Bus lanes put on hold

A plan for Queen St bus lanes has been shelved after Auckland City Council spent $75,000 on proposals, reports and peer reviews on the project.

A further $500,000 of ratepayer cash will now be spent on a wider study into central city transport issues.

Councillor Cathy Casey says the number of reports written on the bus lane proposal so far "defies belief".

"The public wants us to go ahead but the business community says no, so we run for cover and do another report. We have enough information already to do this."

The council spent $14,775 developing the bus lane proposal, which received positive feedback from the public.

But Queen St retailers and the CBD Board raised concerns about the impact on city businesses.

Consultants produced a report on the economic impact of the bus lanes, at a cost to ratepayers of $20,000.

A report on central city parking was also produced, but the council would not reveal the cost.

A peer review of those reports and the council’s proposal was then commissioned, costing a total of $40,000.

The project was shelved last week after the council’s transport committee were told benefits of the bus lanes were likely to be minor.

A report by passenger transport manager Stuart Knarston said there is not enough reason to introduce the 24-hour bus lanes "at this time".

But the council will spend $500,000 on a more comprehensive report on public transport integration in the central city.

It’s the first study to take a wider look at transport issues, including interchanges between rail and bus.

Heart of the City chief executive Alex Swney says he’s pleased the study is under way. The organisation supports bus lanes, but only as part of an integrated transport plan.

He says the council should have launched the wider study earlier, instead of piecemeal research into bus lanes.

"It’s transport planning on the hoof," he says.

Transport committee chairman Ken Baguley says the council was obligated to take a closer look at bus lanes after serious objections were raised by businesses.

"If it’s going to cause such disruption then we have to look at it and see what are the alternatives."

He says the wider study has been planned for some time and will take into account recent changes including the Queen St upgrades and speed limit reduction.

"As a council, we’ve asked for fewer reports than the previous council did," he says.

The $500,000 study should be completed by December 2009.