It’s Friday and here are a few of the headlines that caught our eye this week.

This week in Greater Auckland

Deliberative Democracy for VKT

Stuff reports on how AT are using a deliberative democracy approach to look at options for the goal of reducing the number of vehicle kilometres travelled.

A cross-section of 100 Aucklanders have spent part of two weekends grappling with how to get people travelling without using their car more often.

The “deliberative forum” approach was run by Auckland University’s Koi Tū (the centre for informed futures), for Auckland Council which has to devise a plan to reduce what’s known in the trade as VKT – Vehicle Kilometres Travelled, by 2035.

The government-driven goal is a 29% reduction, smaller than the city’s own Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway which needs to halve combustion engine driving by 2030.

[…..]

The results of what they think will work will be released in the next month or so – a valuable insight into what Aucklanders support in the lifestyle changes required to deliver climate action goals.

[…..]

What will happen if the deliberative forum tells councillors what some of them don’t want to hear, the climate action counts, and that there are ways that people – when given the right information – want to see it happen.

Housing consents fall some more

The latest housing consent data, to the end of August, came out this week and shows the recent trend of falling consent numbers continue. Over the previous 12 months the total number of dwellings consented in Auckland fell to 18,000 from a peak of 22,000 in September last year.

One of the interesting impacts of the massive increase of multi-dwelling developments has been a significant reduction in the average size of dwellings.

Speaking of housing, it seems some are upset that a tower is proposed to be built in a metropolitan centre designed for towers isn’t being publicly notified – but it’s nice of them to give the development a cool name – the ‘Burj Takapuna‘.

Making great small stations

This is a great example of how to build a small station. This is particularly relevant to our post a few days ago about how our rapid transit stations perform.

Speed Limits Save Lives

A wonderful story about how speed limits don’t just save human lives.

In 2011, although commercial whaling had ended in New Zealand waters nearly four decades earlier, whales were still being killed in the Hauraki Gulf.

And not just one or two. On average, 2.3 whales were killed by ship strike in the gulf every year, says Rochelle Constantine, professor of marine ecology and conservation biology at the University of Auckland.

The clock was ticking: “Every six months, another whale was going to die”.

[…..]

In September 2013, Port of Auckland’s voluntary Hauraki Gulf transit protocol for commercial shipping came into effect. It asked ships to slow down.

A decade on, the port monitors ship speeds, and its August report shows that ships were travelling at an average 9.5 knots through the gulf. But the voluntary protocol is not enough to keep all ships going slow.

Of the 157 ships transiting the gulf in August, five travelled over 13 knots, although one of those had an exemption to travel up to 14 knots. The fastest ships travelled at 17.6 and 18.5 knots.

[…..]

The impact on shipping operations is not only minimal, he said, but the need to protect the whales “outweighs any inconvenience we might have from time to time”.

[…..]

But since the protocol came into effect a decade ago, no whale has been killed by ship strike within the speed zone. For Constantine, it’s one of New Zealand’s greatest conservation stories.

“There are 21 Bryde’s whales alive now that would have been dead had the ships not slowed down.”

France gets it

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21 comments

    1. As someone who’s life has been ruined by HS2 for the last 3 years I’m quite angry at this.

      They should never have started it and now I have the “Boris Folly” right outside my window for all of eternity, yet everyone in our town of Aylesbury (city by NZ standards) will never be able to use it even though it bisects right through it.

      Reply

      2. You must be excited for HS2 to open so that the capacity freed up by removing express services from existing tracks can be used to improve stopping services.

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        1. Do some digging and you’ll see that what has been built will make no difference to rail between Birmingham and London. This is most certainly not like building a line across the Hauraki planes between Auckland and Tauranga.

          Also Aylesbury is one of the fastest growing towns in the UK being built as a Torry “Garden City”. It’s rate of expansion puts everything I see when I come home to Auckland and the Waikato to shame.

          HS2 should never have have started but now that it has, they should carry on and finish it, or at the very least allow Aylesbury and Warwick to be part of the network allowing quick access to London/Birmingham for the two towns given that current rail servicesand connections for both places is poor by European standards.

        2. Aylesbury is essentially a terminus. There are 2 lines leading to it from Marylebone:

          One via Princes Risborough (single track, low speed).

          One via Amersham.

          At least that was how it was when I lived there and in the surrounding villages.

  3. Takapuna high rise solution – being the old Gasometer site, maybe the tower should be telescopic, so that the height can be adjusted to suit public opinion.

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  5. Just as well the members of the Ding Dong club did not evict Ports Of Auckland (POA) from Auckland, With failing geriatric pipes underground, (Mt Victoria park & Parnell) we need POA income more than ever.

    Dont forget as soon as Auckland City increases rates, then rent increase will quickly follow, forgotten logic a lot of people do not think about when they are just paranoiac on rate increase, unless the fruit case wizard can find the answer.

    Reply

    1. “we need POA income more than ever”

      While I don’t have an issue with a downtown per se, its a poor return and only comes about because they get a rates exemption. Rates from a fully developed waterfront would give you just as good a financial return, and a better public amenity.

      Reply

        1. POA can, of course, show that the dividend returned is greater than the sum of the rates on their land had they been charged plus a fair economic return on the City’s capital invested in POA.

  7. Please transport people – do not let the TERP / VKT be morphed into a decarbonisation program. It is not, and it should not be. The following quote from the article is a fabrication and should burn on the burn pile.

    “Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway which needs to halve combustion engine driving by 2030.”

    VKT is reduction in the light vehicle fleet. Not the ICE vehicle fleet. Huge difference.

    Why is this important ? Because VKT reduction leads to less congestion, public transport, Active transport and great carbon outcomes, and isnt dependent on EV fleet imports or incentives.

    Carbon fleet VKT reduction leads to more EV’s, congestion and marginal PT or AT outcomes. It does have the advantage of just putting of any change until EV’s solve the problem, so TERP haters will dive into this with rigor. This is why its dangerous.

    Please challenge anyone – anywhere when you see statements like

    “Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway which needs to halve combustion engine driving by 2030.”

    Its not in the Governments VKT program, and its not in the TERP. For the love of the wee babies, do not let this slide, and do not let VKT wait for 50% EV adoption.

    Reply

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