I’m calling for a supermarket boycott!
Over the last few years I have become increasingly frustrated by the attitude of NZ’s major supermarkets to transport issues.
Right now Progressives and Foodstuffs are spending big money on free parking, fuel discounts etc for people who drive to their stores. …
67 Comments Park-and-ride, boon or boondoggle?
Matt L has just dissected AT’s recent announcement regarding the expansion of the Albany Park and Ride.
Park and ride is a vexed transport planning issue: It’s very popular with middle-class commuters and as a result tends to receive a lot of public/political support. …
Managing seasonal traffic – Cathedral Cove as a Case Study
Recently returned to Auckland from the Coromandel, where I worked over New Years serving drinks to muddy revellers at the Corogold Music Festival in Whitianga. While away I managed to squeeze in a visit to Cathedral Cove. Photo credit: DOC website
I must say that Cathedral Cove has developed nicely as a visitor attraction over the last two decades or so, since I first started going there as a young sprog on summer holidays to Matarangi with my parents. …
The NZ Police – Enabling crime through poor urban design
One of the most unfortunate consequences of bad urban design is that there is a loss of “eyes on the street” and a concomitant reduction in safety and security. Basically, if there are more people walking around, then the safer people will feel and the more willing they are to walk (holding other factors constant).…
AWOL AirBus ticket machine at Auckland International Airport
Arrived back in Auckland tonight after spending the last few months working for TransLink in Brisbane.
I walked out of the terminal intending to catch the AirBus but – much to my amazement – could not find a ticket machine. I never carry cash and the ticket booth was closed at the time, so I had to get a shuttle home instead. …
Postcard from Greece
Greece has been in the news a lot lately, for all the wrong reasons. Having travelled through Greece on my way back to New Zealand, I felt compelled to add a personal (and more positive) spin on Greece’s fortunes.
My first few days were spent in Kalamata, where I spent much of the time huddled beneath an umbrella trying unsuccessfully to avoid the blazing sun, while playing backgammon and sipping on iced coffees.…
Removing the Kink in the Link
I’m currently living in a flat in Parnell. One of my flat mates Laura works on Ponsonby Road and wants to catch the Inner Link to work.
Unfortunately, her bus journey from Parnell to Ponsonby is made intolerably long by the “Kink in the Link” that occurs through Newmarket. …
The Outer Link: The Missing Link?
I’ve spent the last few days looking for apartments in Auckand’s wonderful central suburbs.
And yesterday the new Outer Link service passed its first test with flying colours, when I had to get from Parnell to Point Chevalier in 30 minutes. …
What the BLEEP?
Now back in Auckland after one year overseas and I’m generally impressed with the great leaps forward that have occurred in so many areas across the city. Got my HOP card, love it. Catch the Mt Eden b-line, love it. Visited the new extended Art Gallery, love it.…
Postcard from Norway – The rose of Scandinavia
My first encounter with the socio-economic supernova that is Scandinavia began as a naive eighteen year old kid from Waiuku who landed in Sweden, having randomly decided to see what life was like on the other side of the world. In the ensuing 12 months I picked up the language, some rudimentary – if still dangerously erratic – ice-skating skills, and many dear acquaintances. …
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