The Campaign For Better Transport

Media Release from the Newmarket Business Association

Kiwirail’s proposed daily passenger rail service from Auckland to Hamilton would be great as the Hamilton CBD pushes for reinvigoration and economic growth,” says an Auckland business leader.

“Waikato needs to cash in on Auckland’s huge projected population. It needs to start feeding off it as well as feeding into it. According to Statistics New Zealand the Auckland region is growing by the size of Hamilton City about every four years and will be home to two million people by about 2030,” says Cameron Brewer, head of the Newmarket Business Association.

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The ARC is supporting the idea of a waterfront tram, however the City transport chairman Ken Baguley prefers “some form of electric shuttle buses”. This is disappointing, but unsurprising. Auckland City steadfastly refused to endorse trams or light rail when we presented the concept to them last year. Despite light rail being specifically mentioned in Auckland City’s own Waterfront Vision 2040 document, council officers reported back that this was “merely aspirational”. In the end the Auckland City commitee endorsed an “innovative transport solution” for the waterfront. Whatever that is. It is only the Auckland Regional Council that is keeping the hope of a waterfront tram alive at this point.

And it seems hypocritical convenient of Mr Baguley to say “any major decisions should be left to the new Auckland Council to be elected in October, 2010″, having just endorsed the Government’s ill-conceived above ground motorway at Waterview.

Mathew Dearnaley reports in this article in the Herald:

Moves to open Queens Wharf in Auckland to the public are heightening regional council interest in running light railcars or trams along the waterfront to Wynyard Quarter.

Auckland Regional Council transport committee chief Christine Rose said yesterday that the addition of the wharf to the public domain would increase the need for convenient travel between waterfront attractions.

She expected opportunities presented by the transformation of Queens Wharf, which the council and the Government have bought from Ports of Auckland for $40 million for public use and the development of a cruise ship terminal, to be included in a light-rail feasibility study.

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The Herald reports on the possibility of congestion charges being introduced to get Aucklanders out of their cars.  It is however acknowledged that such a scheme would not work without providing viable transport alternatives.  Mathew Dearnaley writes:

A report to the regional council’s transport committee yesterday said an assessment of various strategic options for encouraging greater use of public transport concluded that “congestion pricing” had the potential to make a significant contribution to achieving national policy targets.

It added a strong caveat, saying the concept was not feasible without offering motorists realistic travel options, particularly in terms of public transport services.

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The ARC feels insufficient information has been provided to properly assess the Waterview motorway link and it still prefers the option of a longer link through Rosebank Rd.  The Herald reports:

Auckland Regional Council’s transport committee has withheld support for the latest cut-down version of a motorway through Waterview involving a mix of surface and tunnelled sections.

The committee yesterday deemed it had received insufficient information to assess the $1.4 billion scheme before the Transport Agency board meets in a fortnight to consider submissions and decide whether to push ahead with the final link in Auckland’s western ring route.

It also restated its preference for a longer link through Rosebank Rd as “the superior strategic alignment” to connect the Southwestern and Northwestern Motorways, even though the Government ruled that out early this year as too expensive, while instructing the agency to review various Waterview options.

The regional councillors affirmed their support for completing the 48km ring route between Manukau and Albany, but questioned the strategic justification for running it through Waterview, where the latest proposal will require the demolition of up to 365 homes and loss of 5ha of public open space.

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The public is urged to show their support for a Hamilton – Auckland commuter rail service

Today the Campaign For Better Transport (CBT) officially launched phase two of its “Waikato Commuter Trains NOW!” campaign in favour of a commuter rail service between Hamilton and Auckland.

Waikato residents and businesses, as well as potential Auckland to Hamilton rail commuters, now have the opportunity to sign and send a freepost postcard direct to their pick of Prime Minister John Key, Transport Minister Steven Joyce, and local Hamilton MPs Tim Macindoe and David Bennett. 

David Bennett has recently voiced his opposition to funding the proposed Hamilton to Auckland commuter service, branding it a waste of time.  Jon Reeves, a spokesperson for the CBT, says “We hope that, as the recipient of numerous postcards in support of this service, David Bennett will respond to what his electorate really wants”.

Results from Hamilton City Council’s most recent Residents Survey show that 85% of city residents think a Hamilton to Auckland Passenger Rail Service would be a good idea.  This service could become a reality for a fraction of the cost of the roading projects currently underway in the region.

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Steven Joyce says owners of diesel cars can expect to pay more in the future under changes to the current road user charges system.

Refer to this article in the Herald.

Steven Joyce also says that the government has decided not to replace the road user charges with a diesel tax, as this would “impose costs on non-transport users”.  The current system will instead be retained, simplified, modernised and purchases moved online.  Refer to this article on simplification of road user charges at Stuff.co.nz

Wayne Thompson reports in the Herald on the concern about the lack of public involvement in the new harbour crossing project.

Former North Shore mayor George Wood has attacked what he calls a “veil of secrecy” over a future Waitemata Harbour Crossing project.

People who would be affected by the new crossing deserved to be treated far better, said Mr Wood, who was mayor from 1998 to 2007.

“NZ Transport Agency thinks it can push through this harbour crossing project on the basis it knows best and we will have to suffer what it offers,” Mr Wood told the North Shore City Council’s infrastructure and environment committee yesterday.

“The community must be told the impact of the crossing on North Shore’s arterial roads and potential adverse environmental, visual and ecological impacts.”

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Bill English’s views on PPPs and their supposed benefits are reported in the Herald:

New Zealand is a decade behind other countries in using public-private partnerships to accelerate, manage risk, and get value for money from big national infrastructure investments, says Finance Minister Bill English.

English used a speech to the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development in Wellington this morning to confirm the Government’s intention to make extensive use of so-called PPPs, in which private investors share in both the risks and commercial upside of building public infrastructure.

The Government would remain the primary funder, with Australian trends showing an 80/20 split between government and private funding in PPPs….

……As a “late starter” with PPPs, New Zealand had the opportunity to adopt world best practice and learn from others’ experience, especially Australia, to catch up a “lost decade” in which PPPs had been shunned for political reasons.

A key advantage of PPPs was their capacity to share the large design, patronage and construction risks inherent in any major infrastructure project, English said. He hoped that Australian experience would allow “a more sophisticated debate” about the use of PPPs than had so far occurred in New Zealand.

We see no acknowledgement here of the disadvantages associated with PPPs.

For the full article in the Herald, click here.