradient of the line through the area causes additional problems and added complexity
AT have said it will prevent higher rail frequencies due to the operational limitations.…
Electric vehicles (part 3)
So, electric vehicles (EVs) were looking pretty good in part 2. They’re much more energy efficient than regular cars, at least on a “tank-to-wheels” basis. Today, I’ll talk about their greenhouse gas emissions, starting with a quote from my thesis:
Advanced vehicles could make a sizeable contribution to emissions reduction in New Zealand.…
The impact of rail disruption in Wellington
Mother Nature gave the Wellington rail system a quite of a battering last year through multiple earthquakes and major storms. The major storm that hit on the night of 20 June was the one that did the most damage when it washed out the sea wall protecting the rail line that serves the Hutt Valley and the Wairarapa between Ngauranga and Petone leaving tracks dangling in the air.…
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