Kia ora and welcome to another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments!
The week in Greater Auckland
- On Monday, Scott delivered a delicious disquisition on donut cities, and how the government’s new housing policy might fill the gap
- On Tuesday, Matt looked at recent presentations by KiwiRail and whether they’re ready to run customer-focused services when the CRL opens (not really). Matt’s post was picked up by 1News for a headline story the following day.
- On Wednesday, we expressed increased concern at the government doubling down on forcing cities to revert to unsafe speeds
- Thursday’s guest post by Jessica de Heij was a breath of fresh air, showing off how our southernmost cities are finding their urban groove.
And yesterday, Patrick appeared on The Hoon – Bernard Hickey’s weekly podcast – to talk about housing and roads and “tarmac socialism”. Usually subscriber-only, this episode has been made accessible to all. Patrick’s on from about 51 minutes in. (A funny aside: the auto-transcription heard RoNS as “wrongs“… which is not wrong!)
Auckland: the once and future city of villages?
A great read by Dr Catherine Knight at Newsroom, on the enduring value of urban villages and how they can help get us through the challenges of our age:
In 1912, Lottie and Howard moved into their new family home in Mount Albert, which Howard, a handy kind of fellow, had finished building just in time for the birth of their third child, my grandmother. Like most inner suburbs of the time, Mount Albert was effectively an urban village – a self-contained community with most services and amenities within walking distance.
[…] For longer trips elsewhere in Auckland, a tram ran along nearby New North Road into central Auckland, and from there almost any suburban destination could be reached by combination of tram ride and foot. By 1938, the city was serviced by an extensive network of electric trams that ran along most of the city’s major roads, totalling 71km in length.
[…] The urban village of my great grandparents’ era was not perfect, but it offers a valuable template to build and improve on to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The idea of the urban village reminds us that it is not just about infrastructure, or houses, but about community – through holistic planning and design, we can strengthening the connection between people and community, help nurture a sense of belonging and a shared responsibility for the future.
Knight homes in on public transport as the key to connecting us and our villages, and shares this all-time classic map by Cornelius Blank of Frontier Studio (who also designed the GA logo). It shows Auckland’s tramway network, prematurely ripped out in the mid-20th century. Can we have it back please?
Speaking of future villages…
Ponsonby Business association is looking for insights from people who live, work, shop, and visit the area, as they work towards a Future Ponsonby Strategy. Here’s the survey – you know what to do!
Transport Choices continuing to deliver transport choices
When the Transport Choices programme (funded via the Climate Emergency Relief Fund) was axed by the coalition government, it left many towns and cities stranded on the brink of delivering great overdue local projects for public transport, walking and cycling.
The good news is benefits are being enjoyed by those who managed to get started before the election – like Whanganui. This headline says it all: “Bus shelters galore in record time in Whanganui”
Horizons manager of transport services, Mark Read, says the funding enabled significantly improved public transport facilities to be installed at a much faster rate than normal.
“Budgets usually only allow two new shelters per year in Whanganui. The funding we got from NZTA enabled us to make nine years’ worth of investment in the city, increasing shelter numbers by 60%.
“These improvements have effectively made ‘urban transport hubs’ across the city. People can travel how they want to the hubs, leave their bikes and scooters there safely if required, and then comfortably wait before catching the bus. “These improvements come at a great time for Whanganui, with patronage on the city’s public transport services more than doubling since the introduction of Te Ngaru The Tide.“
The Transport Choices collaboration with Whanganui District Council should make it even better to enjoy more environmentally friendly transport options for people in the city.
Whanganui District Council community property and places general manager, Sarah O’Hagan, says “Securing central government funding for this project, alongside the Streets for People funding, has been a game changer. The community told us a lack of passenger facilities was a big issue for would-be bus users, so to be able to address that, without placing much of a burden on our ratepayers, is a great result.
“With many people struggling with the cost of fuel and vehicle maintenance, providing quality public transport options is critical at the moment. So we’re stoked we’ve had the opportunity to make these improvements, in partnership with Horizons Regional Council and Waka Kotahi.”
Whither Kāinga Ora?
A former board member has expressed grave disappointment at the government’s harsh review of Kāinga Ora, and what it signifies for the future of what’s been a powerful development agency (as covered in this recent post by Connor).
Speaking to RNZ, Prof. Philippa Howden-Chapman said:
“I think Kāinga Ora is a remarkable success story which I was involved with for six years.
Ignoring its achievements, which the government has done, is a major policy mistake. And not continuing any funding from 2025 – capital – and saying that can no longer build homes and apartments, but should be just be a landlord, is to just abandon one of the largest organisations in New Zealand that works to improve construction.”
More from Professor Howden-Chapman in this Stuff op-ed (paywalled, sorry), which highlights the health benefits of Kāīnga Ora’s work in recent years. And here’s an interesting take by Mountain Tui on the ins and outs of the review, and what may be next.
Meanwhile, two major local housing projects are in limbo, including a swathe of land in Onehunga, and a Glendowie project that garnered admiration from Grand Designs host Kevin McCloud.
The Ngā Kāinga Anamata (Homes of the Future) development in Auckland’s Glendowie was lauded on the world stage and championed as a showcase of Kainga Ora’s climate-friendly future.
It would have addressed issues such as energy hardship, sick building syndrome and climate change mitigation.
The Benefits of (and for) Bikes
A [paywalled] story from Rotorua shines a light on a “bike library” trial that has given Kāinga Ora residents hands-on access to bikes, including e-bikes, bike skills training, secure storage for the bikes, and regular bike repairs.
The headline strives for controversy (some kids had some vigorous fun on bikes?? how very dare they, especially in one of the bike-fun capitals of the world!), but the bulk of the story is really positive. Similar pilot programmes are happening in Lower Hutt, Gisborne, and Auckland.
NZTA urban mobility manager Kathryn King said the bike library inside the complex started in January.
King said the pilot had “significant positive impacts” and had achieved all its aims.
She said several households did not own cars and had been able to cycle to the supermarket, saving them petrol and taxi costs and giving them access to cheaper groceries.
One carless tenant rode an e-bike to a job interview.
“They got the job, and now cycle to and from work for the night shift.”
Bikes were used to take children to kōhanga reo or out and about, as icebreakers between neighbours riding together, and by children going to school, sports practices and games – saving their parents time and fuel costs.
King said a young person had reported “school was cool” because they had a bike to use and their attendance had increased.
“One resident reports five of their workmates now cycle to work, inspired by the resident’s example … Some parents are spending more quality time with their children out on bike rides, finding it a good opportunity for family bonding as well as exercise.”
And one Rotorua resident, despite having some issues with how the bike library worked, said that:
when her family had their turn with the e-bikes, she and some other mothers from the street went biking together and felt “beautiful” and “young again”.
Speaking of empowering people to ride to work: if you’re curious about accessing the bike exemption to the fringe benefit tax, you may find the answers in this handy guide by Robyn Walker of Deloitte:
It’s been over a year since an exemption from fringe benefit tax (FBT) for employer-provided bikes, e-bikes, scooters and e-scooters used for commuting to work was added to tax legislation. Based on the frequency of questions received, this is a benefit that many employees are in favour of and are contemplating, particularly as part of sustainability policies.
However, many seem uncertain about how the exemption works [so] we work through some of the frequently asked questions on this topic. We also provide a reminder on the FBT exemption for public transport.
Game on!
Fans of city-building games might enjoy this satirical version, where the goal is to turn lovely walkable cities into bland parking lots – while using propaganda to convince your virtual citizens that this is what they wanted all along. Sounds horribly familiar, we thought gaming was all about escape from reality??
In Car Park Capital, you’ve got more to think about than just the living, breathing human beings who live in your city—you’ve also got to keep the eternally ravenous automotive industry happy. That means building parking lots. Lots and lots of lots.
Christopher Livingston of PCGamers spoke to the game’s creator, Hilko Janssen (yes, he’s Dutch) who confirmed that “real pro-car propaganda was one of the inspirations for Car Park Capital”:
… he said that along with isometric sim games like RollerCoaster Tycoon, his game was influenced by a video called “Give Yourself the Green Light,” a pro-car propaganda film created by General Motors in 1954. You can see it here on YouTube, where it speaks in almost reverent tones about lane after lane of gleaming highways stretching as far as the eye can see—a beautiful future as long as you’re a car company.
The pothole prevention paradox
Ah, potholes, that bottomless topic of conversation. Where do they come from? How can we avoid them, in every sense of the word? This story by 1News digs into the subject:
The reality, [AUT engineering professor John] Tookey said, is that New Zealand has a small population spread over a country with a lot of roads.
“Consequently, in terms of our personal tax liability to pay for the maintenance of roads, it’s disproportionate as a result.”
The costs associated with road maintenance are also huge. Tookey said even the eye-watering sums the Government is planning to spend on fixing the nation’s potholes will be eaten up quite quickly.
“The problem is that it fixes [the potholes in the roads] for a period of time and then what?” he said.
“It’s the proverbial greasing of the wheel; the grease needs to be applied continuously otherwise it’s going to start squeaking and will eventually drop off.
“Yes, a short-term commitment to try and get ahead of the issue is going to be worthwhile … it’s a good investment in road safety.
“The problem is that when you take your foot off the gas metaphorically and you go back to ‘normal’, well, normal is what got us to where we are now. You’ll fix the problem for two or three years, but the freeze-thaw cycle doesn’t go away, the weather doesn’t go away.”
Good energy
The good people of Aotea/ Great Barrier are familiar with self-sufficiency. Now, a local startup is trialling a peer-to-peer energy sharing grid. Says founder Tama Toki, in this RNZ story:
“Aotea has no utility for power, so everyone there’s super self-sufficient. A lot of people have solar, some kind of car battery set up.
“Our core business is based there and we had to put a big energy bank in … and the idea around intermittent generation, if we’re not using the assets, the idea was to share with the papakāinga, the community that we worked adjacent with and that’s how the seed was planted.”
Toki said his team are building their own peer to peer sharing grid and trialing it with 10 homes on the island.
That’s us for this week – have a lovely weekend, and share any of your fave links and news stories in the comments!
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The headline of that Herald article was worse when it was first published – it read “Hugely inappropriate: $110k pilot gives Kāinga Ora tenants free use of e-bikes”
Unfortunately many readers never both going past the headline. The hugely inappropriate part was the Heralds headline.
…and the “hugely inappropriate” quote was from a National MP with a history of saying hugely inappropriate things.
Multiple articles in the papers this week about Trackless Trams being trialed on Sundays later this year on the Northern Busway between Akoranga and Albany.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350337409/trackless-trams-trial-coming-auckland
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350270865/auckland-council-receives-ideas-trackless-trams-urban-cable-car-resolve-transport
Anything to avoid just building actual railways
A heavy rail line to Orewa would be ideal but can’t ever see that happening, light rail would be great too but there seems to much drama and expense involved and just seems too difficult for the powers that be to even agree on where any of it would go. Trackless trams seem to me an ideal choice and a fraction of the cost so why not certainly better than nothing and certainly far quicker to board than double decker buses.
So run articulated buses The problem is they won’t fit on the Albert Street bus stops.
Trackless trams and cable cars. These are two extremes of frequency vs. capacity. Northern Busway is likely to be the best trial, to inform what might be possible for A2B or Dominion Rd and other ‘overfill’ routes. The economics of off-peak ridership will need to be checked out, though.
And six months ago people on this blog were stating they wouldn’t see autonomous mass transit in Auckland in their lifetime and that rails were the only reliable way to guide vehicles in 2024. A lot more can be done per dollar spent by doing busways rather than rail and it supports these kind of technologies. Compare that with massive infrastructure spend that is later hard to change and adapt.
it’s a right pity that under NACT “trackless trams” are the ‘best’ shot at mass transit improvements actually happening, given how anti-rail this govt is.
prepare for a lot of whinging when they find out these glorified bendy busses can’t yet drive themselves autonomously, damage roads with their weight, are a propriety technology only made by CRRC, get stuck in traffic without separation from general traffic (aka taking space and the ‘joy of driving’ away from cars), and will probably end up more expensive than surface light rail if adopted permanently
Any criticism of bikes and cycling ,invariably ends up as praise ,as the “freedom machine” constantly provides solutions to modern living. It ( the bicycle) has been doing so for well over 200 years,and will continue to do so in the future . You know Simeon,it would even reduce the amount if road cones.
If the trackless trams trial works, can we please reinstate the historic trams routes as per the wonderful Cornelius Blank tram network map. Doesn’t sound like a big ask…
We could do that now with 24/7 bus lanes and busways.
TTs can come later, once validated.
Please read Heidi O’Callahan’s submission on the draft Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7217046342756388865/
That is just brilliant.
Chances are thought it will never reach Simeon Brown’s desk. Or if it does, he won’t read it. Not that it would change his mind.
A copy of this should be emailed to every MP. It is a brilliant statement of how wrong-headed the proposed Rule change is.
We’ve uploaded Heidi’s submission, with her kind permission, here: https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Heidi-OCallahans-Submission-on-the-draft-Land-Transport-Rule-Setting-of-Speed-Limits-2024.pdf
And you can see Greater Auckland’s submission here: https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GA-Speed-Limits-2024-Submission.pdf
Thanks Heidi. Excellent.
Who is the Ministry of Transport. Non people as far as I can tell.
Apologies for not being as active in the comments section this week. Have been really busy and had to sacrifice something.
Hope to be back to regular cadence in the next couple of weeks.
No worries, thanks for at least taking a bit of time out to let us know, we were a bit worried.
About this Cook Straight business I am pondering once the Aratere is gone weather it could be replaced with a small container ship. I don’t know how big it should be. The ideal would be one return sailing per day giving 6 hr loading 6 hr steaming. But maybe 3 return sailing per week would work. There would only be one ship, container could go ro ro on bluebridge or Interislander while it was getting surveyed during a quite period of the year. Time sensitive container could do the same anyway. If Kiwirail was not going to run the ferries or this ship they would be free to send their containers on whatever service is convenient or whoever offers the best price.
Project irex was by far the best plan. Just accept it.
It does not look like it going to happen though political for sure and probably commercial as well in favour of trucking but we’re the irex ships to big. I got the impression even Kiwirail was getting cold feet about the project. After all if the Aratere can try to go overland then a bigger ship can as well with more serious consequences. .Anyway I am just suggesting an
alternative. I think it should be investigated.
Ships are a bit like aeroplanes. Their is a list of expensive minimum equipment requirements that are very largely independent of size, the navigational instumentation for instance,
And a lot of other equipment such as the engines that scaling up is not proportional to size.
So for the same capacity three ships will inevitably be more expensive then two.
The Port Infrastructure at both Wellington and Picton is at near end of life anyway.
We are in grave danger of ending up with a bodged high maintenance interim solution to save one politicians face.
The iReX ships were fine. The port upgrades were overspec’d.
https://t.co/KBw3o2JUxm
Thought the week was a bit dull – look forward to more challenges later.
Great video on woman & cycling, bit of history in there too.
Thanks, Grant. Interesting video. The information about Victoria BC was good to see.
Dr Dean Sweeney is leaving the CRL project to lead the metro rail project in Dublin.
A project six times as big as the CRL in a city that is only 80% of the size of Auckland by population.
Good luck in his new job.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/521956/city-rail-link-gets-new-ceo-outgoing-boss-takes-up-ireland-metro-role
A city that once they got over the haters and built their first light rail line, everyone wanted a stop.
They have added a line and continue to make extensions. One additional line has been confirmed and up to eight more proposed.
It would be funny, but it is not. We had a perfectly functional light rail system a hundred years ago? And now we are finally building our first subway? Did we never wish to become a mighty city, or did we just roll over and get run over by the private motor vehicle?
When will we start saying NO MORE? We deserve our light rail, we deserve our heavy rail. If we want to call ourselves a city…we need to become a city.
Apartments and subways, that is what a real city has, we can supplement with our current heavy rail and our historic light rail…until then we are no better than a donkey town; and as Mark Knofler and Emilou Harris sung in 2006…”been around this old donkey town…too long, too long, too long”
bah humbug
Sweden and Climate Change:
wow, the tram network! It honestly makes me wanna cry. Why did they destroy everything. Now even if they build something we will have to wait decades for one tram line.