The Low Cost of Ending the High Cost of Free Parking
This is a guest post from reader Stephen Davis and was originally posted here.
New Zealanders are probably most familiar with the Resource Management Act (or “RMA” for short) as being about protecting the environment: when it’s discussed by politicians, it’s almost always either being decried as having environmental protections that are too onerous and stand in the way of progress, or alternatively being supported as the main defence of environmental health.…
70 Comments Auckland Transport needs to “up its game”
There’s a bit of a recurring theme to a lot of transport commentary in recent times – that Auckland Transport needs to “up its game”. I touched on it recently in regards to communications, but it’s also covered well in this Newsroom article about the standoff between Auckland Transport and Councillors in relation to the most recent Statement of Intent.…
Simply repeating “getting people out of their cars” is not a communications strategy
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the Herald’s silly Park and Ride campaign last week was the poor quality communications from Auckland Transport. Instead of explaining clearly what their plans are and why they have adopted this approach, all we got was somewhat mindless chanting:
AT chairman Lester Levy and chief executive Shane Ellison say the council’s transport body is continuing to invest in park and rides, but their focus is on getting people out of cars and into public transport.…
Why we can’t have nice things: a look inside the black box of traffic engineering decision making
A new research paper has helped shed some light on why we continually seem to see substandard and delayed street outcomes from Auckland Transport that completely ignore Auckland’s agreed political and policy goals. It reveals a complex and dysfunctional decision making process that might be representative more generally of the institutional inertia that exists at AT.…
AT’s (lack of) Achievement of Carbon Emission and Fuel Usage Targets
This is a guest post from reader Takaite
Background
As 40% of Auckland’s carbon emissions are due to transport, if Auckland is to contribute its share to NZ’s carbon reduction targets this is an area where reductions have to be made.…
July-18 AT Board Meeting
Today is the latest Auckland Transport board meeting. As usual, I’ve been through the papers.
Closed Session Agenda
There are quite a few items on the closed session agenda this month and all are up for approval/decision. The most interesting ones are: AT Board Policies
Contract Variation Agreement for the Provision of Manned Services
Ferry PTOM Procurement Update
Future Ferry Strategy
Deed of Lease of KR Land at Takanini Park and Ride
Lease of Units at Devonport Wharf
AMETI EB1 Revised Forecast
Procurement of ETCS equipment
Review and Approval of AT Board Subcommittee Charters Open Session Board Report
There’s quite a few interesting items in this report and I skipped some of it due to how long the post was already getting.…
Guest Post: A Letter to Shane Ellison – CEO of Auckland Transport
This is a Guest Post by Lance Wiggs. It first appeared here and is republished with permission.
Dear Shane
You’ve begun your role as the Chief Executive Officer of Auckland Transport at a moment of crisis, with hundreds of Auckland families coping with the death of their loved ones on the city’s roads every year.…
Regional Fuel Tax Approved
Yesterday the Council made a fairly momentous decision to proceed with the Regional Fuel Tax, after a long and pretty good debate on the issue. Here’s what RNZ reported on the decision:
Councillors voted 13 to 7 in favour of the tax.…
Public feedback on the Regional Fuel Tax
Tomorrow the Council will make their final decision on whether to proceed with the Regional Fuel Tax – which is fundamental to delivering the ATAP transport programme by helping to fund the following projects: As part of the legislative requirements for introducing the fuel tax, the Council undertook consultation earlier this month on the proposal.…
May-18 AT Board Meeting
Today is the latest Auckland Transport board meeting and as I do, I’ve been through the board papers to find the interesting bits.
Closed Session
There’s quite a bit in the closed session this meeting. Some of the items for decision/approval include: Matakana Link Road – Presumably this is AT staff asking the board to approve a 50km/h urban road that’s more expensive per km than most motorway projects.…
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