“Is the Auckland super city out of control?” Computer says “no”.
Many journalists and central government politicians (mainly the ones who sleep in blue or yellow pajamas) have recently promulgated the view that local government rates in Auckland are “out of control”. In the video below, Paul Henry gives you a flavour for the fervour emanating from these corners.…
108 Comments Sunday reading 25 October 2015
Welcome back to Sunday reading. This week, we’re starting with a look at the law of unintended consequences. At Vox, Brad Plumer describes how “Europe’s love affair with diesel cars has been a disaster“:
Europe’s diesel push seemed like a perfectly sensible idea at the time.…
Northern Gateway Tolls to rise
The NZTA have announced that the toll on the Northern Gateway toll road are set to increase by 10c at the end of November.
The NZ Transport Agency says tolls on the Northern Gateway Toll Road (NGTR) on State Highway 1 north of Auckland will increase on November 29 2015.…
AT October Board Meeting
The AT board meet next week and here are what I think are the highlights from the reports.
As always the items in the closed session. This time there isn’t too much interesting on the agenda with only the following items (non bold are my comments) LRT – Approval to appoint technical advisor – Hopefully this means we’re going to start seeing some more progress on this project soon
CRL update – not cutting any more station entrances I hope
Deep Dive – Major BT Infrastructure – This is just an item for noting to do with Business Technology.…
Banks officially making it easier to lend on apartments
Most of the banks in New Zealand have policies which make it harder to get a mortgage on an apartment (or sometimes anything that’s on a unit title, so terraced homes as well). They restrict lending on small apartments – less than 50 or 60 square metres, say – and require higher deposits.…
September-2015 Patronage
Patronage results for September are out and once again there are some spectacular results, especially on the rail network which continues to be the star performer when it comes to growth. Total patronage for September was up 5.6% on the same month last year however included in that figures is a massive 21.7% increase in rail patronage.…
Gentrification and heritage buildings
K Road is changing. The city’s long-time boho heart is, in a way, sitting between a rock and a hard place. On the one side, there’s a city centre that’s bursting at the seams with university students and suit-clad professionals; on the other, post-gentrification Ponsonby.…
Photo of the Day: New Canadian PM takes Subway home on Election Night
New Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has wasted no time in clearly positioning himself as pro-city and pro-Transit with the release a series of shots of him using the Montréal Metro on election night. First Turnbull now Trudeau. Transit is obviously seen by these new leaders as a marker for broader policy; climate change, energy, infrastructure, and, no doubt, their accessibility to the people they represent.…
New Ferries on the way
Some good news for Ferry users with a number of improvements on the way.
New Waiheke Ferries
Fullers are spending $16 million to build two new 360 seat vessels for use on the run to Waiheke. The design will be based on the Te Kotuku which launched just over a year ago and incorporate modifications based on staff and passenger feedback.…
Sod Turning Day: Eastern Path and Southern Motorway
It’s sod turning day with two major projects officially kicking off.
Glen Innes to Tamaki Dr Shared Path
The most interesting of these is the start of stage 1 of the Glen Innes to Tamaki Dr Shared Path. When fully finished the path is bound to become one of the most iconic walking and cycling routes in Auckland – although it is going to have some stiff competition from the likes of Skypath and Seapath, The Westhaven Promenade and the Nelson St off-ramp.…
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