Toil and trouble; economy burn and housing bubble #2
My previous post on Auckland’s housing market prompted considerable interest. Even if there were areas of disagreement, simply seeing this level of interest left me feeling more optimistic about the potential for us to find solutions. I think Maggie said it best when she remarked: In this post, I want to discuss in more detail some of the policies which could be used to address the demand for houses, especially demand associated with investment.…
97 Comments Toil and trouble; economy burn and housing bubble #1
Auckland’s house price “bubble” has been in the news a lot lately. Stories such as this one suggest large profits are being made in Auckland’s property market. And this one, which suggests growth in house prices is outstripping growth in salaries.…
Mill Road economic evaluation
In this earlier post Matt discussed the proposed Mill Rd project in South Auckland.
I actually grew up in Franklin (Waiuku) and know the wider sub-region quite well. Mill Rd is, in my experience, an unsafe stretch of road within a somewhat disconnected/fragmented network.…
Northland, Politics, Transport, and Pork
On March 28 the (normally safe) National-held electorate of Northland heads for a bye-election. The outcome of the bye-election will be fascinating for several reasons.
The first reason is that it’s politically important. If Winston Peters wins then it will be more difficult for National to pass controversial legislation, because they will need the votes of not just one but two support parties.…
A Boy in the City
*** Here at TransportBlog we’re big advocates for making Auckland more “family friendly”. In general, this means designing our city to be safe and pleasant for the most vulnerable people: Children. While many parts of Auckland are a long way from idal, the City Centre has – in my opinion – come a long way over the last 10-15 years, I’m struck by the number of families and children I now see wandering around enjoying all that the city has to offer.…
Tomorrow is transit driver appreciation day
Tomorrow is “Transit driver appreciation day“:
“Consider this… For hours on end, transit drivers manage to keep a schedule, check fares, give directions, announce stops, remember stop requests and more, all while safely maneuvering an extra-large vehicle through unpredictable traffic, adverse weather conditions and some really tight spaces!…
Auckland’s public transport growth – How good is it?
As discussed in this recent post, public transport patronage in Auckland grew at an annualised rate of 9% last month. This growth was led by the rapid transit network (rail and busways), but underpinned by solid growth across the rest of the network.…
Heavily tinted windows on buses …
… are a pet hate of mine.
Why? Well, it’s rather straight-forward really: Heavily tinted windows make the outside world appear dark all the time. I find this to be rather gloomy, especially at night.
Indeed, the Airbus Express from the Airport to the City provides a very convenient ghost tour every time I return to Auckland from my new abode in Brisbane (image source).…
Small apartments are beautiful
Peter’s recent post explains why apartments, even expensive ones, make an important contribution to housing affordability.
Expensive apartments improve housing affordability by taking wealthy households out of the market for the existing housing stock, thereby freeing it up for other households on lower incomes. …
How traffic engineering standards can break our cities
Many of you will know me as just a facetious blogger who spouts off about random things from time to time. This is indeed true.
What is also true, however, is that in a previous life I worked as a transport engineer.…
Processing...