Auckland Transport No More
Mayor Wayne Brown has spent much of his time in office bemoaning the role of Wellington in how Auckland plans for the future often saying “Wellington needs to stop planning Auckland“. But on Friday he happily handed control of the city’s transport future over to Wellington, labelling it “a major victory for the people of Auckland“.…
59 Comments CRL progress and plans for more Bus and Transit lanes
Tomorrow is the next meeting for the Council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee and there’s a lot of focus on the City Rail Link, though there are a few other interesting items too. City Rail Link
Given we’re getting close to the end of the City Rail Link, and with the last major period of network disruption approaching, it’s unsurprising there’s a lot of focus on the progress towards completing it.…
Level Crossing Removal Starts
The government have seemed a bit more desperate to be seen to be doing things lately, and yesterday they got an opportunity with a sod-turning event to mark the start of removing the last seven level crossings on the southern and eastern lines north of Papakura.…
Just asking questions about bike helmets
The media’s tendency to seize on anything bike-related and turn it into a scandal took a new turn this week, after it was revealed David Seymour, in his role as Minister for Regulation, had asked for advice about removing the mandatory helmet requirements for people on bicycles.…
How rapid is our Rapid Transit
Last week Auckland Transport released their new rapid transit map for after the City Rail Link opens sometime next year. The implication that the rapid transit network (RTN) should be fast is right there in the name, but for the avoidance of doubt, the Auckland Rapid Transit Pathway has a high-level description of the RTN of:
Rapid transit is fast, frequent, and reliable public transport.…
Fuel Taxes to go
The government look set to make things easier for big gas guzzling vehicles with the announcement yesterday that they’re progressing with plans to replace fuel taxes with road user charges. Cabinet has agreed to a series of important legislative changes to enable the transition of New Zealand’s 3.5 million light vehicles to paying for our roading network through electronic road user charges, rather than petrol tax, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop.…
AT’s First Official CRL Map
The City Rail Link is going to be one of the most transformative projects Auckland has ever seen and it is now, most likely, less than a year away. Auckland Transport are more visibly starting to get ready for it, and yesterday they officially unveiled their rapid transit map for once CRL opens, including what they’re calling each of the lines.…
The Government’s Northern Expressway Obsession
On Saturday there were some interesting discussions on TVNZ’s Q+A programme with Jake Tame about infrastructure with Minister Chris Bishop and Infrastructure Commission Te Waihanga chief executive Geoff Cooper.
In his discussion with Chris Bishop, Tame covers a range of topics from his various portfolios, many of which probably of interest, such as the impact of the government’s policies on the construction industry, on city deals and the government pushing councils towards asset sales, housing and in particular his response to the op-ed from Christine Fletcher late last week.…
Congestion Charging: Location Options
New York is the most recent city to implement congestion pricing and it’s already (and predictably) been a success. Will Auckland be the next city to introduce it?
Legislation to introduce “time of use charging” (congestion pricing) is currently making its way through Parliament, with the government intending to pass it before the end of the year.…
Selling Tolling Rights
The idea that our existing transport taxes will fully cover the cost of maintaining and expanding our transport system has long been false. Governments of all stripes have pumped billions of additional spending in to fund major transport projects like motorway extensions.…
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