26 comments

  1. Perhaps if the NZTA wanted better traffic by use of public transport they could’ve spent some of that money on a basic median BRT system into and out of the Christchurch CBD.

    1. I think it is a big mistake to have so much of the New Zealand infrastructure budget tied up in a central government organisation. NZTA have not proven themselves to be responsive to the wishes of the people. How can we democratise transport spending in New Zealand?

      1. I think more spending at a regional level for the big cities might make sense. For smaller towns we have to balance local democracy with the reality that small towns are less likely to have good planning expertise.

        Maybe a split based on population size??

  2. So will now NZTA start funding the rail network ….. and maybe truck companies will look at integrating with rail.

    1. To be fair and as an example Mainfreight has a significant number of Branches with rail heads and is a significant Kiwirail Customer and supporter of rail. I guess that these choices aren’t always easy or cheap. Finding land with rail access isn’t that easy. Admittedly this strategy isn’t shared or in fact welcomed by all in the Road Freight industry. Interesting discussion would be how much support or subsidisation should be offered to make it easier for Freight Companies to site branches around rail. Again its ok for an implied subsidy for roads.

      1. And well done to Main Freight for doing this. I think one way or another we simply must get more freight onto rail and off our roads!
        Trucks have the following main effects: 1) Cause a higher road toll since they are inherently more dangerous and larger. 2) Cause most of the damage to our roads – something like 90% if I recall correctly due to the damage increasing exponentially with mass. Thereby added expense maintaining roads and making roads more dangerous with potholes etc. 3) They increase congestion in cities and rural areas where there would otherwise be no congestion. 4) Environmentally speaking they are less efficient than rail.

  3. Yeah, I’m a bit cynical I’m afraid, because the transport powers that be continue to completely discount investigating anything that approximates a rapid transit system for Christchurch, be it heavy rail, light rail, bus rapid transit or whatever. For example, there was a study a couple of years back about the merits of running a commuter rail trial, and apparently that was nix’ed because it was going to cost $10 million to set up. When there’s currently ~$900 million being spent on RoNS projects all around Chch at the moment? To say nothing of $300m stadiums in central Chch that few people seem to have an appetite for…

    1. And convention centres don’t forget.

      And this was the guy who publically shat all over PT improvements using rail or dedicated bus lanes that were suggested for folks north of the Waimak river bridge. Saying that not enough people would use them to justify giving the money or roadspace to it.

      And here he is saying everyone has to stop driving their own cars ‘cos we can’t build our way out of peak congestion. Yet they continue to push for roads and roads and roads to deal with peak congestion driving.

      The very next video, on the NZTA Youtube channel – taken on the same day – with the same guy fronting it – shows the “progress” on the massive motorway being built to bypass the existing roads, so folks can get to/from Hornby quicker.

      So: “Paleface talk with forked tongue.”

      And NZTA wonder why folks won’t use the few bus services there are, well two things – no continuous on road bus priority and only runs a decent service in peak hours.

      Why would any one with half a brain take a slower bus, to get stuck in the same jams as you would be as a car driver – only you’d be further ahead in the car as you wouldn’t be pulling out and back into traffic all the time as you stopped to let folks on and off. So you’d get home sooner.

      Time to rethink your road priorities Mr Harland. And yes, lets see you and NZTA put your money where your mouth is please.

  4. Damn it, I just liked his pretty words. On a nice note, since I started using ‘how is your commute’ as my opening line with strangers, loads of people are bike-curious and just begging to be converted. I’m saying this from the perspective that people totally get that the single occupancy car transport option they’re using is s**t, but just can’t see the other opportunities. So a basic video like this one (at surface value) is a simple clear message that names and normalises the options.

    1. +1. Some previously unlikely cycling candidates are asking me for advice about where to buy e-bikes. The chaos around CRL works on top of the congested motorway. Fighting congestion for an hour so you can be first to join the new congestion.

  5. This would be a good comment to make in Auckland or Wellington which has an extensive motorway + rapid transit systems. It doesn’t make much sense in Christchurch -which has a very rudimentary motorway system and no rapid transit. There is a number of things that could be done to improve congestion/ increase the speed/ accessibility of Christchurch. The most obvious is to use the existing rail corridors better…..

    I am waiting for the day when NZTA says it has spent too much money on slow growing places like Wellington and it is now Canterbury’s turn to get some decent transport infrastructure.

    1. If it was up to me we would completely scrap the Steven-Joyce dream of a Levin-Airport motorway, thereby freeing-up $2.4 billion for better uses such as an extension of rail services through the city (even a mere 1Km to a new station at Civic Square would make a huge difference to the reach of the service, thereby benefitting all rail-served parts of the region), and I’m sure we would still have plenty left to get Christchurch’s commuter-rail up and running. .

      The galling thing is that for much of the time Wellington’s existing roads perform reasonably well, and a better rail service would help take traffic off them. Either the promoters do not believe this, or else they have other agendas for locking us further into car-dependency.

      1. Sorry it’s not entirely clear whether this is Levin to Wellington or Auckland airport? There seems to be a lot of unnecessary motorways in construction around Hamilton.

  6. The difficulty the present government have is a reluctance to admit they have got our transport strategy, and particularly the transport strategy for Auckland wrong.

    I know the Government are poll driven but suspect that their polling procedures are possibly sub-standard. It is clear to me that many people want an end to congested motorways, but are not being presented with meaningful and rational alternatives by Government. And NZTA and its management seem to be quite content to keep sucking in the same old way from the taxpayer money trough.

    All this despite surveys indicating Aucklanders want better public transport above all else.

  7. I am in Christchurch now and all I can say is that it isn’t at all clear that the good fellow from NZTA has been acting on his fine words above, the auto-domination of place here is worse than anywhere else in the country, that used to be AKL’s boast… Apparently everyone inCanterbury has six cars and they are somehow driving them all at once.

    1. Agree Patrick. I recently spent a week in Christchurch and thought the place was car overkill. And what an opportunity they had to put something like light rail from the airport through the centre of the city and out toward Sumner etc. etc. An opportunity totally missed.

  8. Is NZTA having an identity problem?
    There seems to be a real difference between what they say and what they are doing especially relating to proposals to push more vehicles into Auckland CBD from the north via the tunnel project.
    Does Auckland have an option to prevent that?

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