Rail buses are a pain – but they don’t have to be
This is a guest post by reader Grady Connell. It was originally published (in October 2022) on Today FM.
Road closed ahead. It’s a dreaded sign to see during any journey on the roading network. Seeing this sign usually means bumper-to-bumper traffic and a 10-minute or more longer detour winding through random back streets to get to your destination.…
30 Comments Auckland needs infrastructure investment to support intensification
This is a letter to Auckland Council elected members, sent by the Coalition for More Homes on Tuesday the 6th of December 2023. We’re sharing it because it’s on point: infrastructure needs to keep up with new housing, and fast.
Intensification is occurring across most of the Auckland urban area, delivering greater housing choice, improved affordability and lower carbon living.…
Strong support for the Inner West Street Improvements Projects
We’re concerned to see a suggestions in the media that three long-planned and much-consulted corridor improvement projects could be iced for no apparent reason other than that they also improve conditions for cycling.
To our eyes, this feels shortsighted and arbitrary. …
Who pays when roads and parking are “free” to use?
This guest post by George Weeks originally appeared on The Spinoff and is reposted with kind permission.
It might seem like a good deal, but toll-free roading results in congestion and free parking leads to frustrated circling. Drivers end up paying with their precious time – and the social cost is huge. …
A minimum viable light rail for Auckland
This is a guest post by Simon Lyall. It was originally published on his blog. Background
In late January 2022 the government announced that it was building a $15 billion light rail line from the Airport to the City Center via Mount Roskill.…
Mapping changes in Auckland’s youngish adult population
This is a guest post by Aaron Schiff, a freelance economist and data scientist. A version of this post originally appeared on his blog. Many people aged in their 20s and 30s are leaving home, entering and/or completing education, are at the beginning of their working lives, and possibly starting families.…
European cities were once as car-choked as ours
This is a guest post by George Weeks, a chartered town planner and urban designer. This article originally appeared on The Spinoff and is republished here by kind permission.
Recent changes to planning legislation in New Zealand have enabled quite major changes to our urban landscape.…
Staying on track during railway closures
This is a guest post by accessibility and sustainable transport advocate Tim Adriaansen.
Recently I shared a LinkedIn post describing how Auckland’s rail shutdown omnishambles could leave a superb legacy—if Auckland Transport rises to the occasion.
There’s a silver lining to the rail network rebuild which boils down to two things: It provides a mandate for bold and decisive transport planning decisions;
It’s a practical test of Auckland Transport’s Executive Leadership Team and their ability to respond to a crisis If we were to make the best of a bad thing, here is how I’d like to think it might play out.…
A map of Auckland’s Frequent Transit Network in 2025
This is a repost that was first published by Nicolas Reid on his Linked In page.
Ten years ago while working on Auckland Transport’s New Network I sketched out a public transport network map for Auckland. This was intended as a tool to help communicate the differences and benefits of the new integrated bus network that we had just designed around a new connective service model.…
Neighbourhoods: the missing ingredient
This is a guest post by reader Grady Connell. It was originally published on Today FM.
This is a story about the missing ingredient from both a cookie recipe… and newer housing developments. After listening to Tova O’Brien’s interview about how walkable your neighbourhood is and completing a recent ride around Pukekohe’s newer neighbourhoods, it made me realise there’s a missing ingredient.…
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