CRL Te Waihorotiu \u2013 night time exterior of CRL\u2019s Te Waihorotiu Station in central Auckland showing unique M\u0101ori design<\/p>\n
\n A quarter of the way through the 21st century, how\u2019s transport planning in T\u0101maki
\n Makaurau? Patrick Reynolds asked the question at a breakfast meeting this month put on by the Urban Room.\n <\/p>\n
His answer? Much better than people seem to think. <\/p>\n
E-buses are \u201ca great thing for anyone who enjoys breathing\u201d, he said. And the frequent bus network, often overlooked or ignored, is \u201cthe best in Australasia\u201d. <\/p>\n
But he also said that when we build infrastructure in this country we suffer from \u201cextreme rich country behaviour\u201d, because we\u2019re too scared to make hard decisions. <\/p>\n
Reynolds used to sit on the Waka Kotahi board, but when the new Government changed the name back to NZ Transport Agency it also pulled the board seat out from under him. He stood unsuccessfully for council in the recent elections. <\/p>\n
The Urban Room promotes discussion about the ways urban planning and design can build a better city. Founder Ben van Bruggen reckons that when they had a shopfront on Quay St last year, he had a thousand conversations about what downtown needs. The main themes: the street trees are great, there should be more to do that isn\u2019t shopping, and people feel safe. <\/p>\n
Reynolds had a lot to say. We shouldn\u2019t think of the CRL and the rail network as a thing on their own, he said, but as part of an evolving transit network involving rapid busways, ferries and, who knows, perhaps even light rail one day. The rapid transit map below shows services that will one day reach all parts of the city.<\/p>\n
Auckland Transport’s new map showing how the City Rail Link will transform the rapid transit network in the city.<\/p>\n
Just as important, though, is the much more comprehensive Frequent Transit Network. This is already \u201calmost unimaginably good … not just in patches, but nearly everywhere\u201d. <\/p>\n
Throughout the city now, it has buses running at least every 15 minutes, seven days a week, from 7am to 7pm, and those buses are often electric. <\/p>\n
Auckland’s Frequent Bus Network.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easily the most comprehensive, effective and efficient in any Australasian city … It\u2019s been cleverly improved through near-constant evolution by some very smart, very dedicated people, and supported by wise funders and elected members.\u201d <\/p>\n
He gave the council a shout out for establishing a Climate Action Targeted Rate and using it to buy e-buses and improve bus services. Former mayor Phil Goff introduced that; Wayne Brown has maintained it. <\/p>\n
The success of the Frequent Transit Network, Reynolds said, \u201cis still something of a secret, but is starting to break through\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cSignificantly,\u201d Reynolds said, the network means \u201cour city is ready for the best tool to manage the scourge of traffic congestion: road pricing, known officially as Time of Use Charging\u201d. Also called congestion charging. <\/p>\n
To everyone who says we can\u2019t put tolls on city roads without providing better public transport, Reynolds\u2019 response was: Look at that map. It\u2019s already here. <\/p>\n
He added that public transport on its own won\u2019t solve the problem. \u201cFor only with sticks can carrots truly work.\u201d <\/p>\n
His point: Driving cannot remain as incentivised as it is. That\u2019s why those tolls are important. <\/p>\n
And yet, Reynolds said, transport planning still has its blind spots. One of them is cycleways. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs many people now cycle into the city as come by ferry,\u201d he said, \u201cbut at a tiny fraction of the cost\u201d. It\u2019s not an argument against ferries, but it is an argument to take cycling more seriously. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the most underdeveloped transport network of all.\u201d <\/p>\n
And why are new transit projects like the Eastern Busway, Labour\u2019s now-abandoned underground light rail and the now-being-planned Northwest Busway so expensive? Te Waihanga, the Infrastructure Commission, has told us<\/a> infrastructure costs in New Zealand are the highest in the world. <\/p>\n Reynolds\u2019 answer: \u201cBecause they are not transforming existing road space, but are on new alignments, often requiring significant land acquisition and massive new structures.\u201d <\/p>\n He called this \u201cextreme rich-country behaviour\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are not having hard conversations here,\u201d he said, \u201cespecially around climate. We are attempting to fully indulge everyone. We are trying to do it all. I see this everywhere at the moment: we seem to live in an age that believes it can avoid trade offs. Is this realistic? Have your fossil fuels and eat them too?\u201d <\/p>\n Why aren\u2019t we better at this? Why don\u2019t we understand the good things we\u2019ve already done? Why isn\u2019t there more political will to keep doing better? <\/p>\n \u201cSome people live largely in last century\u2019s city,\u201d he said. \u201cPerhaps ignoring the new city sprouting up around them, perhaps dipping in and out of it. This is to be expected. This is how change happens.\u201d <\/p>\n But others, he said, \u201clive entirely in the old world, determinedly unchanging\u201d, viewing anything outside the car-focused norm as \u201dan incomprehensible outrage, a bafflement, as something no one sensible could want\u201d. <\/p>\n And it\u2019s these people who overwhelm public debates on transport and urban progress. Stuck in a car-dependent mindset, they find cities of the 21st century \u201cinexplicable\u201d, so they resort to \u201cconspiracy and culture-war framing\u201d. They decide the problem is wokeness, which is \u201calways described as an appalling waste of money, their money, of course. This leaves them ranting and muttering at each innovation witnessed through their windscreen.\u201d <\/p>\n Some of this group, said Reynolds, are politicians. Some are in the media. <\/p>\n So what now? Reynolds thinks the hardest part has already been done: the essential framework for a highly functional city is in place. Now we have to make it work. <\/p>\n He quoted the pioneering social-democratic economist John Maynard Keynes: \u201cThe problem isn\u2019t in the search for new ideas, it\u2019s in getting away from the old ones.\u201d <\/p>\n He also quoted the traditionalist historian Thomas Carlyle: \u201cGo as far as you can see; when you get there, you\u2019ll be able to see farther.\u201d <\/p>\n Thanks for all the fun, Wayne <\/p>\n Mayor Wayne Brown walked into the NZME offices this week, home to the Herald and NewstalkZB. I\u2019ve been told the first thing he said was, \u201cWhere does Simon Wilson sit? I want to punch him in the face.\u201d <\/p>\n Apparently, he objected to my calling him idiotic in my column this week<\/a>. I said it because he wants to turn the wharf around the Viaduct Events Centre, right next to \u201cBrowny\u2019s Pool\u201d, into a car park. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not an idiot,\u201d he texted me later. <\/p>\n He said, \u201cMy point is, use it, any way is better than leaving it empty.\u201d <\/p>\n I told him the wharf isn\u2019t \u201cempty\u201d. It\u2019s part of the open space people enjoy on the waterfront. If we want more activities there, fine, bring it on, but car parking won\u2019t help with that. Cars will ruin it. What was he thinking? <\/p>\n I asked him about punching me in the face, but he didn\u2019t answer. <\/p>\n I know, he was just having a bit of fun. But is it fun? I\u2019m retiring from the Herald this week and this is my last newsletter. Many things I will miss, some I won\u2019t. <\/p>\n Papatoetoe will vote again <\/p>\n Papatoetoe will get a new election for its local board. <\/p>\n The judgment in the case I\u2019ve been reporting on<\/a> was released this week<\/a>, with Judge Richard McIlraith finding \u201cirregularities that materially affected the election result\u201d for the Papatoetoe subdivision of the \u014ctara-Papatoetoe Local Board. <\/p>\n McIlraith \u201cvoided\u201d the election, which means a new one will need to be held by April 9, 2026. <\/p>\n The case arose when the board\u2019s former deputy chairman, Vi Hausia, lodged a petition against the chief electoral officer, Dale Ofsoske. <\/p>\n Hausia alleged widespread theft of voting papers, fraudulent use of stolen voting papers and other \u201cirregularities\u201d. <\/p>\n After McIlraith released his decision, Hausia said the court had \u201cruled in favour of democracy and electoral integrity\u201d. He called the decision \u201ca reminder that democracy is not a given but a privilege\u201d. <\/p>\n Auckland Council chief executive Phil Wilson told the Herald<\/a> the case was an isolated incident and assured Aucklanders that council elections have delivered \u201crobust results for many years\u201d. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear why he would think that. Hausia\u2019s lawyer Simon Mitchell KC argued there was enough evidence of fraudulent voting, especially in the use of stolen voting papers, to suggest the practice may have been widespread. <\/p>\n When voter turnout is low, Mitchell told the court, it\u2019s possible thousands of papers could be stolen from letterboxes with their intended recipients never being aware it had happened. <\/p>\n Hausia\u2019s diligence meant this was exposed in Papatoetoe, but at this point no one knows if the problem is wider. <\/p>\n Nominations for candidates in the new Papatoetoe election will open on December 31 and close at midday on January 28. The vote will be conducted using the same postal ballot method. <\/p>\n \u201cWhile the battle has been won,\u201d said Hausia, \u201cthe war to strengthen our democracy is not over. The postal ballot voting system must end.\u201d He\u2019s dead right about that. <\/p>\n The road cone comedy <\/p>\n Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden announced this week<\/a> the Government was shutting down its \u201croad-cone hotline\u201d because, she said, it had \u201cmet its objectives\u201d. <\/p>\n To be fair, if the objective was performative populism, that is true. But if they wanted to reduce unnecessary regulations, help with road maintenance or improve safety, not so much. <\/p>\n As Labour\u2019s transport spokesman Tangi Utikere noted, 93% of complaints on the hotline were about cones being used legitimately. <\/p>\n This hotline idea came from Simeon Brown when he was transport minister, but the incumbent, Chris Bishop, has never seemed keen. When he announced in July that there would be new rules for traffic management, he didn\u2019t mention it. When van Velden announced its closure, Bishop was nowhere to be seen. <\/p>\n Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has also been a noisy compainer about road cones, so I was curious to know how Auckland Transport\u2019s approach to the issue compared with the Government\u2019s. Very different, it turns out. <\/p>\n Tracey Berkahn, who coordinates work on the roads, told me that last month AT did a complete sweep of the local road network \u201clooking for pieces of temporary traffic management [TTM] equipment left behind\u201d. <\/p>\n They picked up more than 15,000 \u201credundant\u201d cones, signs and other bits of equipment on 8000km of road. But they also left 5500 items where they found them. <\/p>\n Berkahn said there were three reasons for this. Some were cones protecting a hazard (perhaps originally following an emergency) but no one had ever come back to fix the hazard. Some were on private property. And about 30% were left \u201cbecause a member of the community insisted on their remaining and it was unsafe for the contractor to remove the gear\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cSome people are very attached to their cones or passionate about keeping them,\u201d she said. The contractor trying to remove them \u201cwas sometimes the target of aggression and threats from members of the public who did not want the equipment [mainly cones] removed\u201d. <\/p>\n Who knew? Some people really love the cones. <\/p>\n Berkahn said it\u2019s an ongoing job and there will be another audit next year. <\/p>\n The ridiculous, giganticulous, secret life of Rons <\/p>\n Te Waihanga, the Infrastructure Commission, has called for more transparency in infrastructure spending. Fair enough: we should be debating robustly where and how the money\u2019s being spent, right? <\/p>\n After all, the Ministry of Transport says the Roads of National Significance (Rons) alone will cost an estimated $56 billion, nearly 90% of which is not budgeted. It calls the Rons programme \u201cthe most complex and expensive infrastructure programme in New Zealand\u2019s recent history\u201d. <\/p>\n Development of SH1 from Warkworth to Whang\u0101rei alone will cost $15.3b to $18.3b, which Te Waihanga says equates to 10% of the country\u2019s entire likely infrastructure spend over the next 25 years. <\/p>\n Ridiculous? These numbers are giganticulous.<\/p>\n Will all the spending be worth it? We don\u2019t know. Almost no financial information is available, and if you ask for it, you don\u2019t get it. <\/p>\n The MoT and the NZ Transport Agency have just \u201creleased\u201d several documents on the Rons, in response to an Official Information Act request from Greater Auckland. Almost all the information in them is redacted. Even the names of some of the documents are hidden. <\/p>\n The MoT does say: \u201cThe Rons projects are relatively low value for money with all BCRs [benefit cost ratios] below 3, and many below 1.\u201d A BCR is an assessment of the net financial return: a BCR of 1 means a $1 return for every $1 spent. <\/p>\n The MoT won\u2019t reveal individual BCRs for most of the roads, but it\u2019s not hard to read in the documents a lack of official enthusiasm. \u201cFunding the full Rons programme will require significant additional revenue and trade-offs, and will be difficult to deliver on time and on budget due to market capacity constraints,\u201d it says. <\/p>\n Is this true for the Auckland Rons? What will their benefits be? Can\u2019t tell you. <\/p>\n There are four Rons in Auckland, five if you include the SH1 alternative to the Brynderwyn Hills. Here\u2019s how they break down in the OIA documents: <\/p>\n SH1 Warkworth to Te Hana: BCR, cost, delivery method, funding source, indicative start date, risks: all redacted. SH1 Brynderwyn Hills alternative: No BCR, cost redacted. Mill Rd stage 1, paralleling SH1 from Papakura to Drury: BCR and cost redacted. East-West Link from Penrose to Onehunga: No BCR; cost redacted. SH16 northwest alternative highway: No BCR, cost redacted. <\/p>\n Wayne Brown isn\u2019t happy. He\u2019s worked out<\/a> the cost of the proposed four-lane highway from Warkworth to Whang\u0101rei (which includes three of the Rons) will be $200m to $240m per kilometre, or $200,000 to $240,000 per metre. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is an extraordinary cost,\u201d he says. The P\u016bhoi to Warkworth highway cost only a third of that<\/a> ($73m\/km) and even that was \u201cridiculously expensive\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cWe need to look at options that are affordable,\u201d Brown says. \u201cThe country can\u2019t afford to build transport projects that are this expensive.\u201d <\/p>\n I think he\u2019s right, and not only because of what it does to the Government\u2019s books. As the previous Government discovered with light rail, if you choose the most expensive way to build something, you make it likely it won\u2019t be built. And you wreck your credibility in the process. <\/p>\n It\u2019s astonishing just how rogue this whole Rons process has gone. <\/p>\n If project costs are kept secret, how do we have a meaningful debate about their value? <\/p>\n As the OIA documents reveal, if the Rons are built as planned, they will double the cost of maintenance and renewals of the entire state highway network. Projects we can\u2019t afford to build become projects we can\u2019t afford to maintain. <\/p>\n And Te Waihanga itself has pointed out that the Rons don\u2019t even align with the draft National Infrastructure Plan. It recommends a decrease in state highway spending \u201cmainly due to slow growth in population, income and the need to decarbonise\u201d. <\/p>\n It\u2019s the NZTA board that has to juggle this formidable growth in costs. What does it think? <\/p>\n Who would know? The board, which usually meets every four to six weeks, hasn\u2019t published any minutes of its meetings since May. Why not?<\/p>\n Another vote of confidence: Pascoes on Pitt St <\/p>\n Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown with the open-air seawater pool he calls “Brownie’s Pool”, at Karanga Plaza in the Wynyard Quarter.<\/p>\n
Vi Hausia, who took a claim to the Manukau District Court over the Papatoetoe Local Board election, and won. <\/p>\n
Too many cones? How much does it even matter? Photo \/ Jason Oxenham<\/p>\n
Wayne Brown has called out the Government for the cost of its Rons projects. Inset \/ NZME<\/p>\n
Beca House at 21 Pitt St. The business occupied it for more than a decade. Photo \/ Google Maps<\/p>\n