A debate over discount rates
Transport evaluation, and urban policy in general, invariably requires us to make trade-offs between the present and the future. When we invest in the built environment – roads, rails, buildings, etc – we are expending today’s resources on projects that will primarily benefit people in the future.…
29 Comments Should we have a Hobson St Flyover Cycleway?
A quick reminder that this is the last day to submit on the Nelson St cycleway. I’ve written about the issues with Auckland Transports proposals here and here. I’ve suggested that one option would be to keep the cycleway on the western side and to use Market St as a way to access the Waterfront and beyond.…
The Future Design of Albert Street
Albert Street is going to be a mess for a few years while the City Rail Link is constructed and a report to the councils Auckland City Centre Advisory Board highlights that we can expect it to be reinstated looking better than it does now. …
Sunday reading 4 October 2015
Mikael Colville-Andersen, “Paris’ Day Sans Cars Shows Us What Our Cities Can Be“, WIRED.
Everyone wandering around the streets of Paris yesterday enjoyed it. There were people thinking, “Amazing! If only this was every day!” and others thinking, “Amazing! But as long as it’s just one day”.…
Update on new downtown public spaces
As part of the works for the City Rail Link, Queen Elizabeth Square will be completely dug up however as we know it won’t be replaced, instead the square has been sold to Precinct Properties and will be developed. In its place the current road area of Queen St between Customs and Quay Streets – with the exception of a small access to Galway St and from Tyler St – will be created.…
The most absurd objections to bike lanes
Those who oppose to bike lanes often have absurd objections and some of the silliest recently have from Coronado, California, an area where 70% of kids walk or ride to school. The objections were so silly they’ve now even been mocked by a late night comedian.…
Slip Lanes be gone
The council is hailing the fact that just over one quarter of the slip lanes in the city centre have been removed over the last few years. This is excellent news for pedestrians as it will make many intersections much safer.…
Notes from Sydney: Harbour Crossings
Thoughts of Sydney are inseparable from images of its harbour: It’s naturally beautiful, but also much of what has been added around the harbour increases its appeal, particularly the Opera House and the Bridge: The bridge is not only beautiful, and massively over-engineered, but also is an impressive multitasker; trains, buses, general traffic, pedestrians, people on bikes.…
Briefing Papers 8: “Real Estate Debt and the Balance of Trade”
AUT’s Briefing Papers initiative has kindly allowed us to syndicate their recent series on housing. The eighth paper is by investor and company director John Walley: Auckland has a housing problem but this is not just a problem for Aucklanders, or new home buyers.…
Designs for the Nelson St off-ramp
The council have released some images of what the completed Nelson St off-ramp will look like and a video showing the lighting they are adding in action. Here is the press release
Interactive lights, Māori carvings and a vibrant magenta surface are set to turn the old Nelson Street motorway off-ramp into a must-see Auckland attraction for people to walk and cycle across when it opens later this year.…
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