It’s our final Weekly Roundup for the year! This time next week, we’ll be in a pleasant fog of Christmas dinner and wrapping paper, with the most pressing question being where to go for a swim. Enjoy our collection of stories that caught our eye this week…
This Week in Greater Auckland
- On Monday, Patrick invited us all to imagine what Auckland now is, and what it can be in the very near future.
- On Tuesday, we shared the good Public Transport news from across Aotearoa as collated by the esteemed Darren Davis.
- On Wednesday, Connor asked: what is being held back from the public about the Roads of National Significance? (Spoiler: almost everything, and that’s not okay)
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Simon Wilson’s last column for the NZ Herald
One of our most esteemed voices for a better city is moving on: this week, Simon Wilson retired from the Herald. In his final official column, he touched on the joy of cycling, the urgent need for climate action (and the benefits that immediately accrue), and Wayne Brown’s progress on fixing Auckland.
The piece is paywalled, but here’s a wee taste…
The Herald office is just off Victoria St West, so my route into town takes me through Victoria Park, along the 30km/h streets of the Wynyard Quarter, along the waterfront, over the bridge and along Quay St.
It’s green and gorgeous all the way and it’s one of the things I will miss.
That route also begs a question: now there’s a pretty good network of cycleways in and around the central city, where’s the plan to expand it in other town centres and around schools?
..A city safe for cycling is a city fit for every worthwhile purpose.
And, to be honest, I’m a bit sick of saying it, although I guess I should thank my rage readers: your clicks are important to us. Much deeper thanks to the readers who enjoy what I write. I get messages of appreciation every week and it means a lot.
But I’m not sick of riding around the city. Did I say it’s good fun? One reason for that: you can forget about the idiots. I recommend it, whoever your particular idiots happen to be.
Most people like bikes, or don’t mind either way
A timely new survey establishes, once again, what we already know from many previous and just as timely surveys: on the whole, New Zealanders think cycling is a fine way to get around, and investing in the necessary infrastructure is a good idea.
Or at least, more people either love it or don’t care either way, than outright oppose it.
From the summary:
Our survey of 1000+ New Zealanders found that more people support increasing investment in urban cycleways than oppose it (41% vs 35%), but that 24% were “neutral”. Results indicate significantly higher support amongst younger people, Māori, and those in the highest income bracket.
Support was politically polarised, with significantly higher support from NZ First and centre-left voters (Labour, Te Pāti Māori and the Green Party).
And this will be an eye-opening chart for many:
Final day to help make Green Lane West safe for cycling
Feedback closes today, Friday 19 December on AT’s proposal to improve Green Lane West to “move more people, more safely.” As Bike Auckland notes, this is a massive opportunity to deliver a highly valuable piece of the bike network, at minimal cost.
We agree! Check out Bike AKL’s super speedy feedback guide here to add your voice.
…and let’s solve another gap in the bike network while we’re at it
Out west, there’s a ridiculous 40m gap in the Opanuku “Twin Streams” path, where people on bikes (or walking dogs, pushing kids in strollers, etc) have to use the road and tough it out with passing industrial vehicles.
Thankfully, AT now has a plan to fix this gap, with help from Henderson-Massey Local Board and their Transport Capital Fund.
We say, about time! Also, please make the path wider, as 2.5m is barely enough to walk side by side.
A few other local safety projects with feedback currently open, and worth your attention:
- Speed calming in Randwick Park (closes Wednesday 31 December)
- One (1) pedestrian refuge for Stanniland St in Howick (closes Sunday 21 December)
- Pedestrian safety improvements where Hill St crosses Church St in Onehunga (closes 31 December). AT says this “will result in the loss of 7 carparks”. No word on how many lives it will save.
It’s curtains for the Road Cone Hotline!
In perhaps the most predictable story this week, the much-mocked Road Cone Hotline closed down, after six months – only halfway through its promised twelve-month run.
WorkSafe was obliged to resource and run the “pilot” programme. As Stuff reports, by October it had achieved the removal of around 200 cones, costing roughly $750 each if divided across the cost of the exercise.
1News adds that the hotline, “which received 374 reports in its first week, was down to just 15 reports in early November. In the same month, the average number of daily reports was three.”
Labour’s Transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere called it “an absurd waste of public money”, and said:
“Now that Chris Bishop and Brooke van Velden have completed their performative battle with the cones, it’s my hope not a single road cone is on top of a tree, on the head of a statue, or a single centimetre out of place over summer.
“Rest in peace road cone hotline, you will not be missed.”
Safer speeds for the Coromandel
Speaking of performative battles, good to see safer speeds in place for (three short sections of) SH2 through Karangahake Gorge and Waihi. As the NZ Herald reports, speed limits will drop from 100km/h to 60 km/h, in line with evidence, community preference, and the laws of physics.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) regional relationships director for Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Andrew Corkill, said the consultation process ran for six weeks and showed mixed views.
He said the process highlighted strong community support for safer speeds, especially near busy intersections and local facilities.
Don’t let the NIMBYs win!
Today is the last to make a submission on Plan Change 120 – the council’s latest plans for housing across Auckland.
On the topic of housing, The Spinoff covered a recent visit by author and executive of California Yimby
A visiting urbanist from California is sharing a cautionary tale from his home state, and urging New Zealand to actually follow through with its plans to build more houses in central areas.
…..
M Nolan Gray doesn’t like giving advice on town planning in other countries. The field is filled with byzantine rule books and weird local quirks. He sometimes puts his foot in it. But he’s certain of one suggestion: don’t be like us. “As painful as significant housing production can be, and as painful as it is to have a lot of change, the alternative is just so much worse,” he says.
…..
If Gray had his way, we’d focus less on the downsides of building and more on the downsides of doing nothing. He knows those are worse, because when he goes home in a couple of days, he’ll see them all firsthand. “You don’t want to live in an Auckland where every renter is spending half of their income on rent. You don’t want to live in an Auckland where young families have no path to homeownership. You don’t want to live in an Auckland where your kids are having to move away because they can’t afford to stay nearby,” he says. “As annoying as it might be to have a new building built near you, the alternative is to not have anything built near you, but have your community nonetheless dramatically change in every meaningful sense.”
Your [sic] rubbish, Auckland
Hayden Donnell reports on a dispiriting display at Council, where a number of councillors – who should know better – trashed an evidence-based plan to reduce food waste and climate-changing emissions by spacing out rubbish collections.
Council staff put up a good case, with strong support from councillors including Julie Fairey…
Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa councillor Julie Fairey took issue with [Cr Mike] Lee claiming the debate came down to “management versus the public”. “This is actually about evidence versus social licence,” she said. “Those things are both legitimate.” She didn’t like the scheme being dismissed as if it was being put in place by disconnected ivory tower bureaucrats. “These are staff members who care passionately about getting our waste down and they’ve been working towards this for years. They’re not ticking a box somewhere and I really feel for them in this.”
.. and Cr Andy Baker, whose rohe gets to host a lot of the rubbish that Aucklanders produce:
[Baker] noted the fortnightly trial was about reducing waste going to landfill and Auckland’s two solid waste landfills are located in his district and Rodney. The other councillors wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of their decisions in the form of extra waste being trucked into their backyard. His constituents would. “We talk about stopping inappropriate land use. I can think of no more inappropriate land use for our rural land than a landfill,” he said.
Baker thought it was patronising to tell communities they couldn’t change their behaviour and reduce the amount they put in their rubbish bins. He told his colleagues they should show some leadership and follow through on their commitments to reduce waste even if the solutions weren’t immediately popular.
Alas, in the end staff were sent away to dig up a different approach. Which is frankly, a rubbish outcome.
Fast-tracking rail improvements
The Future Is Rail reports on a really good list of rail projects in the lower North Island that KiwiRail has submitted for Fast Track consideration. If delivered together, this would be utterly transformational. (We’d chuck in a signalling upgrade, too)
Yes, the list is uncosted – but hey, there’s apparently no upper limit to what can be splashed out on Roads of National Significance, so it’s a great moment to explore the relative value of Rail of National Significance.
Ditching your car in 2026?
If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution, Jamie Morton in Newsroom asks if ditching your car is a good choice, whether for reducing pollution, cost, or health. It’s also, fun!
Besides exercise, those who get out of cars tend to enjoy their journeys more, with cyclists consistently rating as the happiest commuters.
Walking, riding, or biking brings people closer to their neighbourhoods, nature, and each other – things drivers often miss behind the wheel.
“Cycling, in particular, can take a little while to get used to as you work out a route and learn how to do it safely – but once you do, you might find that you really enjoy it,” says Hosking.
And one commenter thoroughly agreed, after their car was written off:
Two years ago my wee Mazda did me the favour of getting rid of itself: a left-front tyre blow-out, a brush with a parked vehicle, and a roll. With little spare time and lots of grumpiness about finding a replacement, I decided I’d “get round to it” next week, or maybe next month… So, no greenie virtue in my eventual choice to stay carless.
To be honest, the worst of the transition was self-consciousness. Fear that others thinking me pious, eccentric, a martyr – or poor, or medically unfit to drive. Such is the power of social norms and the car culture. I’ve got over that, and I’ll never go back to car ownership.
I’ve saved many thousands of dollars, I’m much fitter, more organised with shopping, more punctual. (Damned buses and trains usually run on time, so I have to, too!) I’m free of WOFs, mechanics, panel beaters, the AA, petrol stations, car washing, traffic stress and parking buildings. Walking and bussing let you mentally perambulate or semi-doze, which is very pleasant.
Next time you change your car, try going for a month or two without one and see what you think.
Jamie, one possibility you don’t mention is sharing commutes with workmates or neighbours. The passenger seat is arguably the most underused object in the world.
GA comment of the week
In response to Connor’s RoNS piece, Stephen Knight-Lenihan offered some excellent insights on the benefits of Benefit Cost Ratios. We’re sharing it again here because it deserves your attention.
Among the oddities in transport infrastructure planning is what seems to be an ongoing confusion over the role of benefit cost ratios. They don’t tell you what to do, just how to do it reasonably efficiently.
Deciding what to do is a political process, and that should be placed in context. First, how do RoNS or any other programme account for the need to reduce GHG emissions, adapt to climate change, and address ecological degradation. Then, how do they integrate with demographic projections, immigration policies, population distribution projections, and changing agricultural land use practices.
Global trends need to be considered. Current projections suggest increasingly significant climate change impacts everywhere; how will that impact the NZ economy and infrastructure expenditure planning, as well as (more importantly) what infrastructure you actually need.
There is little point having a four-lane highway delivering you to an underfunded hospital, or a community flooded out of existence, or farmland unable to support current land use practices. These priorities need to clearly integrate with, and regulate, infrastructure planning.
The approach currently seems abstract and built on a set of opaque business-as-usual assumptions that will likely condemn the country to poor outcomes. Clarify the context and assumptions, then apply BCRs, remembering the B isn’t just efficiency.
NUMTOTs unite!
A heart-warming story from NYC, where a new club welcomes junior lovers of the transit system.
The NYC Transit Club (NTC) will launch in early 2026 and is currently recruiting founding members ages 8-18 who are self-proclaimed transit nerds.
Ryan Balfe, now 15, has been interested in trains for as long as he can remember. His dad, Kevin Balfe, agrees. “When he could walk, we would be on subways with him crouching looking out the window. I wish this type of club existed for us when he was growing up,” he said. When Ryan was young, his father recalled, he would take Ryan to the New York Transit Museum, where he could pretend he was a train conductor.
If anyone has similar local aspirations, please drop us a line! (What’s a NUMTOT? Glad you asked!)
From the socials…
Oprah was in town last week, and announced her presence with a cute pic atop Maungawhau. Just another reminder of what a treasure our volcanic tihi are!
The work of Graham Tīpene is illuminating so many corners of our city right now. He’s featured in Tukanga, a fabulous series about artists, currently screening on Māori TV. Here’s a snippet:
That’s us for the week – as always, feel free to share your links and stories in the comments. And enjoy the weekend!
PS A little gem found on Bluesky: “The urbanists were 100% correct”
The video by the “electric car guy” referred to is here.
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Thank you, Greater Auckland, for a year of weekly round-ups. GA is one of the first thinks I check each morning, especially on a Friday.
I really appreciate the effort you put in to editing all this info into a coherent form. Have a great Christmas and a relaxing New Year while I mooch around on the next few Fridays wondering when you are going to return.
The Reeves Rd flyover opened in October five months ahead of schedule. Auckland Transport said the flyover would reduce congestion at one of New Zealand’s busiest intersections when fully open.
Have AT published the final costs, numbers using the road and savings in travel time yet? I guess the biggest benefit will be for the Eastern busway because of less congestion at the Pakuranga town centre.
An AT press release from September said the flyover cost $152m, more than $4m under budget. Not sure about numbers or travel time but the implementation was so bad. Signage seems to be lacking everywhere and the lanes are terribly drawn on Pakuranga Road. I was driving cautiously and still ended up accidently in another lane because the lane lines are so confusing.
It’s not really “fully” open yet. There are still temporary road layouts and light timings due to ongoing busway work, such as no right run onto the southeastern highway from TI Drive.
Will only be able to properly evaluate it once the busway is finished
It would be nice if the Taurarua – Point Resolution Bridge, in today’s masthead image, could be cleaned. Even some Wet n Forget would do the job!
Have a great break everyone!
The survey about cycling infrastructure support is not particularly useful in isolation.
Deliberative Democracy is the only way I know of that captures the opinion when people are in an informed and constructive state of mind, which is the only state appropriate to discussing investment decisions.
The survey could be useful as the “before” shot alongside an “after” shot; the same breakdown of demographic opinion following a deliberative democracy process. This would show how opinions change once people understand the implications and have been able to discuss the issues with a wide range of other people.
We have the tools. Let’s use them.
The survey does highlight how politically-aligned opinion appears to be. At least one side of the political spectrum seems to be at fault for playing this up. Notice how NZ First supporters differ from two others!
Old Guys who seem to disbelieve in cycling the way that some disbelieve in climate change shouldn’t be driving policy in this polarising fashion. Listening to the room might lead them to rethink their negativity.
Have a great break, everyone and get out to enjoy what is so good about our city – by bus (if we have to wait a while for a train), foot or bike as a change from the little metal boxes.
It does, but offers nothing new, really. I think these surveys risk reinforcing the idea that it’s normal or acceptable to politicise investment in active travel infrastructure.
Have a great break, too, Streetguy.
I’ll echo what others have said and thank Greater Auckland for keeping me informed on public transportation and urban planning in the city. As a lifelong Railway Enthusiast, I’ve been able to follow the slow, painful progression towards the CRL opening through the articles here. May next year prove more amenable to the Railways without the endless holiday shutdowns.
The rail improvements for the Wellington Region are back to the future with a reinstatement of the west of the Hutt River line between Melling and Manor Park.
And a reinstatement of Belmont Station.
As an infant I remember being baffled by the disappearance of Lower Hutt station on our train trips between Upper Hutt and Wellington, and then rediscovering it some years later it on a train trip from Lower Hutt Melling to Wellington.
The view from the train window of the Hutt River on the original route was far more interesting then the endless suburbia on the replacement line.
I did some work at Queensgate recently, and usually ended up taking the Hutt Valley line. If I went to Melling the main view was of carparks and roads and there was considerable air pollution. Taking the Hutt Valley line seemed much more pleasant.
Putting it out there, Andy Baker should be the next Mayor of Auckland. He’s got integrity, he’s pragmatic and doesn’t buy into the left vs right bullshit.
Thought it a bit sad the Henderson-Massey Local Board think 40m of Opanuku “Twin Streams” path link is a big win, but glad it is finally being addressed.
Be nice if the grotty gravel section of Lower Opanuku Cycleway in Corban Estate—from path that comes from Henderson under the railway past the gravel carpark to connect to the Te Pou Theatre area concrete (see map link location)—could be sealed too. Have seen a few people caught out by it, and also cars park blocking access.
Map link https://maps.app.goo.gl/kXJwTh2TxGRb51ym6
Yes that gravel, undefined bit in the carpark is a sad look. Since the realignment of the access ways in Corban’s the Bike path has essentially disappeared. Not sure if/when the new bike and pedestrian paths are going to be done through there.
Yeah that cones hotline was a big waste of time, money & energy. People thinking they can do things that are tried and tested a better way. Overly sensitive to too many cones thing.
Here’s a bit of light hearted fun, bit more relevant to north America but we get the sentiment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l0e9LMtlKo
Appreciating this is an Auckland blog, I still think the Wellington rail proposals are massively interesting.
Whether they happen or not, or very incrementally (works on Wairarapa etc aren’t live yet, let alone the regional stock) – it shows good intent.
And freight would benefit plenty.
What is needs is a lot of TOD, better connected placemaking strategy – but really, population and jobs growth. The government needs a plan to encourage more migration and relocation to the broader Lower NI, even if not all in Wellington City (which should also intensify) – as some will always want the suburbs still.