City Rail Link: credit where due
This post was originally published as an op-ed in The Post on 11 September 2026, just before the City Rail Link opened. The header image shows Len Brown, first Mayor of the SuperCity and “godfather” of the CRL addressing a Greater Auckland gathering on opening day. …
45 Comments Warkworth to Te Hana deal to cost us over $9,000,000,000?
A few weeks ago, I asked what Warkworth to Te Hana (WW2TH) will actually cost us. A fair question, given the government’s rush to sign a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for this new four-lane expressway ahead of the election, without releasing the numbers of what it will really cost.…
A response from the Minister on the Harbour Crossing reset
After the Government’s announcement of a revised approach to planning the next Waitematā Harbour Crossing, we had thoughts – and quite a few questions.
The Minister has provided answers, which we share below. While a lot of it this remains promising, we also have a lot of remaining concerns, and quite a few follow-up questions as well.…
A new approach to the next Waitematā Harbour Crossing?
Yesterday, Minister of Transport Chris Bishop and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced changes to the development of the next Waitematā Harbour Crossing.
They’ve announced that the project is being taken away from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) – whose board endorsed a tunnel earlier this year after completing an investment case – and will be moved into the Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions, and Transport (MCERT) under a Senior Responsible Owner (SRO), in order to prepare a Detailed Business Case.…
The opportunity cost of expressway obsessions
A version of this piece appeared as an op-ed in The Sunday Star-Times on 2 August 2026, and in The Post online. It has been lightly updated to reflect events. (See also last Monday’s post: What will Warkworth to Te Hana cost us?…
What will Warkworth to Te Hana cost us? And other burning questions
Last week, late on Thursday afternoon, Minister of Transport Chris Bishop announced that the government had signed the contract for a Public Private Partnership for Warkworth to Te Hana.
This answers our long-running question: are they seriously going to go ahead with this?…
Five years to restore safer* speeds in Auckland?
Tomorrow’s meeting of Auckland Council’s Transport and Infrastructure Delivery Committee (TIDC) has some interesting items. One that particularly stands out for me is in the Auckland Transport update.
And it’s on the Safe Speeds Programme. Aucklanders yearn for a return to evidence-based speeds
A year on from Auckland Transport’s mindbogglingly widespread implementation of Simeon Brown’s 2024 Speed Rule, they report that they have recently been hard at work on – and making some progress on – returning some streets and roads to more safe speeds.…
Revised PC120 Passed by Auckland Council
After a five-hour long meeting yesterday, Auckland Council passed amendments to Plan Change 120, enabling greater intensity of housing in designated locations. (Below is the video of the whole meeting – at the end of this post clips breaking it into five parts, for your viewing at leisure.)…
Why the RoNS are even more unthinkable now
Our open letter to Chris Bishop, imploring him to bring some sense to the overblown Roads of National Significance juggernaut, has sparked a lot of discussion and some very good questions about the way ahead.
Once upon a time, the RoNS were a shiny election bauble, a vision of brand-new highways sweeping across the country.…
Our PC120 feedback to central Local Boards
Currently, Local Boards in Auckland are being asked to consider two different options when it comes to PC120. In our view, Option B is ideal as it focuses upzoning around existing infrastructure and strong transport links, within the central isthmus. (By contrast, Option A does only the bare legal minimum.)…
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