Weekly Roundup 26-Feb-21

Here’s our roundup for the week. City Centre Bus Changes Consultation A reminder that Auckland Transport’s consultation for new bus lanes on Wellesley St closes today so get your submission in. You can read our thoughts about it here. New North Rd and Symonds St Consultation Another consultation reminder, the consultation on upgrading New North Rd and Symonds St closes on Wednesday 3 March.…
96 Comments

Enforce and extend the bus/transit lanes

Two of the most important requirements to making public transport attractive to use is to make it reliable and for it to be somewhat time competitive with driving. Buses will always be a key part of the public transport picture and so to achieve those requirements it’s critical that buses have priority on our streets.…
53 Comments

Feb-21 AT Board Meeting

Tomorrow is the first Auckland Transport board meeting for the year and so I’ve had a look through the reports to see what stands out. Closed Session The closed session is often where the most interesting items are discussed. Though while there are plenty of items on the agenda, most of them don’t look all that exciting.…
45 Comments

Bikes and Advertising

Last week Stuff reported on an absurd ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority. A milk ad that shows a young girl biking on the footpath for 3 metres has been banned from television for “condoning an illegal practice”. The ad, for Meadow Fresh Calci Original milk, showed a girl going to the dairy to buy milk, then briefly riding her bike on the footpath.…
56 Comments

Weekly Roundup – 19-Feb-21

Here’s our roundup for the week. Te Wananga The Council and Auckland Transport have put out a new video on Te Wananga, the new public space being built over the water next to the ferry terminal. Construction is due to be completed by the end of April and the space open to the public in May, though planting will continue through to June and includes returning the large Pohutukawa to the area.…
91 Comments

Wellesley St bus lanes proposal

A key milestone in the construction of the City Rail Link will occur in mid-2021 when the Wellesley St / Albert St intersection is reopened again, having been closed since March 2020. A few days later the Victoria St / Albert St intersection will be closed to enable construction and is expected to remain closed until mid-2023.…
17 Comments

NIMBY Bingo!

While I get my thoughts in order for the ‘Housing 2020’ programme which has largely spilled over into 2021, please enjoy something from the unwritten archives. There are a few common elements when people complain about new housing. You see the same arguments raised, and often the same photo of dour residents with their arms crossed.…
80 Comments

How big is our Housing Shortfall?

For some time now we’ve been seeing housing consents set new records set again and again. In total, 16,656 consents were issued in the 12 months to the end of December, up 10% on the same time the year before. We’re also seeing new records for the types of dwellings being consented with 44% (7,285) of those consents being for townhouses compared with 39% (6,535) for single houses.…
93 Comments

HOP SHOP FLOP

Auckland Transport have some work before them to make buying HOP cards and topping them up easier. It’s often a long way to a HOP card vendor or top up location, and you generally need to know where they are in advance because wayfinding is minimal.…
97 Comments