Eastern Busway feedback shows Burswood diversion unpopular with locals

Auckland Transport have released the response to the December consultation on the Pakuranga to Botany leg of the Eastern Busway.

There's a bit to work through, but it's clear the Burswood diversion created a stir (which is no surprise given the shock it was to locals). I still question some of the info they've presented here and it feels very much like they're pushing a solution that the community doesn't want or need.

I fully support the Busway and want it delivered sooner. However driving a diversion through Burswood at the cost of many homes is unjustified. I applaud the response from local residents who have organised to oppose this bizarre proposal. My submission is available here.

Apparently AT have confirmed the proposed design for Pakuranga to Botany, although it's pretty light on details.

More consultations due later in the year, although it does feel like the decision has been made (using cost as the excuse).

Documents are available online - https://at.govt.nz/.../eastern-busway/pakuranga-to-botany/

Also interesting to note that the diversion has had mixed response from the Howick Local Board

A plan that would see the next stage of the Eastern Busway public transport project dissect a residential community has sparked heated debate between members of the Howick Local Board.

See the full article in https://www.times.co.nz/news/board-members-clash-over-busway/

Auckland Transport $37B plan nothing to celebrate

On Monday 28 June, the Board of Auckland Transport approved their ten year plan known as the Auckland Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP). The plan comes with a hefty price tag of $37 Billion which on the face of it seems positive - Auckland has under invested in transport for far too long. However, there isn't much to celebrate. 

It does not meet the needs of our current growth projections, so congestion will continue to get worse. Blocked roads already cost the city millions of dollars a day in lost productivity - we need action to provide realistic alternatives to unlock our city. Reliable, affordable and accessible public transport would take pressure off our roads and leave capacity for those who need their vehicles.

It does not move us towards the council's climate change target of reducing emissions by 64% by 2030. In fact it only claims to reduce emissions by a mere 1% and that relies on the government's controversial freebate scheme for electric vehicles. Analysis by people far smarter than me suggests that the plan will actually increase emissions in the short term. Auckland Council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and has done little since (in fact public transport fares have gone up twice since).

It does not deliver the infrastructure we need - key projects like the Eastern Busway are delayed. It’s taken far too long to get this project to this point and now it’s going to be another two years late bringing the final date to around 2026 (I won’t hold my breath). This is despite promises from the Mayor last year that delays like this wouldn’t happen.

Our elected representatives had their vote last Thursday, and to their credit, both Howick Ward Councillors Sharon Stewart and Paul Young voted against it. But the plan was still endorsed by the rest of council and Auckland Transport has signed it off.

According to AT, they were hamstrung by the funds provided by Auckland Council in their 10 year plan. It’s worth noting that the RLTP is funded through the Regional Fuel Tax, the extra that Aucklanders have to pay at the fuel pump in exchange for an accelerated transport plan. I’ve always believed that this was a clumsy funding model and it’s not delivering.

What’s even more unbelievable is that the council is still out of touch with our transport needs. This should not happen - this process has taken months and involved countless staff from across Auckland Council and it’s various organisations. We all know that the council has funding challenges but to arrive at this point to discover that key projects and outcomes cannot be met is appalling. There aren't side projects that got lost in the detail, they’re core to the city's transport plan.

Auckland Council and Auckland Transport have agreed to develop a Transport Emissions Reductions Plan, but we've all heard the promises before. We’re already a year and a half through the decade and Auckland Transport is never on time. Even if they do agree to a plan this year, I have little faith they’ll be able to deliver it by 2030. 

Further delays to Eastern Busway are unacceptable

Yesterday Auckland Transport admitted that the Eastern Busway has been delayed yet again.

They've blamed a council funding squeeze but the reality is that AT is incapable of delivering on their promises.

We have been promised this for decades and it was finally happening. When it was under threat last year we were assured this would never happen. But frustrating here we are again, another slow down.

We've endured years of disruption from construction, paid more in fuel taxes and put up with dreadful congestion with promise that solution was coming. We now have to wait longer again.

While we've been waiting AT have reduced the plans, cut walking/cycling connections and delayed the delivery.

Meanwhile they've wasted millions on vanity projects like AT Local and the Wynyard Tram which have taken us backwards.

Disgraceful.

I'm furious - for over a decade we've been told that the CCOs aren't accountable to our elected representatives but nothing has been done.

It's clearly not working, it has to change.

Massive milestone for East Auckland

As reported in the Times ‘Construction starts on $1.4b Eastern Busway’

The Eastern Busway is a potential game changer for transport in our area.

There's a lot of work to happen before it's finished so it's great to get it underway. The $1.4B project is being delivered over four stages, the second being Panmure to Pakuranga. This includes a new intersection at Panmure, an additional bridge along Lagoon Drive and new bus station at Pakuranga Plaza all connected by dedicated bus lanes.

Once completed, it will be capable of carrying up to 60 buses an hour and enable travel between Botany and Britomart by bus and train in under 40 minutes.

Changes coming to Pakuranga Road with mixed feedback from locals

AT Project Director, Duncan Humphrey

Last Wednesday night, over a hundred locals packed the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club for a public meeting on transport. Organised by Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown, the meeting was focused on some upcoming changes to Pakuranga Road proposed by Auckland Transport (AT) as during the construction of the Eastern Busway.

AT Project Director Duncan Humphrey was onsite to brief the crowd on the challenges and respond to questions. He started with an explanation of the project and its potential impact on our area.

The Eastern Busway has the potential to transform how we travel around East Auckland and the $1.4B project is being delivered over four stages, the first being Panmure to Pakuranga. This includes a new intersection at Panmure, an additional bridge along Lagoon Drive and new bus station at Pakuranga Plaza all connected by dedicated bus lanes. Once completed, it will be capable of carrying up to 60 buses an hour and enable travel between Botany and Britomart by bus and train in under 40 minutes.

Work is already underway with houses being demolished along the path but there’s a lot more to come over the two year construction period. The contractor has agreed to maintain two lanes of traffic in the peak direction, but there will still be disruption especially along Pakuranga Road heading into Panmure. This is the sixth busiest stretch of road in the country and serves as a vital link from East Auckland. AT believe that they need to reduce the traffic by 10% and are using a number of methods to try achieve this. Some will be implemented immediately while others are contingency plans.

The first of the immediate changes is a park and ride at Lord Elsmore Park with capacity for 332 cars. This will be served by dedicated buses which will go express through to Panmure and for the first few weeks these will be free to encourage uptake.

The second immediate change proposed is a transit lane down Pakuranga Road for the two year construction period. This will travel westwards from Dunrobin Place (Highland Park) through to Gossamer Drive, then from John Lane to Brampton Court (Pakuranga Plaza). The transit lane will take out the existing left hand lane and there’s a gap because Pakuranga Road is already too tight on this stretch of road.

I’ve seen the business case and modelling behind this decision which supports the concept, but it’s getting mixed feedback from locals. Simeon Brown ran a Facebook poll which showed that 43.9% supported the transit lane (from about 400 responses). When asked about the park and ride, an overwhelming 76% of people were supportive although many noted this would require it to be cheap or free.

By comparison, Howick Youth Council ran a survey which found that 70% of 97 respondents supported the transit lane. This went up for bus users (93%) and down for car users (56%) which is fair and higher than I would’ve expected. Support for the park and ride remained high with 72% overall support with little difference between bus (75%) or car users (69%).

At the meeting there were a lot of questions about public transport in general, particularly about the New Network. These issues are important and are worth talking about separately - I’ll cover these in another post but it’s worth noting that there are plenty of challenges in the public transport. A number of locals present voiced concerns about Gossamer Drive and the issues that already exist turning left onto Pakuranga Road, with others expressing the same about Cascades Road.

AT will be running active monitoring which means they’ll be watching the traffic very closely and making adjustments as required. This includes live adjustments to traffic light phases to compensate for issues and they may explore options such as variable speed signs. Exactly how quickly AT responds to issues is something that we won’t know until these changes take effect.

And we won’t need to wait long - this is all expected to happen around the 15 April.

Construction and destruction underway

As part of the changes required for the AMETI Eastern Busway, Auckland Transport has begun removing 61 houses along Pakuranga Road.

Like many, I was concerned about the loss of housing especially considering the current housing market. Investing in transport is an absolute must for East Auckland and we need to get this busway built so we can move onto other transport projects, but it's important we make good decisions.

In NZ, you can request information from government at either central (Official Information Act or OIA) or local level (Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act or LGOIMA). So I contacted Auckland Transport using the FYI.org.nz website which helps track the requests and makes it available for others to see (reducing duplicate requests).

I'm pleased to say I got a pretty quick. Here are the key points:
- houses where offered to "mana whenua and to Housing New Zealand however both parties declined ... due to logistical reasons and the cost of removal vs the property condition";
- contractor is aiming to relocate properties where possible;
- "vast majority of buildings" are unable to be re-located due to "condition and structural stability";
- waste minimisation conditions in place with the contractor;
- up to 90% of non-asbestos contaminated materials will be recycled (mostly metals or concrete and bricks);
- remainder will be sent to a plant that uses the waste to generate electricity.

It's good to see that relocation and reuse of these houses was considered and the materials are being recycled where possible.

The Eastern Busway is a $1.4B project which won't be finished until 2026 so there's a lot more to happen. Minimising the impact on locals during a construction project of this scale will be a challenge. I'll be keeping an eye on progress and will provide updates as I get them.