Weekly Roundup 25-October-2024

Happy Friday, even more so as we’re head to a long weekend, so welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments!

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The Week on Greater Auckland

• On Monday Connor looked at the Entrust election.
• On Tuesday we had a guest post from our friends at Bike Auckland on tim tams.
• In Wednesday’s post Matt looked at how population has changed in Auckland since the last election and the impact zoning appears to have had.
• And on Thursday Scott delved into viewshafts.

This just in

As reported by Simon Wilson in the NZ Herald (not paywalled, for once!) yesterday Auckland Council voted to fill the transport funding gaps left by this government’s approach – thereby also supporting a pipeline of projects that prioritise climate, safety and active modes. The councillors unanimously endorsed Option 4c, as asked for by many of their constituents. Excellent work all round!

Much of the spending rejected by the Government will still be reduced in the new plan. Road safety, street maintenance, preparation for time-of-use (congestion) charging and spending on cycleways and bus services will all receive significantly less than the council originally hoped.

In all those areas, though, the cuts are less severe than proposed by the Government, because the council has tried to spread the impact much more widely.

Road safety programmes, including cycling in schools and walking school buses, are one example of this. They will lose 40% of their funding, but as councillor Richard Hills noted: “The Government cut the road safety budget from $70 million down to $6 million. We’re restoring much of that.”

Fiáin d’Leafy, Chief Biking Officer of Bike Auckland, also covered the meeting here, noting the poignant subtext of the ridiculous battle to just give people what they’re already showing the want and need:

Cr Hills also spoke out loud what I was feeling – that though this is the best decision that can be made at this time, overall it is a very sad situation. He noted that investing in safety and cycling is not political, that overseas it is a very normal thing to do, that kids want to get around in active ways, and that Simon Bridges made some of the largest investments in cycling while he was in office – some of those projects are still being delivered now. There has been an overall trend (regardless of the political spectrum) of an increase in cycling investment, and it’s very unusual for safety funding to be slashed like this.

When it was over, I turned to Teva and said “this is the best outcome we could have had, but I feel so sad.” We wandered out to our bikes, and rode off, somewhat dazzled by the sun. After a small while of being outside, and speeding along somewhat chaotically, I felt joyous again. Cycling numbers are higher than ever, it may be slow but the network is growing, and we have such an awesome community of people. Just like a tail wind, or the ease of riding down-hill, the momentum will catch us up – and there are good things still to come.

Reminder – last day to vote in the Entrust election

Postal voting has now closed, but you can drop your completed voting paper into any Entrust branded ballot bin up to 5pm today, Friday 25 October.

See here for ballot bin locations: Entrust 2024 Bin Locations

They include the election office in Penrose, and these 10 Woolworths (formerly Countdown) stores: Waiheke • Quay St • Mt Eden • Mt Roskill • St Johns • Greenlane • Māngere Town Centre • Manukau City Centre • Botany Downs • Highland Park.

This is your chance to move this powerful community asset into the 21st Century, under the leadership of More for You, Better for Auckland. As Patrick wrote, this team offers a far more sustainable, resilient and visionary plan for empowering the community than those who’ve had a grip on the trust for 30 years.

Be sure to vote – the power is yours!  Official info about the Entrust election here.

Long Weekend Rail Shutdown

It wouldn’t be a long weekend in Auckland without the rail network being shutdown and this one is no different “as Kiwirail prepare to carry out 18 years of maintenance in one year“.

At a conference of industry heads in Auckland yesterday, there was excitement around completing a rail rebuild and opening new networks, while also questions over how to confront unhappy travellers.

Between speed restrictions, construction nightmares and cascading signal faults, Auckland’s rail commuters are not short of headaches.

But KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy told the room of railway leaders that the situation was getting better.

“In Auckland we’re starting to see a big improvement. The mayors been quite clear with us in terms of expectations with ourselves and AT (Auckland Transport), and we’ve certainly got together and we are seeing a definite improvement.”

He said that in 2025, there will be 18 years worth of maintenance undertaken in a single year across New Zealand.

This Labour weekend continues to see a range of works around the network, a lot of which is about starting to prepare for bigger pieces of work over the Christmas/New Year period. We haven’t yet heard the dates for that yet but suggestions are it could be quite a long one.

There’ll be plenty of rail works going on in Wellington too.

We’re going to need a bigger island

Snapped yesterday morning at the Ngapipi intersection. Imagine how much busier this will be once Stage 4 of the Eastern Path is complete.

The first Mayoral candidate for next year

NZ Herald reports:

Auckland councillor Kerrin Leoni is the first person out of the blocks to express an interest in standing for the mayoralty at next year’s local body elections.

In a social media post yesterday, the first-term councillor said no women have governed Auckland since it became a Super City in 2010.

“That is why I believe it’s time for fresh leadership in Auckland. I am a strong wāhine Māori Irish Italian committed to seeing our city thrive for all Aucklanders.

Meanwhile from the current mayor calls Ōrewa coastal work a mistake. This might be the first time I’ve heard the term “sacrificial reserve”

Consultation on a draft Shoreline Adaption Plan (SAP), covering the coast from Snells Beach to Ōrewa, is open until November 12.

…..

The plan aims to manage council’s coastal assets as erosion and rising sea levels increasingly threaten the shoreline. ‘Adaptation priority areas’ are identified where some assets will be protected and maintained in place while others will be moved.

…..

Brown said, “Just because we may be the owner of a sacrificial reserve does not mean that we have to pay for the repair of that without asking the people immediately behind that to contribute seriously. We have made a mistake once and I don’t want to see that happen again.”

Ideas from around the world

This article is focused on what Australia could learn but the lessons equally apply here.

It’s time for a major rethink of transport in Australia, experts say – and, while some new ideas may meet resistance, “these are not ideas from radical left Scandinavian pot-smoking greenies”, Prof Matt Burke says.

Policies lumped together as “active transport” include proposals to offer rebates for people who ditch their cars for public transport, or cash payouts for people who cycle to work.

“This is happening in cities like Denver, Montreal and Washington DC,” Burke says.

Burke, the deputy director of Griffith University’s Cities Research Institute, is an expert on transport planning and policy and, in particular, on how towns and cities could get more people out of their cars and into their walking shoes, bike saddles and on to electric bikes and scooters.

He cites policies already implemented elsewhere in the world, such as major investments in walking and cycling infrastructure and importantly, Burke believes, lowering speed limits in local streets.

Australia is one of only four countries globally where the speed limit for cars in local streets is as high as 50km/h. “The others are Qatar, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia,” he says.

It was just the other week the minister was trying to (incorrectly) claim that most cities had 50km/h as a default.

On the topic of speed limits, Nelson is racing to lower some speed limits before a government deadline.

The week in Welly

Joel MacManus, the Spinoff’s Wellington-watcher keeps hitting it out of the park. This week, a perfect rewrite of a recent opinion piece, that gets at the real issue:

At a time when rates are increasing and so many businesses are struggling, it’s unconscionable that Wellington City Council is spending so much on car lanes. Financial reports show the council spent $202 million on car lanes over the past two financial years compared to just $41 million on bike lanes. Despite the huge cost, even the drivers don’t like them. The annual residents survey found just 34% of people think it is easy to drive through central Wellington, down two percentage points from 2022. By comparison, 41% found it easy to bike in the city, up 24 points from two years ago.

I have nothing against car drivers. I think driving is great, in theory. However, these particular car lanes are dangerous and poorly designed. In the past five years, there have been more than 1,500 injuries and 70 fatalities on Wellington’s car lanes.

The pro-car zealots at the city council insist on ramming car lanes through the city even though no one in my limited social circle supports them. I personally do not drive a car to work, and therefore I cannot comprehend how a car lane might be useful for someone else.

…..

It’s time someone said what everyone is thinking: the car lanes have no cars. I went out to Kent Terrace at 6am on a Sunday and couldn’t see a car. A survey in 2023 found that just 28% of people in Wellington city usually drive to work. Why are we designing our entire city around a hobby for a small minority of middle-aged men?

Why did Melbourne’s trams survive?

It’s not easy being green

RNZ has been reporting on struggles around the country to plant, tend, and nurture berms. Love berms, as it were. This piece features an Auckland story. We can’t help but wonder: if you planted a double-cab ute on your berm instead of, say, a row of cabbages, would Council be more forgiving? (Of course it would.)

“There was no boundary between my lawn and the berm and people’s dogs were using my lawn as a toilet, so I planted a hedge on the berm to prevent that and somebody complained to Auckland Council.”

Thompson asked for a council officer to visit the site, but before they came he scouted other suburbs looking to see if they also had berm plantings.

“I went to some wealthy areas in Takapuna and Devonport took some photos and made notes of a landscaped berms outside these wealthy houses that matched their landscape gardens and noted the addresses.”

When the council officer arrived, observed that his hedge was clearly on the berm as per the complaint and said it had to go, Thompson played his trump card.

“I gave him an A4 sheet of paper and he said, ‘What’s this?’ And I said that’s 10 addresses of houses in Takapuna and Devonport that have landscaped their berms to match their landscaped gardens.

It is easy being green, if you have a mind to

An inspiring story from Barcelona of how to do it along with some gorgeous pics

In addition, strengthening the role of nature in cities and placing both health and well-being at the center of urban design helps promote healthier and more sustainable environments. Urban renaturalization contributes to reducing air and noise pollution, as well as the heat island effect, and mitigates urban warming. Providing natural habitats for local flora and fauna species in urban settings enriches the biological diversity of cities and can restore damaged ecosystems. Beyond helping the mental and physical well-being of residents, it also encourages their interaction and participation in community activities.

Big car safe?

Good reads, literally

File under “CRL inspo”: this lovely news and coffee kiosk in Kings Cross, London (via Aaron Bastani on Twitter/X).

Research notes from all over

• Waka Kotahi/ NZTA have just released a bunch of interesting-looking research papers – commissioned before the last election  – that the current transport minister would probably cover his eyes and stick his fingers in his ears if you tried to show/explain them to him:
  • Assessing the relationship between the sustainability of urban form and transport in Aotearoa New Zealand
    

    The Researchers found that integrated transport and land-use planning is likely to have the greatest impact on transport emissions reductions and other sustainable transport outcomes in New Zealand when combined with public transport and active mode environments that are matched to the form of development to reduce vehicle kilometres travelled.

  • The road safety and multi-modal impacts of on-street parking
    

    The researchers studied deaths and serious injuries that can result from parking-related crashes and how these might influence people’s travel choices, especially walking and cycling. Minor injuries, safety fears and inconvenience can also affect their choices.

    On-street parking has a role to play in some street environments, but its design should ensure people stay safe. We should also balance it with other street uses, especially when space is limited.

  • Health cost of land transport noise exposure in New Zealand
    

    Researchers estimate that about $654 million is spent each year on these health effects resulting from road and rail noise. Road noise contributes to most of this cost at about $502 million a year.

  • Mode-shift impacts on safety
    

    A model for assessing the impact of mode-shift on road safety, i.e. when more people opt to walk, bike or use public transport instead of driving, will the roads be safer? We’re guessing yes – though the authors note their model may well under-estimate the safety outcomes. Here’s the two-page summary

    Notably all of these studies have been slapped with this disclaimer:
    

• From the University of Canterbury’s Geography capstone course, “Research for Resilient Environments and Communities”, a group study on The feasibility of cargo bikes for business in Ōtautahi. TL;DR: totes feasible.
• File under huge if true, but curious nonetheless: from Neurology (“the most widely read and highly cited peer-reviewed neurology journal”), a paper titled Driving under the Cognitive Influence of COVID-19 finds “an association between acute COVID-19 rates and increased car crashes.” The authors say: “The OR [odds ratio] of car crashes associated with COVID-19 was comparable to driving under the influence of alcohol at legal limits or driving with a seizure disorder.”

Have a great long weekend.

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