auckland

Enquiry sent to KiwiRail regarding regular Auckland wide rail network shutdowns

Fergus Young, , , Leave a comment

Curious about the ongoing rail network shut down in Auckland (and admittedly, tired of the circuitous and slow Rail bus replacement services), ended up sending an Email to KiwiRail for more information including a possible timeline as to when we might see a conclusion to the Auckland wide Rail network shut downs that occur regularly during the weekends.

This is their response… (Published with KiwiRail’s permission)

Mōrena Fergus,

Thank you for contacting us.

Closures of rail lines are necessary to integrate and test City Rail Link systems, deliver a huge scale of other upgrade work to prepare for CRL and to deliver a backlog of overdue renewals and maintenance. The overdue work is the result of funding not keeping up with wear and tear from increasing rail traffic and a key factor in the requirement for regular lines closures. We know this is frustrating for passengers and neighbours to the rail network.

Auckland’s mixed network running both freight and passenger trains was originally not built for the kind of passenger frequency we’ve seen in recent years which will intensify after CRL opens. So it doesn’t yet operate like modern metro networks in other countries, which allow trains to run in some areas while other parts of the rail line are closed for upgrades or maintenance.

We are carrying out work which would normally take a decade but is being delivered in three to four years. This includes major rebuilds of the rail network foundations across the network (the Rail Network Rebuild), upgrades like the new third main line and electrification to Pukekohe, as well as new track infrastructure to provide more flexibility for train operations.

All of the upgrades, maintenance and renewals catch up work aims to lift the network to a modern metro standard running train services that are reliable and at a higher frequency carrying more passengers following the CRL opening. These line closures to upgrade the network will also enable maintenance to shift from the current reactive approach to proactive, resulting in fewer disruptions, more reliable services and fewer full network shutdowns in future.

Thanks,

In a nutshell. Rail network was never built to handle both freight and the volume of passenger services we see now and expect to see upon opening of the CRL. Historical lack of investment has been blamed. Lack of redundancy in the system (which I believe the 3rd Main line is aiming to alleviate).

That said, like many of our infrastructure projects in this country (road, rail and otherwise), still reckon there are places we could (drastically) improve on delivery (Both speed and quality wise). Whether the entire network needs to be shutdown as regularly as it has, I believe is still debatable.

Enquiry sent to KiwiRail regarding regular Auckland wide rail network shutdowns

Ti-Rakau Drive and Trugood Drive Traffic light issue

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Reported this issue to Auckland Transport. With “return to office” mandates and the lack of Travel choice in much of the East Tamaki Employment zone, thought this should get looked into.

Saw traffic backing up along Ti-Rakau Drive (West bound traffic) and all the way back to Botany and up along Harris Road as well (when returning back home from the In-office day on Wednesday)

Update: Auckland Transport have since come back to me and confirmed the issue and have kindly made adjustments to the phasing along with thanking me for report this.

From what AT have implied, this was the first report of this they have received. As far as I know, this issue has existed for months so it did leave me wondering why no one else has report this? Even if it’s to inquire if the current programming / phasing of the lights are correct. (This isn’t the first time this has happened, are people just assuming someone else will pipe up and report these issues?)

That said, with the Trugood lights now “fixed”, the congestion will likely be moved further down (e.g Ti Rakau / Revees Rd interchange) so overall travel time savings for my route will probably only amount to around a few minutes.

Ti-Rakau Drive and Trugood Drive Traffic light issue

Opinion: It’s time to Disband Auckland Transport

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9th June 2024: This was originally posted before I got the chance to actually talk further in depth with some of their consultants face to face regarding my concerns in the months that followed and would be fair to say my view expressed in this post perhaps isn’t as strong. That said, there is still improvements that AT could be making and much faster than they have. Plan to update this post in due course.

—

Admittedly, I’m at my wits ends. Auckland Transport as an organization I feel have persistently failed to deliver for the people of Auckland and has shown little willingness to reform their ways. This organization I strongly feel no longer has the social license to operate. It’s time to disband the organization, integrate it’s functions back into the council and get leaders in who are willing to do their jobs and deliver for the public.

They’ve thrown excuse after lame excuse for their failures, taken a hands off approach and attempted to cast blame on other entities for delivery of frankly a crap end-product (service) to the public. I think it’s time the organization (that is, should this organization wish to have any hope of continuing to exist) took a long look at itself and actually own up + acknowledge the transport issues facing Aucklanders and take the lead to champion delivery of reliable, timely, efficient and cost effective transport networks rather than shrug their shoulders to say “not our problem / fault”.

Services are still being cancelled en masse. Yet they want us to change from our cars and seem to be very keen to roll out enforcement cameras to use against the public – the very people who pays their wages – in order to coax us to change. How on Earth (or Mars) is that modal shift going to happen when passengers turn up to their stop only to find repeatedly their train, ferry or bus service has been randomly cancelled with the list of these cancelled services running all the way to the moon and back?

I invite anyone who defends what Auckland Transport has achieved to actually convince me what we currently have is even usable, practical, dependable and caters to the day to day transportation needs of most Auckland commuters.

At this point, I will admit to harboring a lot of animosity (I loath to use the word “hate”) towards Auckland Transport, more specifically towards their ongoing performance (or lack of) to date. I’m still figuring out how to channel (Positively harness) this anger as an ordinary individual rate-paying Auckland resident. It may be that I have to seriously look at forming my own Lobby / Advocacy group to hold Auckland Transport to account for their actions?

I’m aware that Greater Auckland is perhaps the biggest existing advocacy group already in this space but will be the first to admit while I strongly agree with their vision to reduce dependency on cars, and opening up travel choice, I don’t necessarily agree with the way they appear to be approaching this (which seems to be more to retrofit — at great uncertain cost and great disruption to those neighbourhoods potentially for years — new infrastructure in those existing neighborhoods).

In my view, we are probably best to encourage the majority of new housing be 6-10 story apartment blocks right beside existing high capacity public transit corridors and with day to day amenities and services within walking distance — See my separate article where I detail my thoughts further. Auckland Council and Auckland Transport should be working in lock-step with respect to urban planning and transport planning – to be frank, I’m not convince they are. If they are, then why are we continuing to sprawl well away from major transport infrastructure (Rail lines, Bus ways, Motorways)? Look at the area east of the Tamaki River.

As a complete aside, I wouldn’t be surprised Auckland Transport have purposely modeled their Logo on a Tortoise (With the ‘A’ forming the shell and the ‘T’ forming the neck and head). May be the organization should just be called “Auckland Tortoise”?

It’s important to note this post is not aimed at the many hardworking grassroots frontline employees both within AT itself and those of their contractors (e.g Bus Drivers, Train Drivers, Train conductors, Ferry personnel, public counter staff, etc).

Opinion: It’s time to Disband Auckland Transport

Auckland Speed Limit Reductions – All stick but no carrot

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TL;DR: Speeds limits are being reduced across the board. Driving is increasingly stressful as others will object to you following the speed limit. There are implications if you do receive an infringement. Driving is technically a privillege but alternative transport options for getting around Auckland remain disappointingly poor and impractical for many situations.

Noticed that Speed limits on some streets around the CBD have been further reduced. Now Wellington Street in Freemans Bay is down to a mere 30 km/h.

Entrance to Wellington St, Freemans Bay, Auckland (CBD City side)

I can say that no cars whatsoever were doing 30 or even 40 km/h. In fact I had to pull over to allow a car to pass because they were right on my bumper while doing an already rule breaking 40km/h down Wellington Street. Walking back up Wellington street, I had observed basically every car were clearly ignoring the 30 km/h speed limit.

I’ve come to terms it’s only a matter of time that I’m going to end up with my first ever traffic infringement at this rate (basically not a matter of if, but when). Why? Because the agencies (including NZTA and Auckland Transport) by way of their “Vision zero” programme are dropping speed limits across the board and not just around the CBD. They’re also pledging to deploy more enforcement cameras everywhere and dropping enforcement tolerances and it only takes a momentarily lapse in judgement (e.g accelerating a touch too much in order to move safely into traffic or change lanes while looking over my shoulder to check a blind spot) right at an inopportune time and I will be done for.

The issue as well with infringements is that even if it’s only $30 low level speeding fine without demerits from a speed camera, apparently this still goes on your record somewhere for 5 years and apparently in many cases, you are supposed to declare this to insurance and needs to be declared in other areas as well (applying for a fire arms license, etc) so pays to avoid getting them where practical.

While I’ve continue for decades to express a strong desire to see alternative, more environmentally friendly and safer travel options opened up particularly in car dependent areas such as East Tamaki Industrial, the anti-car and climate activists have been exerting an increasing influence on Government policy and various government to make driving purposely more difficult and attempting to strong arm the motoring public out of their cars before we even have available working and viable alternative transport options that are able to realisitically cater to people’s day to day and household transportation needs in this city.

With the likes of Auckland Transport playing hard ball over Bus lane infringements and being inflexible even to those who have an otherwise squeaky clean driving record, the state will lose the goodwill of the public. Day to day life is already stressful for families as it is and the state to start ramping up the enforcement, widening the net, and pinging people over an increasing array of infractions while being out to disrupt people’s livelihoods is only going to accelerate the erosion of public goodwill and respect particularly if we continue to find excuses not to run the trains.

While I see we are building seperated cycle ways slowly (which admittedly, I’m generally infavour of should they go where people need to go and can be implemented in a cost effective fashion), however until we begin to see viable transport options able to meet Aucklanders’ day to day transportation needs emerge, I will as an individual ratepayer be vigorously and assertively pushing back at attempts by the more ardent climate activists who unrealistically demand we stop driving our cars immediately.

Auckland Speed Limit Reductions – All stick but no carrot

Highbrook Drive Roadworks?

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Tried searching for what the roadworks are on the southern end of Highbrook Drive and why they appear to be taking so long. This comes up…

Project Name: TSL(SC)P-2409 173 Highbrook Drive, East Tāmaki
Worksite Name: Highbrook Drive, Otara – Construction of new intersection

Searching for either The Project Name or the Reference number brings up very little information about these works

With things down to a single lane (one side) and given that it’s a major link to one of Auckland’s major Employment and business zone, some more publicly accessible information about the project I feel from the government agencies involved with overseeing this project is in order.

Highbrook Drive Roadworks?

Roast this post: High rise apartments in greenfield sites near train stations

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Update: 25-05-2023 – I never got a response from Greater Auckland regarding this.

I will declare that I’m only a mere (curious) member of joe public, with little in the way of any Urban planning experience, however, with so much controversy over bus lane enforcement, Retro-fitting light rail, and removal of on-street parking in Auckland. An idea that came to my mind is…

Would it or would it not be an easier idea to build high rise apartments at the likes of the empty / unbuilt greenfield sites of Albany and Drury where frequent and high capacity separated public transport links already exist (provided the ground at such sites are actually able to take high rise apartments)

Some of benefits (should this be able to be pulled off) I potentially see as a layman include…

  • Facilities such as shopping, medical, recreational, etc being within walking distance, allowing households to conduct most of the day to day household necessities within the local vicinity reducing the reliance on cars and allow households to reduce the number of cars they subsequently need to maintain.
  • If you need to go elsewhere in Auckland, you have a ready to go Train station or Bus-way station nearby where fast and frequent services exist.
  • As a starting point to ultimately curbing our current rate of sprawl across productive food producing farmland.

It’s just I see so much opposition to the current aims of Auckland Transport and Greater Auckland (Advocacy organization) and their plans extolled frankly on paper just seems so disruptive and unsettling to people’s existing living arrangements and livelihoods. To boot, the risks of retrofitting new initiatives to existing established neighbourhoods such as light rail just seem fraught with huge cost over-runs as we’ve seen with the Auckland City Rail Link (or Loop) depending on what they call it these days.

I’ve sent the Greater Auckland blog people the above idea via their contact form with them hopefully coming back to me for my own edification as a member of the public with their feedback along with their rebuttals of why they feel the general idea is not better than their current aspirations. Currently awaiting their response.

With this idea penned, I totally understand there will undoubtably be cons to my idea above and I invite people who may be more versed in urban planning than I, to actually come and “roast this post” as it were and present some arguments against the idea (road blocks and problems) which I’ve undoubtably missed.

Roast this post: High rise apartments in greenfield sites near train stations

Greater Auckland blog (Formerly “transport blog”)

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This is purely a personal opinion as a layman and ordinary rate paying member of the public

I will be direct, the General Feeling I get from reading the Greater Auckland (“GA”) blog is while I understand they want to do “good”, I’m not certain they are managing to quite “read the room” and question whether they are connecting with or otherwise effectively communicating their vision to the General Auckland public

I did know the main editor of Greater Auckland blog, Matt Lowrie personally, but only for a brief moment during the ‘The Campaign for Better Transport’ days. Great guy, but admittedly, may not agree with a lot of his and his cohorts’ more recent view points surrounding urban design and transport matters outside of our common desire to see improved access to alternative travel choices.

There are two distinct issues personally which have probably contributed towards my sentiment…

  • I do recall feelings of being left out when they began focussing almost entirely on Trains and the City Rail Link at the expense / neglect towards tackling the lower hanging fruit aspects of improving access to both public and alternative transport options for major employment areas that were and remain to this day, very car dependent, like East Tamaki Industrial and Highbrook (I remember they were at least on the initial onset, attacking the AMETI project saying it was very car and roads focussed).
  • That I feel great moral anger at some of their readers/supporters Militant support of Auckland Transport’s overbearing video enforcement of frankly poorly indicated bus lanes
  • The comments section under many of the artciles seems have increasingly turned into an Authoritarian-Left Anti-motorist echo chamber with little consideration that many members of the public have to drive due to lack of travel choice.

While I understand they appear to acting with good intent, I question whether they are going about things the right way and appear to be pushing more ideological aspects (what “They” themselves want to see) in an Authoritarian-Left like manner rather than the practical aspects (that would bring the most utility to the general public)

Greater Auckland blog (Formerly “transport blog”)

Bus Lane Locations in Auckland (Link to map)

Fergus Young, , , , , 2 Comments

Was contemplating compiling a map myself of Auckland’s Bus Lane network, but it looks like Auckland Transport themselves have already created a Bus Lane and Special Vehicle lane map, albeit, one that is a bit out of date. (Will press Auckland Transport to update it,  particularly Queen Street and Mount Wellington Highway).

Click here or the image below to access AT’s Bus lane / SVL Map…

Given the plethora of Bus Lanes and Special Vehicle Lanes popping up in Auckland recently catching many otherwise law abiding people unaware, I feel it has come to the point where motorists in all practical intents and purposes now have to consult this prior to heading out in order to avoid running foul of the rules and ending up with a $150 NZD fine.

Warning, rant incoming: While I’ve never received an infringement from AT for anything I’ve done and while I do support the idea of special vehicle priority lanes where implemented appropriately to aid High Occupancy Vehicles to move more freely, I am steadfast in my view Auckland Transport could be doing considerably more than they have to aid the public to comply. These include…

  • Running advisory campaigns to advise the motoring public to please check for the latest information regarding bus lanes on the map (linked to at the top of this post)
  • Ensure that as a public service any and all Bus Lanes, Transit Lanes and Special Vehicle lanes are swiftly updated and marked on the map as soon as they are laid down.
  • Modify placement of bus lanes to aid people to easily merge into the general traffic lane. Right now, the way many bus lanes are drawn are pretty abrupt allowing drivers little chance to recognise and get out of the way of a bus lane.
  • While AT already have videos online on how to use or drive on bus lanes, there is very little practical information for drivers to navigate around bus lanes. e.g what happens if you find yourself approaching a lane that you don’t know how to safely get out of?

As a personal opinion, while the “Green team” (being environmental advocates) seem to be the one’s advocating heavy handed (Orwellian-like Camera) enforcement in the name of a climate emergency, they run the real of risk of becoming tyrants themselves. As an aside, It’s almost like they are demanding that people immediately put both their livelihoods and current living arrangements on hold and comply with their demands on issues such as climate change and the environment (as in, stop driving our Internal Combustion Engine powered vehicles right away).

The issue I have with the current level of bus lane camera enforcement is that it pits Auckland Transport (as a CCO) against the very public they are supposed to be serving fostering a rather divisive and counter productive “Us” vs “Them” sentiment along with contributing to the general public’s erosion of respect towards Authority.

I also fear that this may be a slippery slope and unless strongly challenged, will encourage other government departments to copy Auckland Transport and start rolling out a regular fines regime to use against the public they are supposed to be serving.

Furthermore, it raises an issue with so many otherwise Law abiding people getting pinged over an ever increasing array of ‘Strict Liability’ offenses now suggests people who otherwise have the best intentions are now no longer able to go about their lives without worrying about the the state coming down on them for an innocent mistake.

I will admit, I feel very strongly about how Auckland Transport are currently handling this and feel their current stance is highly corrosive to their own public image and is actually causing the general public to turn against Auckland Transport and their initiatives. I am currently locked in ongoing discussions with Auckland Transport about their conduct, as a civic concern, urging them to reconsider their approach and offering suggestions as to what they could do instead to improve public guidance, and education in order to aid compliance around bus lanes.

Auckland Transport and the “Green team” (including the likes of the ‘Greater Auckland / Transport Blog‘ people) need to be “reading the room”, they need to realize they need the support and understanding of the public in order to progress with their vision of achieving a transportation modal shift in Auckland.

While I can totally understand sitting on a bus that has been impeded by cars is a frustrating and irritating experience, comments online that I’ve seen from advocates directed against general motoring members of the public that happen to unintentionally drive into a bus lane I feel is completely unhelpful, divisive and unproductive. Statements such as “Selfish Idiot” and “It’s SOOOOO simple, just stay out of the bus lane” reeks of a total lack of both consideration for others and understanding of the situation. Work with the public, not against the public.

Edited 22 November 2023: – Fixed some egregious spelling mistakes

 

Bus Lane Locations in Auckland (Link to map)

Commentary: Auckland Transport’s war against the private motor car and the motoring public.

Fergus Young, , , , , , , , Leave a comment

In light of Auckland Transport’s announcement regarding removing of kerbside parking, it’s probably worth highlighting Auckland Transport’s (AT’s) current ethos has effectively been to discourage car use in favour of alternative transport modes in order to achieve their various visions and goals, including…

  • To make better use of existing road space in favour of higher occupancy vehicles, which at least on the surface sound like a laudable goal. However question the current ambition to retrofit these changes at high cost and high disruption to existing neighbourhoods as opposed to working with Auckland Council to implement and promote high density development along with high capacity transit corridors to new greenfield sites such as Mill Road, Flat Bush, Papakura, Karaka, Ramarama.
  • ‘Vision Zero’ – being that… “no deaths are acceptable”, “People make mistakes (behind the wheel)”, “Public Transport is the safest option”. We’re now seeing this in the form of enforcement and the forceful dropping of speed limits to what many may feel are ridiculously low speed limits. Auckland Transport’s ‘‘marketing’ material can be found here however question whether any possible outcome would ever be as rosy as they paint it.
  • Climate change – With their parent organisation, Auckland Council, having followed other government departments to declare a “climate emergency” – encouraging a gradual move to carbon-free transport modes by way of promoting Public Transport, Cycling and Walking.

While I am certainly and staunchly in favour of developing and rolling out accessible alternative transport options in Auckland, particularly in areas currently beset with high levels of car dependency, it appears from all intents and purposes in order to achieve the aims as listed in the bullet points above, Auckland Transport have declared all out war against the private motor car and the motoring public. While I can see where AT are trying to head, they’re choosing to run roughshod over people’s current living arrangement and applying the ‘stick’ in the hope of encouraging modal shift by way of making private motor vehicle use such a hassle so much so that Auckland commuters will hopefully shift to other modes such as walking, cycling and public transport. Continue reading “Commentary: Auckland Transport’s war against the private motor car and the motoring public.” →

Commentary: Auckland Transport’s war against the private motor car and the motoring public.

Auckland Local Body Elections

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Admittedly, it’s been difficult to figure out who to put a tick against for the Mayor vote for the Auckland Local Body elections. I’ve spent at least two hours in total reading about and researching all the candidates over the last week.

Some may argue that spending two hours is a total overkill, but admittedly, I do hold Civic responsibility quite seriously, and the fact that we do get to vote as part of a democratic nation is something I consider extremely important.

Resources reviewed and canvassed include…

  • The Voting instruction booklet / Candidate information. Same information is available on the Auckland Council Website. (Just click “+ More search options” then “Show mayoral candidates”)
  • The Spinoff NZ – Local Policy Website
  • Radio NZ – Mayoral Candidate Debates
  • The Candidates own resources, such as their own personal (campaign) website and social media accounts.

So far my research has come up rather inconclusive. The decision made more difficult is the candidate information appears to vary between mediums (i.e Candidate information booklet vs the Candidate’s website).

Auckland Local Body Elections