Further thoughts on the “transport package”
Unsurprisingly last week’s transport announcements were a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to transport spending in Auckland. Overall I guess the good news is that central government finally supports the City Rail Link – making opponents of the project look pretty isolated.…
70 Comments There’s U Turns and then there’s handbrakes
This week we saw the government do a massive U-Turn on its support for the City Rail Link and then a few days later agree to a bucket full of roading projects. While we can debate the merits of these projects, crucially the three main projects – The CRL, AMETI and the East-West Link and an Additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing – are the three at the top of the priority list in the Auckland Plan.…
Can we meet the targets to start the CRL early?
As I’m sure you can imagine with the transport announcement yesterday we will have heaps to talk about over the coming weeks. It is going to take us some time to fully go through everything so please bear with us as we do that however if there is a particular topic you would like to see on the blog please feel free to provide a guest post.…
Governments Auckland Transport Package Announced
The government has announced the details of its transport plans for Auckland and other than the CRL, it is a massive road fest. Here is the press release.
PM signals next generation of Auckland transport projects
Prime Minister John Key today outlined the Government’s plan to kick-start the next generation of major Auckland transport projects, including the City Rail Link, and to accelerate a trio of State Highway projects.…
Are More Road Lanes Across the Waitemata A Good Idea?
Like the news of the government at last supporting the construction of the City Rail Link which leaked out yesterday, news is now becoming widespread that John Key will also announce some kind of fast tracking of the Additional Waitemata Harbour Crossing.…
Why the government’s sudden change of heart?
For many, the announcement that the government was coming to the party on the CRL – and, it sounds like, a heap of pointless roading projects – was a big shock. Many people, including myself, have suggested that this is not so much a case of the government agreeing with the council over the project, but making a very strategic political decision to gain support.…
Not a loop.
It’s great to hear that the government has now agreed to support the City Rail Link, after a couple of years of dragging its feet. We’ll have more to say on the detail of their plans over the next few days – in fact, we may have to wait till Friday to hear the full announcement – but after watching TV3 news last night, I’m thoroughly sick of hearing the word “loop”.…
What else will the Government announce? the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
In announcing that the government was finally going to come to the party and support the CRL, John Key has also made it clear that the project is going to be just one part of an overall package of transport projects in the city.…
Further thoughts on today’s CRL announcement
One gets the feeling that the government’s announcement today that they’ll fund half of the City Rail Link project (although construction only from 2020 onwards) occurred because opposing the project was no longer tenable: either in a practical sense (the weight of evidence produced by Council and Auckland Transport over the last couple of years) and a political sense – probably through polling but also the political pressure from Auckland business associations.…
Govt to support CRL
Wow what a day (why do these days always happen when I’m busy with other stuff)
If you haven’t heard already, the government has announced that it will pay for half of the City Rail Link although it appears with a delay of 5 years. …
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