Plans for a modern, efficient light rail network have taken an unexpected detour. Greater Auckland editor Matt Lowrie recounts the brief history of how we got here, and how there may still be light at the end of the tunnel. The good news is we’re not going to be sending billions of dollars offshore to … Read more
Auckland Transport’s plans for the Queens Wharf ferry terminal include a wide bus lane designed to serve cruise ship passengers on the wharf’s eastern side – effectively closing the wharf to the general public over the busy summer months, writes Matt Lowrie of Greater Auckland. “Today, Queens Wharf becomes the public’s wharf,” said then Auckland … Read more
Smaller, cheaper, cleaner: e-bikes and e-scooters are already disrupting even transport giants like Uber, writes Greater Auckland’s Patrick Reynolds. The electric revolution on our city streets, already underway, looks much more like a scooter than a Tesla. Why? Physics and geometry: size really matters for both energy consumption and spatial efficiency. And both drive affordability and therefore … Read more
The City Rail Link could have been an opportunity to rejuvenate one of Auckland’s most unlovely thoroughfares. Instead, Albert St seems likely to end up looking worse than before, writes Matt Lowrie of the urban design blog Greater Auckland. Last week in the Herald Simon Wilson lamented the mess that has been made of Albert … Read more
Matt Lowrie thinks and writes about transport in Auckland a lot. Here the Greater Auckland director describes a daily commute that takes him from West Auckland to Takapuna, and looks to the direction of travel for public transport in NZ’s biggest city. As Auckland continues to grow and options for getting around the city without … Read more
This morning the government and Auckland Council announced a record $30b investment in solving Auckland’s transport crisis. Don Rowe reports. Atop a broken escalator the two Phils stood shoulder to shoulder, sharing a vision of a better Auckland, a cleaner Auckland; a Greater Auckland, if you will. The Government and Auckland Council together will embark … Read more
Yesterday Auckland Transport released a draft budget with massive cuts to previously stated public transport priorities including cycling and light rail. Then last night transport minister Phil Twyford said it was all a cock-up. So what happened? Matt Lowrie of Greater Auckland reviews. You’re a public agency tasked with coming up with a 10-year transport … Read more
Greater Auckland’s Matt Lowrie looks at the hidden benefits of rail outlined in a 2016 NZTA report released just this week, which transport minister Phil Tywford says was intentionally sat on by the previous government. For the last few decades, we’ve treated rail in New Zealand quite differently to the way we treat roads. Rail has been considered … Read more
There are few areas of government policy in which the gap between National and Labour was as stark as in transport. We republish Greater Auckland’s Matt Lowrie on the likely priorities of the incoming government. When Winston Peters announced he’d chosen a coalition with Labour to form a new government on Thursday much of the … Read more
All the political parties say regional development is A Good Thing. But which of them has much of an idea how to make it happen? Simon Wilson suggests they take a good look at a brand new proposal for Regional Rapid Rail. Morrinsville has never known so much attention. Between a semi-automatic weapon callout and … Read more
Just when you thought transport planning in Auckland was beyond all hope, here’s a plan to save us all. Or something close to it. Welcome to the Congestion Free Network, version 2.0. Do you have to be a nerdy traffic analyst to fall in love with a map? Probably. I like to think I’m not … Read more