Why the RoNS are even more unthinkable now
Our open letter to Chris Bishop, imploring him to bring some sense to the overblown Roads of National Significance juggernaut, has sparked a lot of discussion and some very good questions about the way ahead.
Once upon a time, the RoNS were a shiny election bauble, a vision of brand-new highways sweeping across the country.…
55 Comments Open letter to Chris Bishop
Kia ora Minister Bishop,
Congratulations to you and the government for your work to secure cross-party support for the National Infrastructure Plan.
It is imperative that you now urgently apply that agreement to the Warkworth to Te Hana project, and to the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme as a whole, as they run entirely counter to the plan.…
FAQ on the Waitematā Harbour Bridge Proposal
This is a guest post by Nicolas Reid, Technical Director – Public Transport and Rapid Transit at MRCagney and author of Transit By Design.
In this post – shared by kind permission (via Linkedin), Nicolas answers a number of frequently asked questions regarding his proposal for the next Waitematā Harbour crossing.…
Urgent call to rescope Warkworth to Te Hana
On Monday Greater Auckland wrote to all political parties calling for a pause on signing a Public-Private Partnership for the Warkworth to Te Hana expressway, and urging the government to work with opposition parties to rescope and right-size the project following the recommendations outlined in the National Infrastructure Plan.…
Unlocking value and choice in getting around
An excellent new £4.5b Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy was recently released in the UK. Low cost, high value, win win.
The policy has three key objectives: 1. Enable more people, particularly the least active, to benefit from physical activity through active travel
2.…
Give Aucklanders a real say on our next harbour crossing
Why is the public not involved in the options for Auckland’s next harbour crossing? This is a critical issue for our city, so it shouldn’t be a state secret, let alone a single option imposed on us by fiat.
Getting this right is something we all have a stake in.…
When transparency might stop a bad project
Six months ago I lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman, appealing a refusal by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to release information related to the Warkworth to Te Hana Road of National Significance project.…
Tweaks to Takaanini level crossings
Auckland Transport are tweaking their proposals for removing level crossings in Takaanini.
Updated plans for four new bridges to replace level crossings in Takaanini aim to save money and minimise construction disruption.
The Takaanini bridges are the next phase of the Auckland Rail Level Crossing Programme, which helps unlock the full potential of City Rail Link by allowing more frequent trains while keeping traffic moving and improving safety.…
The Road Toll of the RoNS
How many people have been killed or seriously injured because of a myopic focus on over-scoped highways?
This isn’t a rhetorical question.
The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) – the name of which is a political slogan – are a number of State Highway projects first proposed in 2009, by then National Party Minister of Transport Steven Joyce.…
Throwback Thursday: Holiday Highway Benefits Disputed (by Northland)
Over the last 15+ years, Greater Auckland (and formerly as Transport Blog) have been scrutinising the Roads of National Significance, and specifically the ‘Holiday Highway’ between Puhoi and Wellsford.
We’ve long been proponents of better, cheaper, and quicker-to-deliver solutions (than the proposed Road of National Significance mega-project), importantly for the safety issues on the stretch of State Highway 1 between Puhoi and Wellsford, but also across the wider Northland Region.…
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