Tunnels on hold as transport plans cut
The Dominion Post
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Wellington
A $96 million transport plan for central Wellington puts controversial new tunnels on the backburner, and does little to curb severe congestion or emissions.
However, the plan's authors say the projects - including a $33million Basin Reserve flyover - are required to prevent total gridlock within 10 years.
And they say that second tunnels beneath Mt Victoria and The Terrace, with a combined price tag of $250 million, will be investigated and remain an option if feasible.
"Doing nothing means gridlock ... and that's quite clear," said Ernst Zollner, Wellington City Council urban planning director.
The blueprint for the capital's future has been whittled down from a $650 million wishlist. Gone are plans for a $140 million light railway, a $10 million proposal to turn Adelaide Rd into a boulevard, and a $20 million segregated busway. They could come later, but not in the next 10 years.
The draft plan will see priority bus measures on most arterial routes and those linking the suburbs to the CBD. Cycling and walking plans will be developed. Peak period lanes will be built between Ngauranga Gorge and Aotea Quay.
Central to the plan is an ambitious proposal for a $33 million flyover linking Mt Victoria tunnel to the inner-city bypass, past the northern boundary of the Basin. It is likely that Transit could begin investigating it later this year. Mayor Kerry Prendergast expects it to become reality in five years.
The flyover is likely to anger those concerned about the Basin. "I've got no doubt that you're not going to hear the thud of the cricket ball because it's going to be drowned out by the dull roar of traffic," Green MP Sue Kedgley said.
City councillor Iona Pannett said the plan was "fantasy" and focused too heavily on building roads rather than improving public transport.
The draft does not include plans for second tunnels beneath Mt Victoria or The Terrace, but earmarks them for implementation "beyond 10 years". Assessments for both tunnels will be completed at a cost of $11 million.
"In terms of current traffic numbers, the Mt Victoria tunnel isn't viable - it's only viable if a lot more growth happens in the eastern suburbs," Mr Zollner said. "But it's critical that we start planning for it."
The plan will not ease congestion, however. "Severe road congestion is forecast to get worse under all scenarios," the report says.
Transit is expected to contribute 80 per cent of funding, with the city and regional councils contributing 10 per cent each. It will be considered by the city's strategy and policy committee today.
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A good step forward, high quality improvements to bus corridors (not the faith based wishlist of light rail which would cost a fortune to subsidise), the flyover at the Basin is just a portion of the former motorway extension plans and will shift traffic from Mt Vic Tunnel to Buckle Street relieving the Basin and hopefully allowing some of the traffic lights to be removed. Four laning Wellington Rd and Ruahine Street will also reduce the length of queues and ease flows, but wont ever be enough until Mt Victoria Tunnel is duplicated.
Duplicating Mt Victoria Tunnel is necessary to improve airport access, but too many Wellington politicians have been obsessed with the far more expensive Transmission Gully. $250 million to build two tunnels that will dramatically reduce congestion on key routes around the city, compared to over a billion for an elaborate motorway to relieve delays for those who have a parallel rail service.
As a Kiwi Engineer in the UK I currently work for Transport for London and am well versed in every form of transport (I specialise in roading for London City). I find it amazing still that rail or tram is being neglected . Have any of the councillors ever been overseas to see successful cities? Yes we need to improve roads but you cannot have a public transport wish list thats 10 years in the future. Compromise on the roading scale and pump the money into public transport. If the roads are getting worse but the public transport is getting better....well I hope New Zealanders are smart enough to see where that leads. A point worth bearing in mind is as more of our young people travel they get used to using efficient public transport so while the car is still an important part of our lifestyles more of us are and will be happy to use clean efficient transport (not just buses) if and only if its available. Time to make tough and visionary decisions, dont be scared to put your neck out Wellington.
The premise is flawed. The proposal assumes that cars are king and that public transportation cannot happen until areas of sufficient density form. We have to develop the growth nodes for transport, not the other way around. We're fighting in traffic because we built ourselves into this situation and the draft plan is suggesting that we do nothing but build ourselves out. Urban sprawl is congestive, so maybe we should think a little about our urban design and come up with something actually better instead of just easier for now.
I find it shocking that the nation is worried about drowning in personal debt, but we spend big on incredibly depreciating assets with increasingly expensive running costs. It shouldn't take a scientist to figure this one out.
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By the way, when will reporters realise that Transit never funds anything. Transit manages the state highway network, and since 1996 it has received its funding from Transfund/Land Transport NZ. Transit is not a funding agency.
Oh I know when, 1 July when Transit gets abolished and merged with Land Transport NZ - then you wont be confused anymore. Why do reporters make up phrases like "Transit is expected to contribute 80 per cent of funding" when it is patently nonsense?