Yesterday large parts of Auckland’s Motorway network was brought to its knees by a single crash.
A serious crash brought Auckland’s motorway network to its knees with motorists stuck in grid-locked traffic for up to four hours.
Three motorbikes and a truck collided on Auckland’s Harbour Bridge about 12pm yesterday, leaving two motorcyclists with critical injuries and a third with serious injuries.
Three northbound lanes were closed while emergency services attended the scene of the crash.
Auckland motorists were stuck in grid-locked traffic, making a normally 40-minute journey from the airport to the North Shore take up to three hours.
The tail of the traffic jam on State Highway 1 stretched from the base of the Harbour Bridge to Highbrook Drive, Otahuhu, before all lanes were re-opened at 3pm.
Traffic on the Northwestern Motorway was very heavy, with motorists diverting trips they’d usually take on the Northern Motorway in an attempt to avoid the snarl up.
Roads throughout Central Auckland were also backed up as motorists tried to get on the motorway and became stuck.
Unfortunately I didn’t get a screenshot but at one stage the motorway traffic map looked like this with a considerable amount of red as well. In addition local roads all around the motorways would have been severely affected too.
While the crash is unfortunate – and I hope those involved are ok – as I say in the article, there is very little that could be done to prevent the ensuing chaos it caused. We’ve seen in recent years the motorway network brought to a standstill numerous times by accidents and this is especially the case when they occur on some of the busiest sections of the network.
I happened to be travelling towards the city about 1½ hours after the Harbour Bridge was reopened and SH16 was still at a standstill all the way from Te Atatu to the city which also showed just how long the delays took to clear.
Yesterday’s incident also shows highlights that even an additional harbour crossing wouldn’t have helped. As people tried to avoid the hold up they flooded to use the North-Western Motorway and that too soon jammed up. With an additional crossing the same thing would have happened as masses of people diverted their trips to avoid the bridge. It’s also worth pointing out that the opening of the Waterview Connection isn’t going to make this any better either as the project is expected to see traffic volumes on the motorway increase. This is due to new trips being generated thanks to the connection as well as a lot of trips shift from local roads on to the motorway network. The result would be even more people stuck in congestion – many deep underground.
So what can we do?
What we need is a comprehensive multi modal network that is able to deliver real choice to Aucklanders in how they get around. That means a network like the Congestion Free Network as well dedicated walking and cycling options like Skypath combined with safe routes on road across the region. Those alternative networks won’t mean that everyone is going to suddenly use them or that people driving won’t suffer from congestion at times but it does mean that people can have a realistic option to make trips around the region knowing they won’t have the risk of suffering from congestion. As yesterday’s experience also shows, the key is also they are isolated from the rest of the road network. Because there is no dedicated route for buses over the harbour bridge all North Shore services were equally caught up in the chaos disrupting them too.
Note: we’ll be creating a new version to incorporate the change to the CRL with Mt Eden soon.
A true multi-modal transport system is also a resilient one so let’s get on and build those missing modes.
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This is probably a stupid question, but is there any tangible benefit to building the Northern Line first before the rest of the CRL?
Not really, for the most part the harbour bridge flows ok and so the crucial thing for the North Shore for the time being is to extend the busway on the city side along Fanshawe/Customs St and on the Northern side to Albany. CRL frees up the rail network which among other things would help if there was a serious incident west or south of the bridge.
I wonder how many people missed their flights? Perhaps the gridlock points to the urgency of an alternative means of reaching the Airport?
So what can we do? I’ll save neanderthals at National the effort of commenting, Build more motorways and to hell with alternatives!!!!!!!!!
Yesterday was Auckland drivers at their worst. Those heading south over the bridge had to look and look again at something they could not see in the crash zone, so south bound traffic crawled until drivers realised they couldn’t see the carnage and they then sped up. How’s 25 km/hr sound past the scene on Lane 1, that being the lane furthest from the crash site 4 lanes over. Others carried on down feeder roads and either into the car park that was the motorway or as I saw in Curren Street, like helpless lemmings around into the gridlock that was Westhaven rather than turning off at the bottom. It was a fiasco. Although the signs on the motorway said “Serious incident lane 4” it would really help if they could give an estimated time until reopening. A near triple fatality involving 4 vehicles and 3 lanes was always going to be a long closure and there was almost no info on the radio that I heard telling motorists what was accessible and what wasn’t.
Really shows the value of the Waterview Motorway link-up.
Providing an alternate motorway system to the north is a long overdue project.
errr, would be absolutely no use in this case, in fact will simply shovel ever more vehicles into the gridlock, especially the CMJ [which is why it is seriously doubtful east facing connection is a good part of the project]. Agree however that it will be huge help for a similar event further south, say on the Newmarket Viaduct.
I’m not sure I follow that Patrick. With the Waterview Connection people will be able to avoid the CMJ altogether.
Chris Waterview isn’t of any use as once all the cars divert to SH16 to avoid the bridge that clogs up too.
Fair enough, thanks for the reply.
Chris for yesterday’s crash anyone on the southern could, in theory, get on to the NW at the CMJ, avoiding the bridge, Waterview doesn’t change that. But I agree for any crash from the CMJ south [to Manukau], yes Waterview does offer the possibility of going round that infarction on the motorway network, so long as it doesn’t also clog up like the NW did yesterday.
Too many people all driving at once is what congestion is, not a lack of motorways. We cannot add an infinity of tarmac, we can, however, offer good alternatives to always driving for every journey, and much more cost effectively than over building the one complete network we already have.
Waterview does offer the possibility of getting off the Southern at the next off-ramp, turning around and linking through to the North Western without going through the central junction.
It would also have seen reduced congestion provided the authorities do their job and provide people with accurate traffic reports as people coming up the Southern divert.
‘It would also have seen reduced congestion’ [Waterview]
I really don’t think that will be the case at all. Waterview and the mega widening of the SH16 with no Rapid Transit line to relieve it, will simply deliver clots of traffic much more efficiently to where ever the next constriction is; especially the CMJ with its two lanes of m’way to m’way connections and its two lanes of off ramp. So it goes, because of course then it will indeed be doing a great job of building the case for the next multibillion dollars vast motorway project ‘to reduce congestion’. No this is a congestion creator not reducer.
Still as the last rung in Auckland’s urban motorways i look forward to its opening, we can all drink to that, shame the muppets in charge haven’t done the proven and rational thing that would actually keep it efficient and flowing; build its necessary twin, the NW Busway, while they’re at it.
Remember the example of the earthquake in San Francisco and how the cross Harbour BART network saved the city:
http://greaterakl.wpengine.com/2013/08/19/learning-from-san-francisco/
Once we’ve built the CRL it will be so obvious that this is the way forward that the North Shore Line will be fully funded from our taxes in the NLTF, instead of half from our rates, as all parties will have grown out of the silly mode prejudice that continues to afflict one remaining party.
I might add that I had a fantastic Saturday much of it spent on Ponsonby Rd which was hopelessly rammed with motorists stuck in gridlock and burning those valuable imported liquid fuels working their aircon to the max as I either sped by on my bike or sauntered along the heaving footpaths in the nice breeze. The fact that Ponsonby Rd became a four lane parking lot certainly didn’t seem to be affecting business in the cafés or shops, though it did mean crossing was easier, and on the bike I finally found a use for the painted median!
Drivers gotta drive; we really need to get on with providing those alternatives with urgency- that’s no way to live, getting fatter and frustrated on a Saturday.
What did you find that was worth doing on Ponsonby Road?
That road has to be one of the biggest failures in Auckland.
Unless you’re a pompous twit who likes to be seen in an overpriced café there is absolutely nothing worth doing there.
Careful Matthew your bitterness is showing…. is that what’s real abut you?
Restaurant/Cafe’s should be complimentary businesses. That is the patron drops in for a few minutes after doing something else. Sitting and eating is time that could be spent doing something and is thus wasted,
Here’s idea #62. What if Ponsonby Road became the experience capital of Auckland and offered more than food? What if it offered experiences that people could bond over like indoor skydiving, scuba lessons and novelty businesses like Escape Room?
I also broadly agree with Atooga’s comments regarding the comparison with Parnell Rd. There might be nothing to do on Parnell Rd as well but at least it has a semblance of character.
Parnell is just a tidier, stuffier, more expensive version of Ponsonby. In fact, as Ponsonby gets more like Parnell the duller it’s got.
What of course both have, and what makes their shared and fairly recent histories as undervalued slums so interesting, is proximity to the centre and typically Victorian mixed land use. These features along with the cluttered charm of their unplanned accretive built form make both tremendously rewarding places to live and work. As I have, in both, over the last 25 years. Parnell however, has become the blander of the two, being home to a more monotonal gentrification.
It must be really frustrating when you know what other people should be doing with their spare time and they just won’t listen. You should really get out in the media and tell people that they are wasting their time spending afternoons drinking and eating with friends and family.
I am sure people will take you very seriously and value your opinion. No, really.
Oh, for crying out loud. If you don’t know the worth of Ponsonby Rd and any number of other cafe, bar, restaurant precincts then you don’t deserve to live in New Zealand.
For a major inner city precinct it is pretty dire.
Vast gaps between the retail outlets, an unpleasant arterial road, little in the way of street-scaping – it really is quite pitiful. Regardless of the local clientele, it’s hardly the epitome of urban development and has a long, long way to go. The NIMBY locals, opposed to decent forms of intensification (the original SOHO), but supporting the worst kinds (the new SOHO) are emblematic of the dire situation of Ponsonby Road.
I think Parnell Road has done a much better job, with a much better mix of retail, apartments, heritage preservation, edgy architecture, access, street scaping and density.
I sort of agree with this – it’s a great place to be seen if you want to be seen, but there’s not a lot of blue collar appeal.
Let’s see, on Ponsonby Road itself, I Western Park, I like the gelato place just up from Hepburn St, the Womens Bookshop, The Trade Aid Store and the Ponsonby Fish and Chip shop, the huge second hand bookshop, and Ponsonby market; then there is the short walk in one direction to Three Lamps and the toy shop there, along with the Children’s Bookshop. A short walk in the other direction is K Rd with a wealth of various ethnic restaurants, ethnic food stores and clothing stores, along with Kevin’s Arcade and Heroes for Sale. I can get meet pretty much all of my shopping needs in those 3 streets alone, so I’m quite happy to say I like the area. Could it be better? Absolutely, but that’s part of the point of this blog isn’t it?
Yes it was interesting to hear the complaints on the news from people who were stuck in grid-lock for hours. Being a Saturday and with the lovely weather at the moment, surely it would make sense to pull over and enjoy the afternoon in a cafe or a park than to be frustrated behind the wheel of a car.
Agreed, Chris. I live at the bottom of Howe St. I heard and watched the Head Hunters’ motorcade pre poker game, then drove to Kumeu and just missed the traffic, and it looked horrendous. Then I watched cars idle in front of my place for hours trying to get on the Wellington St on ramp. People were yelling, tooting, getting more angry. Rather than park the car and enjoy Western Park on a perfect day, or enjoy a coffee in Ponsonby (coffees, sodas, drinks cost pretty much the same everywhere, people, get over your Ponsonby issues) drivers continued to get more pissed off. ps water in Western Park is FREE, how about that!
This wouldn’t happen with flying cars. Do away with bridges altogether.
Amphibious cars seem more likely. Auckland, City of Submarines.
Nah… go for jetpacks….I’m sure they’ll be able to get some funding out of the MOT to build a skyway jetpack RoNS, no questions asked, its the way of the future you know 🙂
Just wait till teleporting comes in. ‘Beam me to the North Shore, Scotty!’
They should build the second harbour crossing, then keep it closed unless there’s a crash in the old bridge. That would work.
Yes great idea, let’s spend 5 billion for a tunnel to be used in the event of an accident on the motorway. Meanwhile, the money spent on that would mean all alternatives would continue to be underfunded and unbuilt.
Shouldn’t we double decker the entire motorway network, then keep it closed until there is a crash on the lower network.
thanks god I’m not the only one with a bit of common sense.
Even better: We’ll build an entire replica of Auckland, complete with houses and roads and parking lots (and more roads), over on the other side of the Hunuas. It will be enormously expensive and completely uninhabitated on a regular day, but if anything goes even slightly wrong with the city, Aucklanders will simply be able to climb in their cars and decamp to the backup Auckland.
Oh, wait…
Emergency inflatable motorways are the only answer.
This is actually an excellent solution. No shortage of hotair in and around the planning,funding, governance of motorways-be able to blow up a complete motorway system in no time. The current model is based on congestion and being stuck in traffic ( up the creek with no oars) and the petroleum companies love it. Its a bit like the emperors clothes being fooled into thinking what you are wearing is the best thing out.The congestion free network-the model the idea could be implemented/simulated by and large within our current network right now but that doesn’t fit with the governance over our state highways and unfortunately also within 50% of the funding even in the local network. The funding regime is flawed -relying on petrol taxes and the governance is flawed it is actually time for an uprising for the sake of our city. Even if we had 50% of the money-added a rates-property transport levey to all carparks at least the city would be in control of its own destiny and actually get the picture right and make the most of what we have invested in already and change any investment in the right direction.
When we get right down to it in terms of capacity per vehicle in a 3 m width.First it starts with a car-carries about 1 to 6, then a bus-carries about 50, then a train-i don’t varies how many cabs but lets say more than 200. I can teach my 7 year old this. Lets rely on moving the entire city by car and lets proclaim to Auckland this is the best thing to do, and better still lets rely on petrol funding by making this the most congested place we possibly can.Engineers at NZTA i thought there was such a thing as ethics.
And don’t think you are serving the freighting industry either when they could have their own motorway lane tomorrow-or even shared with buses.
But no it doesn’t stop there.We also need more freighting capacity like the east-west link project. Crikey i’d offer to paint the symbols on the motorway system with a mobile closure. Why not do the BCR on freight,public transport on a few 10 litres of Dulux when it is free-flow or would that be embarrassing and not profitable with your building partners.
Time to start planning the next rail tunnel.
+1
Auckland needs more river crossings so that the local road network connects better. The Whau and Tamaki Rivers would be a good start. The only bridges across the major rivers, estuaries and harbour all involve jumping on the motorways.
Didn’t the rail line shut down at Middlemore a few days ago, for quite a few hours? Motorways and railways both suffer from these severe incident delays, unfortunately.
An accident of that scale is going to cause congestion no matter what. With the bridge closed and a cross-harbour rail tunnel, people would move to the trains, and soon they’re going to be standing-room only. Just take a Wairarapa line train when the Rimutaka Hill Road is closed – one train I took was at 134% capacity!
And imagine the money the region saved that day with so little damage to the roads from all those trips avoided on roads, plus the fare box recovery on the train would have been off the chart.
You are right, that was an opportunity missed.
Yes numerous reasons to go multi-modal. Resilience, choices for all, long term sustainability, economic, reduction in emissions, less reliance on fossil fuels, bitumen-addressing climate change, spatial efficiency, smarter, a better place to live.
I have read your post twice but I still don’t get your argument. When a crash occurs on SH1 at St Marys Bay the whole motorway fails as there isn’t an alternative route. But those people on the motorway are not able to change mode. Maybe you think with alternative modes available they wouldn’t be driving in the first place, but let’s remember it was a Saturday so PT would have had reduced services and in any case PT isn’t a great alternative for most Saturday trips the way it can be a great alternative for a weekday commute. And in any case even if you built the congestion free network the motorway will still be busy. You also argue that a 2nd harbour crossing or Waterview couldn’t help and yet they are the missing alternatives for the St Mary’s Bay link. So dismissing the most likely substitutes while claiming CFN would have helped seems like simple advocacy rather than reason.
I haven’t once said that those who were already in cars would have been able to change modes but that if viable alternative modes existed (and that includes both infrastructure and services) then many people would have an options to get around for their trips rather than only a car being practical. I also haven’t said the CFN would mean the motorway would be quiet, the aim of it is to give options to reduce the number of people who may be exposed to congestion.
Please tell me how Waterview would have helped considering SH16 was jammed up as well.
If there was an AWHC then how would that have helped deal with the sudden influx of vehicles diverting to that route?
What am I missing here that everyone else can see? It seems to me that the majority of travellers would already be committed to the roading system when the accident occurred, so the existence or otherwise of other modes is totally irrelevant. Ditto if you’re on a train and there’s a level crossing smash or whatever, you’re already committed. Another example is the recent power failure, if you had gas (or a barbecue) you still had an alternative source of energy, but if not, so what? It’s a fact of big-city life that there will be occasional inconveniences; get over it.
A far more important question is why did the police take so long to reopen lanes once the injured were removed and the lane cleared? Do they not have video and GPS technology to capture the scene for later analysis?
Edit: I see that at least one other commenter (mfwic) gets it. That’s a great relief!
Jonno – as above I don’t claim it would have helped anyone already on the road, the real aim is to give people options so the only realistic option isn’t to have to drive everywhere. And yes you’re right the same thing can happen on the rail network when something like a level crossing crash occurs. What I’m arguing for is that we need a full multi modal transport system that offers realistic choices to most people, that means roads, busways, rail and active modes so that an incident on any one network doesn’t affect the entire city but just one segment of it.
Matt, I did recognise that your post was merely another plug for the CFN (I could hardly miss the graphic!), it’s just that an accident on a Saturday a couple of weeks before Christmas is not the most compelling argument. You must have noticed that the silly season has started big-time as far as driving is concerned.
Exactly. Of course everyone is driving; no one can use a network that doesn’t yet exist.
OK but the title said build the missing modes to avoid congestion. And that is wrong either way you read it. 1/ If you meant you could build the missing modes (which I think should be built) and that would magic away congestion on the roads then you are wrong as the roads will still be busy especially on weekends and most certainly if there is a blockage at St Marys Bay. 2/ If you meant building the missing modes would leave congestion on the roads but give people a choice to avoid it then you are still wrong when there is a major blockage (or a minor blockage at a bottleneck). The Saturday trains and CRL had they existed couldnt have coped either. When the IRA used to close the tube in London the roads became a stand still. Taxis were no use as they were parked in a queue. One failure leads to multiple failures. The only hope is to have a perfect substitute or as near perfect as possible. For St Marys Bay that means either a 2nd harbour crossing or just accept sometimes the system is stuffed. Given how infrequent I say accept there will be problems sometimes. But it really is a weak argument for you pet project.
Splitting hairs unnecessarily!
No mfwic, the phrase ‘avoid congestion’ is very careful chosen, no-one here uses the much sloppier and less convincing ‘solve congestion’, we leave that to the motorway boasters. Alternatives enable people to choose to avoid taking part in traffic congestion at all. We all know that the only solution to congestion is for the city to fail and there to be a collapse in all demand for road use. Detroit. So the pursuit of a solution is foolish. But to have the options to avoid traffic congestion is an achievable aim for a significant quantity of journeys. A city with balanced systems will still have failures on those systems which will inconvenience those using them at that time but not force the city to a complete halt as others will still be functioning. See San Francisco link above.
A Rapid Transit line across the Harbour would have meant thousands of people would have unaffected by that crash. Furthermore, while not ‘solving’ congestion, a Rapid Transit Line here would also maintain a good flow on the road route for those that choose to drive, as outlined here:
http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-motorway-will-derail-commuters-20140217-32hvs.html
This is covered in surprisingly few sources so either it untrue or the media have decided to ignore it at the moment for some reason. Since Transportblog is a relatively low profile source, hopefully people think it’s okay to mention here.
There are a few early reports on NZ Herald and elsewhere suggesting the motorcyclists may have been patched gang members, may be of Head Hunters http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11370008 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11370244 http://www.odt.co.nz/news/national/326344/auckland-motorway-network-brought-its-knees https://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/local/25703815/crash-causes-havoc-on-auckland-roads/ .
I only came across these because I happened to see a bunch of motorcyclists of some gang (didn’t catch what) on Lincoln Road heading towards the motorway about an hour before. Combining this with the fact that 3 motorcyclists were injured in one accident and the long police response made me search. (I see someone also mentioned seeing a motorcade above.)
I’m fairly sure the SCU does have video tech, was shown on the SCU series quite a few years ago. (Not sure whether GPS is of use here, it’s not like it’s ever going to be unclear where it happened.) A serious incident like this is always going to take a while to resolve, but I wonder if they had an extreme response since they felt they needed to protect anyone who may have been involved, ensure there was no violence and to get the investigation perfect with all their ducks in a row. (An immediate outburst may not be that likely, so far there’s been nothing in the Connor exchange student. But I expect the police will still take it seriously.)
Jonno and mwfic. In a city with more than one complete network everybody will not be trying to use the same one network at once. When one network has a near complete failure the other will still be functioning well. Yes those already committed to the failed network will still be inconvenienced but the city as a whole will not grind to a halt. The San Francisco example referred to above is a perfect example of this. Your heads are too stuck in the present condition; with there being little choice but to drive. Your argument is in fact, exactly why we need to not just keep trying to double down on the one existing network but to complete the missing modes.
Patrick, I do love your subtle insults (no, really I do, please keep ’em coming), however at least my head is not stuck in the sand like those of some PSBs I saw on TV tonight. Now that was weapons-grade nut-casery.
But actually you are right, I do have little choice but to drive (or Segway) due to personal circumstances. However, I don’t attempt to impose that choice/necessity on anyone else.
Ah but those that reshaped this city into a drive-only place have forced that on everyone. That’s all. We are then, equally, against forcing, and for more options, for more people, on more journeys, more often.
jonno – I can’t see how Patrick and Matt are attempting to impose their choice on anyone else. They,me and many others just think we should have that choice.
It is an axiom of sound financial investment planning that one should spread ones risk by not having all your eggs in one basket.
By not applying the same wisdom to Auckland transport planning and concentrating almost solely on the mono-modal motorway system, the city has been short changed by the Government and the New Zealand Transport Authority.
An urgent reform of transport funding at national level which will lead to a far more balanced outcome for Auckland, is clearly paramount after Saturday’s traffic fiasco. And clearly the emphasis will need to swing away from motorway excesses to a modern metro rail system which is so user-friendly and successful in so many overseas countries.
The only practical answer today is to drive everywhere. This was mid-day on a weekend. Those who go shopping prefer not to do so on the bus or train, because the difficulty of handling the kids and multiple bags. My partner was caught in the snarl. She went to a specialty shop in Mt Wellington. She bought more than she could have easily carried, but can suffer for the trip to the car in the car park and then drive it home. Had she needed to take it on the bus, she’d have to suffer not getting all the things she wanted (Christmas specialty items for work and home.
It seems all the public transport proponents want to see people suffer. We shouldn’t have it any better than poor people in a 3rd world country.
By my price estimates (I’ve been told are wrong by people who make a living selling roads or trains), you could cover every paved road or train track in the country with http://www.skytran.us for less than the cost of the Auckland-only plan, which AT guarantees us traffic worse than now after. Yet, all we see pushed are the same trains and roads we have now. If we build more of what doesn’t work, it’ll suddenly work better.
Or, we could look for better ways to do it.
As for me, I don’t much care. When I had to chase the jobs in the CBD living on the North Shore, I bought an additional vehicle. It’s cheaper to ride a motorbike than take the bus (a week’s fuel is less than a single day on a bus, and parking is usually free). And a motorbike is faster than the train, the bus, a car, anything short of a helicopter, but I can’t afford the helicopter anyway.
But if public transport ever got faster (or cheaper) than motorbike, I’d at least consider it. And PRT (personalized rapid transit) is the only thing I’ve seen that could be faster or cheaper than a motorbike (and it may even be both faster and cheaper, but nobody in NZ will look at it).
But I don’t expect anyone here or in government to make the rational choices. I expect more roads and trains, despite them being slow and expensive. Maybe if we get enough of them, eventually they’ll work better.
Don’t forget, buses don’t work well if the roads are closed either. I haven’t seen anything detailing how long the buses were behind schedule during this mess. But given how poorly they run on the weekends, nobody noticed.
Please read this Marc as it shows how an effective Transit Network is what governs the success of your choice to always drive. Nowhere do we say we want or expect everyone to use PT for all trips at all times, quite the contrary. We just want a city with successful networks and more freedom of choice. A greater Auckland.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/new-motorway-will-derail-commuters-20140217-32hvs.html
From the very poorly informed rant above, I can only assume you are a shareholder in a PRT scheme.
“It seems all the public transport proponents want to see people suffer. We shouldn’t have it any better than poor people in a 3rd world country.” – Yes like all the people in countries with high usage of public transport. The poor Austrians, Germans, Japanese, Swedes and Spanish – living in their third world hovels.
Let alone the Danish and Dutch, who are so poor they have to ride bicycles.
Or all those people in poor, failed cities like New York, Paris, London, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg… gosh, centuries of people being forced into PT have really taken their toll there. Who’d wanna live there?
I thought you were serious until I saw the “Whinery” bit: nice bit of whining.
Or are you Jeremy Wells taking the piss?
“As for me, I don’t much care” – which will be why you wrote such a long diatribe? Yeah right.
The traffic congestion on Saturday reinforced to me that for good PT – at least for core PT routes such as the RTN – we really need it to be grade-separated from the motorway/road network. Buses (or trams) on clogged roads wouldn’t work, and would only make it worse. Any tramway along Tamaki Drive should definitely be on the sea-side of the road, and any tramline extension east or west should hug the coastline (along with a flat cycleway and walkway), making it accessible foe all.
We need rail lines with no level crossings and busways with no at-grade intersections with roads. (Also walkways and cycleways that go through our parklands and a network of greenways, e.g., the “Queen’s chain” along streams, etc. – not next to fuming vehicles (and fuming drivers) on busy roads, that’s a real health hazard.)
Aucklanders first to lease narrow cars for commuting. Like bikes, single-width is proper width for single occupant. http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/63780470/pair-continue-push-for-microcars