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.

Will a transit lane for Pakuranga Road be a help or a hindrance?

As any local will know, Pakuranga Road is an extremely busy place every day and with the incoming construction work for AMETI Eastern Busway, this is going to get worse.

Auckland Transport is taking some action including encouraging people to take alternative transport, alter their hours or routes. But with significant work happening in the area these won’t be enough. To help, Auckland Transport is proposing some big changes:

• a transit lane for Pakuranga Road

• a park and ride at Lord Elsmore Park

• increased bus, ferry (Half Moon Bay) and train capacity (ex Panmure)

• increased communication and options.

Most of these are pretty uncontroversial, but the transit lane has been met with some concern. Restricting a lane of traffic to only vehicles with 2 or 3 people will impact a lot of people and we need to get this right.

I contacted Auckland Transport and requested a copy of the studies along with business cases and reports. There’s a lot to work through and I’ve done my best to summarise them but feel free to read the full documents attached.

Surveys of Pakuranga Road found that 87% of vehicles heading west were single occupant and remaining 13% of vehicles carried 24% of people.

Modelling shows that doing nothing will make traffic worse (about 3 minutes longer for everyone) as will a T3 transit lane (about a minute longer for cars, but 40 seconds faster for buses). A T2 lane should reduce travel time for everyone (a minute for general vehicles and 100 seconds for buses).

People who use the transit lane (by busing or carpooling) will get the most benefit but it will help those using the remaining two lanes. Effectively this needs that nearly half of people using Pakuranga Road will benefit from a T2, while a T3 or doing nothing will make it worse for most people.

Obviously there's a cost to these changes - the estimate for everything (including park and ride) is $5m with nearly $2m is for the transit lane. This doesn’t take into account the money that will be recovered via public transport which should reduce the costs by about a million. The benefits over the 2 year construction period are estimated at over $8m while the costs of not taking any action are estimated at $16m.

The devil is always in the detail and there’s plenty more detail to come with the designs yet to be finalised. What is clear is that we need to do something or things will get worse on Pakuranga Road.

This Wednesday (27 March) there’s a public meeting organised by local MP Simeon Brown. Auckland Transport are going to present on the plans and I’m sure there will be an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

Is freedom camping free enough?

On Monday evening I attended the public meeting on the proposed Freedom Camping Bylaw.

The short version is that freedom camping is legal everywhere NZ unless expressly prohibited. This is governed by the Freedom Camping Act 2011 (from Parliament) and some of the rules are out of the hands of the council.

Councils have the ability to specify areas where it's restricted or banned but they need to be able to justify it. The grounds for restrictions can be to protect an area, access to an area or the health and safety of people in the area.

For Howick there are 12 sites where freedom camping is banned and a further 7 where it's restricted to self-contained vehicles. I encourage you to look at the online maps, but there's list of each here.

Are these the only places in our community where there needs to be a restriction or ban?

In addition, Auckland Council can

• apply a temporary ban or restriction on a place;

• provide exceptions or extensions for people;

• fine people who break the rules.

Once this bylaw is passed, changing these sites will not be quick or easy so it's important that we get this correct.

The Council is looking for feedback on this proposal up until Monday 18 February. Providing feedback can be done a few different ways, but online is super easy. There's a quick form including a really clever interactive map.

So make sure you get your thoughts through on this today at the Auckland Council website

Stickers no solution to illegal dumping.

While out in Flat Bush I came across some illegally dumped rubbish which is sadly a common sight. Stopping to report it, I noticed they had bright orange stickers on them. I was stunned to discover that these were from Auckland Council, noting that the illegal dumping was being investigated.

While I applaud Auckland Councils efforts to investigate and prosecute illegal dumping, putting a sticker on them is not the solution.

Removing these eyesores as soon as practically possible must be the first priority, followed by enforcement. Absolutely we must punish the perpetrators but an orange sticker isn’t stopping anyone.

Leave behind a warning sign that the location is being monitored but clear the site. Leaving it just encourages others and leaves locals to deal with the mess.

We also need to urgently review the inorganic collection to make it work!

We can do better than this.

Rising sea levels are putting our infrastructure at risk

Local Government NZ has released a report that shows the massive risk to infrastructure from climate change.

"At only half a metre [sea level rise] there is estimated to be $2.7 billion worth of council-owned infrastructure at risk - and that doesn't count the private buildings, the government buildings, whatever that's on top of that that's being served by that infrastructure.

"It goes right up to at three metres of sea level rise, it's estimated about $14bn of council-owned infrastructure at risk."

This is great leadership from Local Government NZ - the risk to infrastructure from Climate Change is very real and we must be planning for it now.

For Auckland with 1m seawater rise, they estimate:

• $1.4B for water (drinking, storm and wastewater)

• $78.75 for roading

• $373m for 390 public buildings (community facilities, council housing, council offices, playgrounds and significant other buildings/facilities).

Auckland has begun planning for this but we need to move faster. These costs are substantial and local government cannot shoulder this cost alone and requires a coordinated response.

Read the full report here.

Is a transit lane the solution for Pakuranga Road?

Pakuranga Road is one of the busiest roads in the country and is often congested with traffic (even in off peak). We need a solution and Auckland Transport is proposing a transit lane.

It's intended to be just for the duration of the Eastern Busway construction which should be about 2 years.

Transit lanes like this can have a massively positive effect on getting people past congestion. A great example is Onewa Road in Northcote which carries around 80% of the people but only 40% of the traffic. It's been helped by regular bus services (now double decker) which means more people can be moved in a lot less vehicles.

How much will this hurt or help Pakuranga Road? This depends on how many people are travelling on buses or in vehicles with more than one person. I would hope that Auckland Transport have this information and I'm requesting they confirm.

Without seeing this information, it's far to early to be saying no to this. I'm cautiously optimistic that this trial might help but will require close monitoring to ensure it's successful (with any adjustments are made quickly).

KiwiBuild has built up expectations but not much else

I’ve always been sceptical that KiwiBuild could deliver on its promises to deliver so many homes so quickly. My father and grandfather were both in the building industry and it’s never as simple as nailing some planks together.

There were a lot of big promises, especially during the 2017 election. But there was very little details of how it would work and we’ve seen this unravel over the past year. Affordability, volumes, locations and process - the details on these have all shifted as reality set in. Some of this is how it was reported by the media but Labour did very little to correct the misunderstandings.

For those of us wanting solutions to the lack of housing, I was hoping that Phil Twyford would pull something out of the bag, somehow stand up an entire construction industry and deliver hundreds of homes in a short timeframe.

But realistically I doubted it would happen.

The government needs to admit they were woefully under prepared for the challenge they set themselves and reset expectations. They need to admit that it’s not an easy task and work with the wider construction industry to address the problems within KiwiBuild but also general building industry.

It's arrogant to think that government ministers can sweep in and solve the problems without properly engaging with those in the industry.

We (UnitedFuture) campaigned for government to work with the industry to address the issues, not attempt to steamroll over them. Perhaps the government will consider this now

Vanity projects are not the answer to our transport problems

Today Auckland Council proudly announced that they're wasting an unknown amount of money on trams for Wynard Quarter. This is a waste of money and effort that should’ve been focused on real transport, addressing congestion and safety.

This same week we found out that we're required to pay more for public transport because of rising costs.This is not only incredibly poor timing but also shows how some in Council have little regard for responsible spending.

It's worth highlighting that only one Councillor (Richard Hills, North Shore) voted against this terrible waste of public funds. How much? We don't actually know, but it's estimated to be somewhere close to $6.6million. Panuku Auckland recommended that these were not reinstated due to the cost, lack of commercial viability and little actual functionality.

We need better transport and this vanity project isn’t it...

Again Aucklanders made to pay more for transport

Very unhappy to see that public transport fares are once again going up.

Aucklanders have been paying extra for fuel to help boost investment in transport (which we desperately need). It's been difficult for many but we've adapted because it means better transport for Auckland. But for Auckland Transport to then increase fares due to the same fuel tax is farcical.

When this tax was introduced AT *must* have calculated this into their future operational costs, like every Aucklander did. AT received $8.1 billion in extra operational funding, which was meant to be used to increase services and decrease fares. But less than a year later, we're being asked to pay more.

The lack of actual response from the Minister is also disappointing. We've had a promise to investigate but it's too late. This government has made a lot of noise about climate change and public transport - they need to step up with the funding.

Art might be subjective but it's meant to communicate an idea

Art is definitely subjective and very few pieces of public art will impress everyone. The new artwork in Howick is controversial and has many questioning it’s value. I personally would've preferred the alternative which was a small girl trying to push a boulder (symbolising the fight for suffrage).

However, what concerns me is how this has been handled by Council. There was no communication that this was coming or what it was for, despite the Local Board and our Councillors being aware of it. Even if our elected members weren't involved in the decision on design, they knew it was being funded and where it was being placed. Instead of becoming a point of celebration, it's become a sore point for many which didn't need to happen.

This is yet another example of poor communication from Council, we deserve better.

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.

Connections and pathways

Facilities at Sir John Walker Promenade

On Thursday 6 December, I attended the opening of the Sir John Walker Promenade. Rain cleared just in time to celebrate the opening of this beautiful new facility in Sir Barry Curtis Park, Flat Bush.

It was wonderful that Sir John Walker attended, speaking about his connection with the area having grown up in Flat Bush.

New shared pathway in Highbrook

Just a week later another opening of more local cycling and walking infrastructure, great to see more progress. It was a beautiful morning in East Auckland for official opening of the Highbrook Shared Path.

Tucked in behind Highbrook, this pathway is connects Trugood, Ti Rakau and Stonedon Drives providing another option for the thousands of workers in the area. Staff from Fisher and Paykel were onsite to celebrate, there was talk of hundreds of workers who’d switch to cycling once the alternative is there. GETBA (Greater East Tamaki Business Association) have been supporters for the same reason.

As the kaumatua said, these pathways about about connections - within our community and also to our neighbours as the rest of the city builds their own.

It was also great to have some of the members of Bike East Auckland to test it out!

Read more about the pathways plan for East Auckland.

Women's safety is everyone's concern

I’m struggling with the Grace Millane story. What happened is awful and wrong, and my heart goes out to her family and friends.

There’s lots of theories and talk about what happened. I understand people trying to come to terms with it, make meaning out of a senseless act. But there are no excuses, drugs, alcohol, clothing, dating/hookup apps, sex, anything the victim did. There are no excuses, it is never okay.

I’ve also heard people seem surprised that it happened here. We need to face facts, our country is not safe for women - New Zealand is considered one of the worst in the developed world in terms of safety for women.

A large part of this because of our appalling domestic violence. An average of 13 women, 10 men, and 9 children are killed each year due to domestic violence. Nearly 40% of our women will be victims of abuse from a close partner. Disabled women are twice as likely to be victims of abuse than women.

One in five women will be victims of sexual assault as an adult and most go unreported. Estimates suggest that 91% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Of those that are reported, only 13% result in a conviction.

I don’t want to ruin people’s view of our country but admitting we have a problem is the first step to dealing with it. Especially us men, who more often than not are the perpetrators. Obviously most men don’t commit these awful acts, but some of us are bystanders which enables it to continue. It can be hard, calling our friends, families, neighbors and strangers out but we cannot let this continue.

We have every right be be angry and upset about the appalling actions that ended Grace’s life, let’s direct that passion into doing something about it to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Call the Police on 111 if you think someone is in danger.

Support the community organisations trying to help those in need.
https://womensrefuge.org.nz/ 
http://www.2shine.org.nz/

Ask others if they’re okay and support them if they need it. http://www.areyouok.org.nz/

Don’t condone or walk past violence, that includes physical, sexual or psychological. https://whiteribbon.org.nz/

Challenge ourselves and those around us to take this issue seriously. Don’t joke about violence or make excuses.

There are candlelight vigils being organised for this week, a good opportunity to come together and share our compassion and solidarity. 
Auckland: https://www.facebook.com/events/1062548473924944/
Howick: https://www.facebook.com/events/1950321131682152/
Wellington: https://www.facebook.com/events/206809043527948/

Youth leaders delivering for Howick

2018 Howick youth Council Leadership Team

This evening (December 4 2018) the Howick Youth Council presented their review for 2018. What an incredible year for an awesome and inspiring group of people!

I’ve had the privilege of seeing these young people work and they’re unstoppable. Their determination and passion for their community makes me proud to live in the area.

They’ve delivered dozens of projects across the year, hosting over 465 people at events ranging from performing arts, first aid courses, networking events and life skills. Their by-election videos and public debate were some of the best I’ve seen and raised the bar. All while having fun and building friendships.

Congratulations to the 2018 members and welcome to the 2019 crew (you’ve got big shoes to fill).