Shared spaces then and now
How things change… or don’t change.
I recently ran across two videos that illustrate humans’ ability to navigate complex urban environments with a mix of people on the street.
The first video is from the dawn of the motor vehicle age: San Francisco in 1906.…
21 Comments Congestion in large Australasian cities
Is Auckland abnormally congested?
I occasionally hear people bemoaning that Auckland is one of the most congested cities in the world, or at least one of the most congested cities for its size.
I’ve previously taken a look at this from a few angles – looking at trends in traffic delay in Auckland and average commuting time in large cities around the world.…
Sunday reading 31 July 2016
Welcome back to Sunday reading. This week is the week that the Independent Hearings Panel released its recommendations on the Auckland Unitary Plan, so we’re going to lead off with a few reactions.
First, Hayden Donnell at the Spinoff had a useful summary of the IHP’s decisions.…
Growth in cycling on new separated cycleways
Last week, Auckland Council unanimously voted to approve the construction of Skypath, the long-overdue walking and cycling link across the Waitemata Harbour. (There is still the hurdle of a potential Environment Court appeal by opponents.) Well done to all the councillors, some of whom had previously expressed scepticism – the city will be better for their votes, and their willingness to rethink an occasionally contentious issue.…
IPENZ talk: Our future with climate change
This Wednesday the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand is running a seminar on our future with climate change. It’s open to the general public as well as IPENZ members, so come along if you’re interested in the topic.
Apologies for the formatting on their advert; I couldn’t figure out how to copy it across properly: IPENZ Transportation Group Auckland invites members to:
Our Future With Climate Change
A joint event with EECA, NZPI and CILT.…
How to reduce Auckland house prices
Arthur Grimes, the former chair of the Reserve Bank board, caused a stir with his proposal to crash Auckland house prices by 40% by building lots more housing:
My call for policies to drive a house price collapse is driven by my personal value judgement that it’s great for young families and families on lower incomes, to be able to afford to buy a house if they wish to do so.…
Sunday reading 17 July 2016
Welcome back to Sunday reading. This week, a different take on housing markets. We normally focus on issues like zoning and development that affect the quantity of housing that gets built in a city, but things aren’t necessarily all hunky-dory once the housing’s there.…
What are the preconditions for congestion pricing in Auckland?
The inclusion of congestion pricing in the recent Auckland Transport Alignment Project interim report has (helpfully) reignited the public debate on the topic. Transportblog’s authors have been pretty enthusiastic about the idea – see e.g. Stu Donovan’s posts on the topic.…
Remember the last time house prices crashed 40%?
More commentary on this later on, but for now I’m just going to drop in some data.
Former Reserve Bank chair Arthur Grimes commented last week in The Spinoff:
In March 2016, the REINZ Auckland median house price reached $820,000. Four years previously, it was $495,000 – that’s a 66% increase in 4 years.…
The alternative route
Congestion pricing has once again hit the political radar, with the news that the Auckland Transport Alignment Project has recommended it as an option to more efficiently manage the transport network. They find that variable road tolls – highest during peak periods on busy roads and low (or even zero) at off-peak times – are the single most effective intervention to improve traffic flow.…
Processing...