With voting for the 2020 general election underway, Bicycle Junction hosted a candidates debate focusing (mostly) on two-wheeled transport in Wellington. Seemed like the perfect opportunity for another Traffic Jam blog, especially as yours truly was the MC.

So let’s begin with the bad news. Neither Labour, or National sent a candidate along. ACT couldn’t find time in anyone’s diary either. Of course, every politician is time-poor when campaigning is in full flight, but it was a shame none of these parties felt cyclists were mainstream enough to warrant a few hours attention.

As Act, Labour and National didn’t turn up, I could ignore them, but given all three will (at the very least) have representatives in Parliament, it’s probably useful to provide a summary of their policies on bikes in particular and Wellington transport in general.

A week after the meeting, Act came back to me with this policy statement;

“ACT believes we need to take the politics out of infrastructure. Infrastructure decisions shouldn’t be made by politicians based on how many votes they can get, but robust economic analysis. We would allow central and local governments to enter into 30-year infrastructure partnerships. This will provide certainty about investment, take the politics out of decision-making, and ensure taxpayers get the best value for their infrastructure dollar.”

You might note the word bicycle doesn’t make it into that paragraph.

As the leader of the current Government, Labour has taken a broad brush to policy pledges, preferring perhaps to leverage off the country’s current Covid free (in the community) status. It’s committed to the Let’s Get Welly Moving process (started by the previous National lead government after the Environment Court knocked back proposals for a Basin Reserve flyover). That commitment involves starting on rapid mass transit from the city to its southern and eastern suburbs ahead of another road tunnel under Mt Victoria. If you believe National MP (and Wellington Central candidate Nicola Willis) that’s only because its Green Party partner lobbied for RMT ahead of another couple of lanes for traffic.

What can we glean from Labour’s three years in office? Good in a crisis, but when the going gets politically difficult the policy gets dropped? If Covid 19 is evidence of the former, is the fate of its 2017 policy to bring Light Rail to Auckland an example of the latter?

Where is the strong Labour voice on Wellington transport? Grant Robertson has spoken about problems with the city’s reorganised bus system (I quietly hope his bus driver partner keeps him well briefed) but he’s rather busy with the nation’s finances these days. Rongotai MP Paul Eagle has weighed into the cycleway issue from time to time, mostly to question the removal of car parks to make room for bikes.

Compare that with National. It’s transport spokesperson Chris Bishop is based in Hutt Valley. Nicola Willis, was all over the city’s “bustastrophe” and her billboards are all over the city’s main arterial roads, because National wants a second Mt Vic road tunnel first, ahead of any other major work based around the Let’s Get Welly Moving plan.

In fact, it would tunnel a four lane road all the way under Te Aro and extend those four lanes from the planes to Levin. This, it argues, would divert cars away from the central city and leave more room for public and active transport.

Given the natural philosophical viewpoint of a conservative is that things are generally just fine as they are, I’d expect National to continue to embrace the motor car as the nation’s prime mover, but under its new transport spokesperson, Chris Bishop, there have been some interesting policy shifts.

First, a pledge to extend Wellington’s electrified suburban rail system north to Otaki. Second, embracing congestion charges to manage traffic demand on some of our busiest roads, provided its “revenue neutral”. That probably means cutting fuel taxes to compensate.

It’s a bit of a cake and eat it approach. If National had to face the fiscal facts if elected later this month, would it drop some of its promises?

But maybe I’m not thinking big enough? Maybe we should go tunnel crazy and build a motorway under the city? Troy Mihaka, one of the candidates who did make it to the Bicycle Junction Hui, argued we should build a road tunnel all the way from The Terrace to Evans Bay.

Growing up in Auckland, I watched as that city’s Spaghetti Junction gutted Newton, Grafton, Weston Springs and Freemans Bay, all in the name of allowing motorway traffic to pass through town without fouling its central streets. Those streets remain clogged with cars. The junction’s clogged too, because at rush hour, you always have queues trying to get from one to the other.

Now let’s be fair. Those motorways have made 50 years of suburban life as most of us know it, possible. The question is whether that lifestyle will remain the default setting for the next half century.

Which brings me to what those who did turn up to the meeting had to say.

I’ve already mentioned Troy Mihaka. He stood for the Wellington Regional Council last year on the Wellington First ticket (the same one that got Sean Rush onto the Wellington City Council and Glenda Hughes onto the regional council). This year’s vehicle is Integrity New Zealand, and Troy’s running for the seat of Rongotai. Troy’s big on cycling, and like National, believes a motorway bypass will clean up Wellington’s central city traffic, leaving more space for bikes.

Taylor Arneil is running for Rongotai for New Zealand First. He has his doubts about getting rid of car parks for bikes or buses (what about the elderly, the disabled?). His main point was on population. Wellington, he argues, is clogged because we’re trying to squeeze too many people into it. If more New Zealanders lived in smaller cities and towns we wouldn’t have to spend so much money on monster motorway projects. New Zealand First would connect the provinces with a regional rail passenger service. Taylor talked up New Zealand First’s record while in Government, of investing more in the national freight rail system, because the biggest threat to people on bikes is trucks.

Standing for Rongotai for The Opportunities Party (the one Gareth Morgan founded then left in a huff) Geoff Simmons was skeptical about heavy rail for people, but big on the disruptive technologies of e-bikes and driverless cars. The money some want to spend on a second Mt Vic tunnel would be better invested in buying every Wellingtonian an e-bike. Geoff supports National’s congestion charge proposal, which he argues would be fairer than the fuel taxes we currently use to help fund our transport system. The city has public transport alternatives so “let’s just get on with it”. Geoff also latched onto the impact Wellington Airport in driving demand for more roads. The airport’s business model, which makes a lot of money from parking revenue, is at odds with the interests of the wider city.

Bruce Walsh is running for Rongotai on the New Conservative ticket. He spent most of his opening address talking about the importance of family. He wants a second road tunnel under Mt Vic, worries about small business losing customers if car parks are sacrificed for bike and bus ways. He also wonders whether a fairer way to fund transport would be to scrap petrol taxes and extend the current road user charges levied on trucks, to all vehicles.

This was one of the few areas where he and Greens Party representative, Julie-Anne Genter, agreed, if only because the current associate transport minister recognises as electric vehicle use increases, funding transport through a petrol tax will no longer be viable. Like Geoff Simmons, Julie-Anne arrived at the meeting on her bike, and like him, believes e-bikes and other forms of active transport and micromobility will play a big role in the city’s future, and need their own space in the street (either that, or the traffic already in the street needs to slow down to accommodate them). Unlike Geoff , Julie-Anne supports light rail for Wellington (if you were going to build another tunnel, that’s what you’d build it for). Commenting on the current slow progress on upgrading Wellington transport infrastructure, she argued “the more power you give to the Greens the more we can achieve”.

Finally there was the independent Jessie Richardson, standing in Wellington Central. Galvanised by his experience as a school climate protestor last year, and his disappointment at a lack of government action since, Jessie’s policies were closest to the Greens, only more radical. He might be half the age of the rest of the candidates, but his grasp of the topics is impressive. He’s worth a listen, as are all the people on the podcast.

Last year I wrote of the importance of the local body elections in deciding Wellington’s transport direction. Those elections left the city in a stalemate; a city and regional council in favour of public and active transport, but a Wellington mayor who campaigned to bring forward a second road tunnel under Mt Victoria.

Until now, central Government has been unable to break the deadlock. Labour could argue that’s because it’s been forced to compromise with two parties, the Greens and New Zealand First. Opinion polls suggest after October 17th, Labour may be able to govern alone. If Nicola Willis is right about Labour and the second road tunnel under Mt Vic, maybe Labour unleashed would lean towards National’s policies? How might it behave if it had to govern with the Greens?

Whatever scenario we face (there’s always the National/Act option) the decision, dear voters, is in your hands.

Meanwhile, still looming in the background is the eventual opening of Transmission Gully and Kapiti Expressway to Otaki, which will encourage more people to drive and settle in suburbs where driving is the easiest option. In the medium term I can only see the traffic pressure on central Wellington increasing. At some point this decade, the cost of a warming climate will begin to modify our behaviour, but until it does, most New Zealanders are likely to vote with their internal combustion engines. Many also believe we can keep our cars, and conversion to electric vehicles is just a flick of a switch away.

There is one other factor which may sway opinion. Auckland’s Central Rail Link. The biggest single investment in transport since the Auckland Harbour Bridge revolutionised development in favour of the private motor vehicle. The CRL may be a game changer in the other direction. If Central Auckland booms once the new rail line is running, other cities will want to be in on the action.

But that’s for another election.

Congratulations Andy Foster. You ran a good campaign. You’ve earned the right to be Wellington’s next mayor. Now the real work begins. You want another road tunnel under Mt Victoria. The majority of your councillors probably don’t. Where do we go from here? The Traffic Jam has some potentially radical ideas.

It didn’t take long. The word from The Hill is within a few hours of special votes confirming Andy Foster pipped incumbent Justin Lester in the city’s mayoralty race, transport minister Phil Twyford was talking about revisiting the timeline for work on Let’s Get Welly Moving.

By Tuesday, Twyford had gone public with RNZ’s Morning Report saying he’d be  prepared to discuss Let’s Get Welly Moving’s agenda, which currently prioritises construction of a new rapid public transit system to Wellington’s south and east, ahead of a second road tunnel under Mt Victoria.

Foster claims his victory is a mandate for the latter. Other far wiser and experienced political observers have blogged on why he defeated Lester, but I agree the desire among some voters for a few more lanes to planes was a factor. However, there is another potentially longer term election trend running contrary to that – and which I’ll come to later.

Twyford’s willingness to revisit the LGWM timetable comes as no surprise. Under his watch the NZTA has delayed Light Rail in Auckland (a Labour Pledge in 2017). Labour is even less invested in expanding Wellington’s PT network. Besides, it’s slipping in the opinion polls.

His insistence the amount of taxpayer money on the table for LGWM remains the same (around 60 percent of the estimated six billion dollar bill) only makes things worse for Light Rail (or whatever else it might be) to Newtown and beyond.

Foster’s promised to keep a lid or rates. Build your second tunnel under Mt Vic and there’s not much left in the bank.

Yes I know tunnel supporters argue it’ll be “multi-modal”. It’ll have space for bikes and pedestrians. But let’s face it, the people who voted for Foster on the tunnel issue expect it to be for cars. Their cars.

And this is where it gets messy. Foster may claim he has a mandate to push through a second road tunnel, but he can’t do that without the support of his council. Stuff’s Thomas Coughlan has written an excellent piece on the hurdles the new mayor faces in bringing Mt Vic 2 forward.

If we look at the new Wellington City Council, I can see six votes  (including Foster’s) for a second road tunnel; Diane Calvert, Simon Woolf, Sean Rush (from the tunnel friendly Wellington Party) Malcolm Sparrow and Nicola Young. Not enough. Iona Pannett won’t have a bar of it. Based on their campaigns, previous voting in council and post-election statements, Sarah Free, Fleur Fitzsimons, Jenny Condie, Teri O’Neill, Rebecca Matthews, Laurie Foon, Tamatha Paul and Jill Day all appear to be road tunnel skeptics.

By the way, you can listen to a Traffic Jam analysis of the local election results with Talk Wellington’s Isabella Cawthorn and PT advocate Roland Sapsford here.

Of course councillors under pressure can flip-flop, as can Labour-led governments, but to do so would fly in the face of that other key trend in the 2019 local election; voting on climate change.

Off the back of the national school climate strikes and rallies, New Zealanders elected candidates committed to cutting the nation’s carbon emissions. I would argue in Wellington City alone, three new councillors, Condie, Paul and O’Neill all rode that wave into office.

Smart road lobbyists noticed it too. In the wake of Foster’s Wellington triumph and second tunnel trajectory, I spoke with Geordie Cassin from the AA’s Wellington Council.

The interview begins with his answer to my question as to whether he thinks a second Mt Vic road tunnel is now more likely – which he does. But I recommend you listen closely to what Geordie has to say.

There’s recognition climate concern isn’t going to go away. In fact, with every new story of record high temperatures in the arctic, droughts in Australia, and forest fires in the USA, it’s likely to increase. Geordie saw the kids marching, and how they kept on coming.

While the Wellington Chamber of Commerce keeps up the same old rhetoric over limiting rates while asking for more corporate welfare, I sense a change with the AA.

I think the AA can see that even if Foster is able to persuade enough of his fellow councillors,  and the government, to go back on the commitment to begin the PT work on Let’s Get Welly Moving first (and let’s remember folks, PT first was what the majority of submissions to LGWM asked for) pushing on a with a road tunnel under Mt Vic is likely to buy a fight in the Environment Court, and a fair amount of protest in the streets.

Here’s Roland and Isabella’s thoughts on the mandate voters gave Wellington’s local leaders.

Foster could bank on a change of Government next year, but what if the cavalry under Simon Bridges fails to arrive?

I think there’s one thing all sides of this debate agree on; we’re sick of the mucking around.

Is there a way through this?

I think it’s time for a bit more ambition. Forget about a 60/40 taxpayer/ratepayer split in funding. Addressing The Capital’s congestion is a state job. We’re expecting Wellingtonions to stump up with almost half of the money needed to cope with traffic created by years of national road building projects.

Nope.

If central government wants another road tunnel, then it can pay the whole of the LGWM bill itself.

And if the AA wants a second road tunnel for its members, it should insist work on rapid mass transit to Newtown and beyond, begins at the same time. That’s the best way to avoid another potentially drawn out battle in the courts and on the streets.

Because if you want to signal you don’t give a stuff about climate change, building another road at the expense of PT is the good way of doing it.

That’s Foster’s best hope for his Mt Vic ambitions too; unite the council behind a plan which puts PT on an equal footing with another road tunnel.

By the way, if that road tunnel is to be truly multi-modal, then you’d better make sure you limit its use to electric vehicles, because we already have a tunnel full of exhaust fumes.

And yes, if you want any chance of avoiding the usual result of widening the state highway on one side of the city – that we’re back in the same place dealing with congestion under The Terrace in 15 years time – then you’d better make sure your rapid transit linking the region’s rail system with Newtown and beyond, is up and running when that second tunnel opens.

In fact, given car ownership is likely to decline relative to ownership of e-bikes and scooters, we could even plan for a next stage which re-configures one of those road tunnels for buses only, while converting the existing bus tunnel to a shared cycle and footpath.

Would the progressive transport mob support it?

I don’t know. But could the Government afford to ignore a united front from City and Regional Council, the AA, and the active and PT transport lobby? Maybe even National’s Wellington MPs would support it?

All this becomes irrelevant if Phil Twyford sticks to the current LGWM timetable, and if National fails to win office next year.

However, I still think it’s time for the AA and the progressives to talk. Whatever happens with LGWM, from late next year we will have to start dealing with the extra traffic generated by Transmission Gully.

As micromobility disrupts old ways of getting around, the AA needs to think about representing the owners of e-bikes and scooters, and improving the experience of those members who still choose to drive.

The best way to do that, is lobby for better alternatives for those of us who would prefer – at least some of the time – not to.

Happy Jammin’.

• This will be the final blog for The Traffic Jam in its current form. I had to decide between my choir, The Doubtful Sounds, or this. I went for the music. That gives me a little more time for my partner and son. I owe them. There’s a chance I can persuade RNZ to fund The Traffic Jam as one of its podcasts, although we’d have to shift our focus beyond Wellington. Whatever happens, I’ve really enjoyed writing these Jams, as I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them. I started the Jam not because I hate cars, but because I love driving and fear, unless Wellington changes its ways, we’re headed for gridlock, and we’ll have to spend a tonne of money getting ourselves out of it. I believe there’s room on this planet for motor vehicles which don’t pollute, but failure to provide ourselves with alternatives is literally kicking the can down the road. I’ll continue to share an observation or two via my Twitter account and you can be sure of a thumbs up from me at the lights if you stop on a yellow, and a friendly wave if you let the bike go first, once it’s safe to let you pass… Cheers! Bryan Crump.

 

 

 

There’s been a bit of talk about candidate scorecards, and how well they reflect the actual intentions of our would-be representatives once they get into power.

The Traffic Jam’s been thinking about this too, and decided to do a little research of its own to compliment the two Transport Hui it helped to organise last month.

The task was simple; go through the full Wellington City Council minutes from the past term, tallying where representatives had supported motions with a public or active transport agenda against those addressing the needs of private motorists.

I didn’t count votes where the motion’s beneficiary was unclear (“is this a cars first thing or not? If I was in doubt I left it out). I also ignored motions where the votes of individual candidates went unrecorded.

I then calculated a “score” – Heaven help me – based on the ratio of pro-public/active transport votes to the number of pro-road votes. A score of one or more, means over the past term a councillor has gone public/active more than they’ve gone motorcar, at least in the open sessions of full council meetings.

The numbers in brackets (*/*) represent votes for a public/active transport agenda verses votes supporting the interests of car users.

This is what I found, from highest to lowest. If you’re after a lobbyist for the private motorist, scroll down.

• Iona Pannett (Lambton Ward) 16.0 (16/1)
• Fleur Fitzsimons*  (Southern) 2.75 (11/4)
• Chris Calvi-Freeman (Eastern) 2.4 (12/5)
• David Lee** (Southern) 2.4 (12/5)
• Simon Marsh (Eastern) 2.2 (11/5)
• Peter Gilberd (Northern) 1.83 (11/6)
• Justin Lester (Mayor) 1.67 (10/6)
• Sarah Free (Eastern) 1.29 (9/7)
• Nicola Young (Lambton) 1.29 (9/7)
• Diane Calvert (Onslow -Western) 1.13 (9/8)
• Brian Dawson (Lambton) 1.13 (9/8)
• Jill Day (Northern) 1.0 (7/7)
• Andy Foster (Onslow-Western) 0.88 (8/9)
• Malcolm Sparrow (Northern) 0.88 (8/9)
• Simon Woolf (Onslow-Western) 0.55 (6/11)

* Fleur Fitzsimons replaced Paul Eagle in 2017, when the latter became a Parliamentary MP.

** David Lee is standing down as a Wellington City Councillor, but you can still vote for him on the Greater Wellington Regional Council.

A few trends I’d expected, but also a few surprises. Iona Pannett tops the list by a clear margin. Chris Calvi- Freeman has been public in his support of the Let’s Get Welly Moving programme, but Peter Gilberd’s and Simon Marsh’s voting records were more in favour of public and active transport than their statements at the first Talking Transport Hui suggested.

Justin Lester’s in the upper middle of the pack, as is Sarah Free. Her support of the Island Bay Cycleway, was balanced by her advocacy for free weekend parking.

Despite being one of the most vocal supporters of a second Mt Victoria Road Tunnel, Diane Calvert comes out on the active/public side by virtue of her endorsement of the revised Island Bay Cycleway.  Along with Andy Foster and Iona Pannett, she also voted for Let’s Get Welly Moving to investigate better use of buses and rapid transit, and lobby central government for a regional fuel tax.

Jill Day’s voting record didn’t quite match her strong public/active talk at the Transport Hui. Perhaps politics – and Day’s position as deputy mayor – played a role in this. Iona Pannett was prepared to join Calvert and Foster in some renegade votes on Let’s Get Welly Moving. Jill Day stayed with the pack.

Andy Foster’s support for a second road tunnel, and his advocacy of free parking during the weekends, puts him on the road side of the equation, along with Malcolm Sparrow (another advocate of free weekend parking).

The strongest supporter for the roads lobby, or at least leaving the roads as they are, was Simon Woolf. He joined Foster and Calvert in calling for a second Mt Victoria Tunnel, voted to keep free parking at the weekends, and was a lone voice against the revised Island Bay Cycleway plan.

Based on voting records, advocates of public and active transport are fairly evenly spread across the city’s five wards, with the exception of Onslow-Western.

As an exercise, this survey of one term’s worth of full council minutes has its limits, but it does throw a bit of extra light on the position of some candidates, and maybe underlines the need for more research on others, of which plenty is available.

You can try here for a start, but also here and here.

For a regional perspective, especially on policies addressing carbon emissions this one from The Common Climate Network is well worth checking.

The rest is up to you.

 

Oh, and one last thing.

I would have liked to have done the same thing for the last term of the Greater Wellington Regional Council, but its minutes don’t record who votes for what. Perhaps that lack of public record (and the discipline which comes with it) was one of the reasons its councillors were so careless over the introduction of Wellington’s new bus network and the premature removal of its electric trolley buses (turns out those new battery electrics weren’t ready after all).

I think about that every time I wait at a hub facing away from the shops and into the wind, or take in another breath of diesel filled air downtown (while blocking my ears to keep out the noise).

I’m hoping for more openness from the GWRC next term, for their sake as well as ours.

Happy Jammin’.

 

The Traffic Jam went beyond the Basin for the second of its Transport Hui, inviting regional council candidates along with city council contenders for Wellington’s Eastern and Southern Wards. Here’s a summary of where they stand, and whether it’s on a road, footpath, cycleway or station platform.

Regional round up

Let’s begin with the regional councillor candidates, as they straddled two meetings. You can hear all of them speaking here.

You can probably guess, all of them will “fix the buses” but they do differ on how much priority they would buses compared to parked cars , or even moving ones.

Cars first

I’ve listed contenders in terms of their support for private verses public/active transport, with the private motor lobbyists first. The further you scroll down, the more public and actively minded your candidates get, starting with…

• Philip O’Brien: Without doubt, the strongest roading advocate at either meeting. Wasn’t afraid to revisit the “four lanes to the planes” mantra Wellington Mayoral candidate Jo Coughlan coined in 2016. Uses the bus, but thinks the city has to cater for the majority who prefer cars. Says he’s a keen walker, but again doesn’t see many other on the footpath. Whether you think that’s because other users see him coming first, probably depends on how your views line up with his. If you want more space for cars, and a bloke not afraid of the odd controversial quote (see below) O’Brien is your man.

• Lesleigh Salinger: Like Philip O’Brien, wanted to see a road tunnel under Mt Victoria built ahead of a new rapid public transit system to the city’s east. An advocate of on-street parking in the central city. “You can remove everything and make it absolutely people friendly and businesses collapse and fall apart.”  Not a supporter of the old electric trolley buses with were “dongas”. Would like to see new battery electric ones though.
• Gavin Bruce: For another road tunnel under Mt Victoria ahead of rapid transit. He was also against removing too many car-parks in the city to make way for buses or cycleways. “If you can’t drive your car into town you’re probably going to go to free parking in Porirua or Queensgate”.
• Anand Kochunny: Vague on detail, but wants priority given to another road tunnel under Mt Victoria.
• Tony De Lorenzo. Wants a second tunnel under Mt Vic. Whether it is for buses, mass transit, cars “or whatever”.
• David Lee. Retiring Wellington City councillor and urban planner. Pragmatic rather then radical. Wants to shift the balance away from cars. Blames a lot of the problems with the buses on PTOM: The Public Transport Operating Model, introduced by the previous National Led Government to guide regional councils in how they contracted services from bus operators. Wants a single Wellington wide transport body, a bit like Auckland Transport.
• Tony Jansen. Advocates change towards mass rapid transit, but wants councillors to recognise funds are limited. Suggests selling the city’s stake in Wellington Airport to fund major transport projects.
• Bryce Pender. A taxi driver with “everyday experience of traffic congestion” who supports extending the city’s heavy rail system further east to Courtney Place, and extending the current electric train network to Masterton, Otaki and eventually Palmerston North.
• Ray Wilson. Currently works of one of the bus companies. Wants better pay and conditions for bus drivers.
• Helene Ritchie. Former Wellington deputy mayor. Supports removal of on-street car parks to make way for bus and cycle lanes. “I want to fast forward rapid mass public transport, probably light rail”. However, had an idiosyncratic voting history at the Wellington City Council. Voted against a 30 kilometre an hour speed limit in inner Wellington when the council considered it during Celia Wade-Brown’s mayoralty.
• John Klaphake. Advocates a regional focus on the city’s transport problems. Wants light rail from Johnsonville, Porirua and the Hutt all the way to Mirimar, based on using the existing rail system.
• Sam Somers. A young man “with a plan”. Supports light rail, not just to the eastern suburbs, but also to Karori.
• Alexander Garside. Wants continual adjustments of Wellington’s bus network based on public feedback. “I’m not going to fix the buses. You are.” Wants bus priority lanes to improve reliability.
• Darren Ponter. Sitting regional councillor. Highly visible (unlike some) in his work  consulting the public over the new bus network. Wants to reduce the number of hubs, pay drivers a fair wage, and allocate more road space to bus priority lanes.
• Roger Blakeley. Sitting councillor. Supports Let’s Get Welly Moving with space for bus priority and cycle lanes ahead of more room for cars. However, reluctant to address an issue which bothers some voters – that GWRC minutes don’t record how each councillor votes on a motion – something which frustrates The Traffic Jam. Argues commercial confidentiality trumps the public’s right to know on some occasions.
• Jill Ford. Wants action now on allocating more road space to bus and cycle lanes ahead of “Let’s Get Wellington Waiting”, removing on-street parking where necessary. Supports a second Mt Vic tunnel only for public or active transport. Wants a single transport agency for Wellington.
• Thomas Nash. Says Wellington needs to address its “car addiction”. Strong supporter of Let’s Get Welly Moving’s plan to prioritise public and active transport ahead of the private car.
• Victoria Rhodes-Carlin. Strongest speaker among the younger candidates. Says the current crop of regional councillors failed to understand the needs of bus customers. Wants an electric bus network by 2030.

Did not show up.

• Phil Quin. Shame because he says he’s going to fix the buses.
• Troy Mihaka. Member of the same political group as Philip O’Brien, called The Wellington Party.
• Glenda Hughes. Also a Wellington Party member.
• Yvonne Legarth.
• Deane Milne.

South of the Basin

You can hear all of the Southern and Eastern candidates speaking at the Hui here.

Only four candidates are standing for the city council’s Southern Ward, and there’s not much between them on transport, with all supporting a shift from the private motor car to active and public transport.

• Thomas Morgan. Suggests “raising the Basin Reserve” and having the roads pass underneath.
• Fleur Fitzsimons. Sitting councillor. Sat on the fence over a question regarding an extension to the Wellington Runway.
• Humphrey Hanley. Couldn’t make it to the meeting. Sent a written statement. Strong advocate for the disabled.
• Laurie Foon.  Advocates opening up Kent and Cambridge Terrace and Adelaide Road to higher density housing, with more road space allocated to public and active transport.

Through the tunnels

More to choose from in terms of candidates for Wellington City’s Eastern ward, and more diversity in attitudes to transport. Again, I’ve listed those tending towards space for the motor car first.

• Sean Rush. Member of the same political grouping as Philip O’Brien, the Wellington Party, which advocates for “common sense” on transport policy. Did seem a little nonplussed by some of Philip’s statements.
• Steph Edlin. High school student. Strong advocate for the buses, but also for a second road tunnel under Mt Vic. Against giving up on-street parking for cycle lanes.
• Bernard O’Shaughnessy. Supports a second road tunnel under Mt Vic ahead of rapid mass transport to the airport.
• Teri O’Neill. Another well spoken candidate under the age of 30. Favours public transport ahead of another road tunnel under Mt Vic. Critical of the Council’s consultation around cycleways in Island Bay, and has doubts over removing parking from central Newtown to make space for bikes or buses.
• Sarah Free. Sitting councillor. Spoke strongly on advocating cycling in answer to a question from the floor. Would “consider” a second tunnel under Mt Victoria, “if we’ve really got a need for it, because I do believe we need some more connections even if it’s just for cycling and walking.” Says council needs to be careful about removing parking along Newtown’s main corridor.
• Chris Calvi-Freeman. Sitting councillor, who’s taken on the transport portfolio. Against a second road tunnel under Mt Vic. Supports the priorities outlined in Let’s Get Welly Moving but wants light rail sooner than the current plan. In answer to a question, from an opponent of more cycleways, says “consultation is not the same as a referendum” and that councillors are elected to make decisions on the public’s behalf.

Did not show up.

• Ajay Rathod. A strong roads advocate, to the extent of opening up the bus tunnel to motor cars.

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The Traffic Jam would like to thank the following for their support organising, podcasting and blogging these transport hui: The Wellington Council of the AA, Cycle Wellington, Rubber Monkey, Save the Basin, Bicycle Junction, Living Streets Aotearoa, Valley Audio, Pete Busby (sound engineer), and the Common Climate Network. A special big thank you to Co-organiser,  Mark Johnston, and to the MC for our second Hui, Dave Armstrong.

 

The candidate meeting season for the 2019 local body elections is in full swing. Everyone wants to be on the right side of history, although they also like be on the right side of the crowd. Last Wednesday, the Traffic Jam managed to get a fair number of them on the right side of a microphone.

The Traffic Jam and Mark Johnston from Cycle Wellington had a dream; all of Wellington’s city and and regional council candidates talking transport, at the same time in the same place.

With support from the Automobile Association’s Wellington Council, Cycle Wellington, Rubber Monkey (sound gear), Bicycle Junction, Save the Basin, and Living Streets Aotearoa, we did it – well half of it. The other half is this week.

Meeting one, in the Loaves and Fishes Hall, heard from candidates standing in the city’s Wharangi/Onslow-Western, Takapu/Northern and Pukehinau/Lambton Wards. Mayoral and regional council hopefuls were there too.

Robes and baubles at the Loaves and Fishes

We began with the would-be Mayors, including the incumbent. You can hear highlights of the debate here.

Each had 90 seconds to make their pitch.  Andy Foster (sitting Onslow-Western Ward councillor) was first, arguing his track record pushing for what cycle and bus lanes Wellington already has, is reason enough to vote for him.  Foster is also a supporter of adding another road tunnel between the city and its eastern suburbs to the top-priority list of public works in the Let’s Get Welly Moving programme.

Conor Hill began his pitch by stating he’s never owned a car and can empathise with the victims of the city’s bus crisis. He wants more trains too. He says his time living in Amsterdam showed him how a city could be. Transport is about moving people, not cars, he told the crowd.

Jenny Condie mentioned her Treasury background, and experience in accountancy and entrepreneurship, although she’s primarily running for mayor because of her kids. She doesn’t want them to inherit a fried planet. Her transport priority is to get people out of fossil fueled cars.

Norbert Hausberg wants Wellington to be carbon neutral by 2022. “If we don’t aim at the stars we aim at a hole in the ground”. However, he also wants the city to begin a “managed retreat” from the current coastline.

Incumbent Justin Lester recalled his childhood and those halcyon days when kids walked and biked to school.  His kids don’t – at least not on their own. Like Foster, he argued his track record on cycle-ways was reason to re-elect him. He talked about balance, and not looking  “a gift horse in the mouth” when it comes to the central government money on offer through Let’s Get Welly Moving.

Diane Calvert reminded the meeting she was a sitting Onslow-Western ward councillor; a very big ward which she “pretty much needs a car to drive around” in.  She also used her ninety seconds to mention the “shocking bus service” and the vague nature of the “Let’s Get Welly Moving” plan. She argues a second road tunnel through Mt Victoria should get a higher priority, not just for the benefit of cars but for buses as well.

Pass around the mic.

That second Mt Vic road tunnel was the subject of the first question from the floor, from the AA’s Geordie Cassin. It’s been delayed. Its delay will have a negative impact on other modes in the city, he said. “Are you worried?” He asked.

“Yes” said Calvert. It’s been cherry picked out of the Let’s Get Welly Moving list of priorities for “political” reasons.

Lester’s been in all the discussions. The priorities are what Wellingtonions asked for; “Mass Transit, Basin Reserve and the Mt Vic Tunnel”.  Everyone in the city and regional councils voted for it. Save the Basin’s on board as is the Chamber of Commerce, he said. “Now we’re seeking to deliver it”.

Hausberg described LGWM as a plan from the past for the past. He supports a second Mt Vic tunnel “but not for cars”, rather walkers and cyclists. As for a new rapid transit mode – too expensive – stick with buses.

Condie argued mass transit has to come before roads. Hill isn’t worried about a Mt Vic road tunnel being taken out of the mix. He says when a second tunnel is built, it will be for walking, cycling and public transport.

Foster worries about the rates bill involved with LGWM, and says the delay in another road tunnel for at least ten years will trap more traffic inside the city.

In answer to a question on active transport, Condie argued for walker friendly policies in the suburbs. Calvert is worried about e-scooters cluttering the footpath, and the time pedestrians often have to wait at traffic lights for the crossing signal.

Do they all support a 30 kilometre an hour speed limit in the central city? Yes.

What about the Let’s Get Welly Riding vision of cycle-lanes (little roads – for all the slower modes of wheeled traffic, including scooters and e-bikes) put forward by Oliver Bruce and Brett Skinner?

Yes, except Calvert, who endorses the idea, but thinks it’s too ambitious in terms of how quickly Bruce and Skinner want it introduced.

Are we living in a climate emergency? All but one agreed. Calvert describes our time as one of “Climate Crisis”.

I attempted to put an either/or question to the panel. If they had to choose between rapid public transit to the eastern suburbs, or a four lane road – which one?

Hill, Condie, Hausberg, and Lester put their hands up for rapid public transit.

“Silly question” said Foster. State highways are funded 100 percent by the Government, Mass Transit won’t get 100 percent funding from the central government.

“Why not?” yelled a voice from the crowd.

“Well good luck” replied Foster.

Calvert put her hand up for the road.

When it came to levying a congestion charge for busy roads, Calvert was the one voice opposing the idea.

Calvert was also alone in supporting a ban on e-scooters on footpaths.

 

In answer to a question about the buses, a Wellington Regional Council issue, Condie made the point the City Council could still do a lot to improve the reliability of the bus service by setting aside more space on the roads for buses only.

On the issue of what rapid transit system each candidate supported, Foster wanted more done on the buses, Hill supports light rail, Condie would like to take a business case, for light rail or a “gold plated” bus rapid transit system, to a citizens assembly “and let 50 of our fellow Wellingtonions learn all about the expert opinions, and make their own judgement”.

Hausberg wants to get the buses “rolling”.

Lester will defer to his transport engineers for advice on light rail or trackless trams.

Calvert supports more resources going into the buses, especially the Airport Flyer.

Going west

At this point our mayoral candidates had to leave for another meeting. Not a moment too soon for Onslow-Western candidate Michelle Rush, who, despite having worked as a facilitator for many years, was running out of patience.

You can hear what she, and other Onslow-Western candidates had to say here.

Rush referred to recent reports of the NZTA casting doubts on the transport benefits of the current Let’s Get Welly Moving plan (because it had more to do with enabling denser urban living than getting people around town).

Those reports  “miss the point”, she told the meeting.

“Transport…and the livability of our cities are inextricably linked. It’s been our failure to recognise that, since the car lobby stared down mass transit and won…mid last century, that’s left us in our current mess”.

Rush wants to see action on congestion by doubling the number of occupants per car. “We can all do that”, and she wants LGWM implemented in its entirety, although if there were to be a second Mt Vic tunnel, it would be either for rapid public transport, or walkers and cyclists, not cars. She’d like to see the staged removal of on-street parking on some arterial roads (Karori Road for example) beginning with clear-ways for peak hour traffic, leading to the eventual phasing out of parking altogether. Getting children to walk, bike and scooter to school, rather than being driven, was another priority.

Ray Chung put in a good word for the buses in his part of the city; Broadmeadows, which now has a decent service during the weekends and evenings.

Rebecca Matthews has never driven a car. She’s against contracting out public transport to the lowest bidder, and as a trade unionist wants drivers paid a fair wage. She’s not worried about a delay in another road tunnel under Mt Victoria.

Richard McIntosh, the Green candidate for Onslow-Western wants to get Wellington riding. He’s still lamenting the digging up of the Bolton Street cemetery for the Thorndon Motorway in the 1970s.

Rohan Biggs told the meeting he stood for fiscal conservatism. Light rail doesn’t stand up, but he’s a huge fan of the buses, and wants more safe space for cyclists. He wants a second Mt Victoria road tunnel sooner.

The incumbent Simon Woolf says LGWM “didn’t go far enough”. Petone/Ngauranga to the Port is equally as important. He’d also like to see a “switch lane” for public transport on State Highway Two. A “switch lane” involves dedicating one lane of the motorway to a particular type of traffic for part of the day.

All candidates in the Onslow/Western ward supported a 30 km/hr speed limit in the central city.  They were almost unanimously in support of the Let’s Get Welly Riding vision with the exception of Biggs, who wasn’t prepared to endorse the idea without more analysis. There was strong support for a ban on e-scooters on the footpaths, apart from Rush. On the issue of a congestion charge, Chung was against. Rush said any charge had to take into account the financial position of poorer people who relied on their cars to get around the city.

Northern exposure

The deputy mayor Jill Day kicked things off for the Takapu/Northern Ward contenders.

You can hear her views, and the views of other Takapu/Northern and Pukehinau/Lambton ward candidates here.

Day made a pitch for active transport and a “step change” in the use of public transport. One of the key problems for voters in her ward is having to switch modes if they travel by public transport to Wellington Hospital. She hopes a light rail system would make switching modes easier. On-street parking is increasingly an issue in the suburbs, which could be solved if there was more car-sharing.

John Apanowicz is standing in the Northern Ward for the Wellington Party. He wants a second Mt Vic road tunnel, but supports trackless trams “but not all the way to the airport”.  His party supports a pedestrian only Golden Mile, with more parking facilities built on the edge of the central city.

Malcolm Sparrow is another sitting councillor. He wants a four lane Terrace tunnel and second Mt Vic tunnel, sooner rather than later.  He also supports more bus lanes, especially at peak times – along Newlands road for example.

Fellow Northern Councillor Peter Gilberd is a supporter of Let’s Get Welly Moving and  thinks Trackless Trams could be a viable rapid mass transit option. He thinks a second Mt Vic tunnel is needed and the sooner it comes on stream the better.

Heading Downtown

Finally, the Pukehinau/Lambton ward, where sitting councillor Brian Dawson was the first to speak. He wants cars out of the golden mile and bus priority lanes as soon as possible. Like Ray Chung, he’s very happy with the new bus service in his part of the city – the Aro Valley.  He wants to see Caro Drive underground so there is no longer a busy road splitting Te Aro in two. He says locals are struggling with non-residents parking in the Aro Valley, then walking to work in the central city, but also says no issue is more vexed than parking – apart from cats.

Iona Pannett is another incumbent and a Green Party councillor. “We need to put climate action and livability of our city right at the centre of every single thing that we do”. Urban planning and transport planning must be integrated. She wants a “full” light rail system right out to the Hutt and out to Johnsonville, and doesn’t support any more tunnels. “I tried to stop the by-pass and we did stop the flyover”. She supports “intelligent” removal of on-street parking. “Instead of parking your vehicle for 90 percent of the time…..we should be able to have a fleet of cars that take people when they need to go somewhere”.

Lee Orchard, wearing lycra, stood before the meeting “exasperated” and in solidarity with his fellow cyclists. He nominated the median strip between Kent and Cambridge Terrace as a potential cycle and walkway from the city to the Basin Reserve.

The other sitting councillor, and Mt Victoria resident, Nicola Young, talked up her credentials as a “very good” pedestrian, and an advocate for cheaper bus fares and bike racks. She says footpaths are for feet. She thinks it’s hypocritical of the Wellington City Council to declare a climate emergency while supporting a longer runway for the city’s airport. She describes herself as a light rail skeptic. She has doubts about the a 30 km/hr speed limit in the central city. She questions whether a blanket speed limit for the CBD is practical.  She would like to see the removal of some parking from one side of Tory Street to make it more cycle and pedestrian friendly.

Tamatha Paul is currently the Victoria University Students’ Association president. She based part of her pitch on better street lighting. She argued for better located bus stops (on Wallace Road waiting passengers spill out onto the street during the rush hour peak) and wants the council to recognise micromobility (e-bikes and e-scooters) will play a big part in the city’s future.

What did I learn from the meeting?

Mayoral candidates first.

In terms of having the courage of her own convictions, even if it meant going against the prevailing mood in the hall, I’d give Diane Calvert a special commendation. She made no secret of her desire to see a second road tunnel built under Mt Victoria. If more space for private motor vehicles is your priority, she’s your candidate.

Andy Foster expressed similar sentiments on a second tunnel, but was unwilling to engage in an either/or scenario over road verses public transport to the Eastern Suburbs.

Justin Lester talked up the consensus reached over LGWM. He leaned towards better public transport for the east and south, ahead of catering for more cars, but he remains cautious in terms of what form that public transport might take, deferring to his engineering advisors.

If you want a fresh thinker in the Mayor’s robes, Jennie Condie was the most impressive,  but she too would leave that trackless tram/light rail issue to another group; in her case a special assembly of our peers – a sort of grand transport jury.

Only Norbert Hausberg and Conor Hill were unequivocal in terms of a mass transit choice, the former opting for bus lanes, the latter for light rail.

If active and public transport are your priorities, Hill and Condie are your best bets. If you think climate adaptation is as important as mitigation, Hausberg is ready to beat a retreat from Wellington Harbour on your behalf.

If you want a change in direction towards active and public transport in Onslow Western, Michelle Rush presented the strongest credentials. If the current rate of incremental change is good enough, try incumbents Woolf and Foster, although Foster also has your back if you want more motorway space to the airport.

Diane Calvert was most prepared to raise her hand in support of the private motorist, although in her ideal world, those motorists would also have to negotiate the e-scooters she’s banned from the footpath. If you think it’s all too expensive, vote Rohan Biggs. Roads and buses make the best dollars and sense to him.

Up the road in Takapu/Northern, Jill Day was the strongest advocate for the public transport user. Fellow incumbent Peter Gilberd represents the current rate of incremental change. If you feel nostalgic for the idea of “four lanes to the planes” Malcolm Sparrow’s support of a four lane Terrace Tunnel as well as another Mt Vic Tunnel, will be music to your ears.

Electing John Apanowicz would shift the balance back towards catering for the private car. Under his scenario, the pedestrian friendly Golden Mile would be a sort of giant outdoor mall, with new car-parking buildings at either end.

In Pukehinau/Lambton, Iona Pannett has been a consistent advocate for a shift away from private motorised travel towards active and public transport. Brian Dawson represents incremental pragmatism – remember his remarks on how fraught the issue of on-street parking is? Nicola Young walks her talk when it comes to pedestrians. With her business background she’s more cautious about sacrificing on-street parking for other road users.

Lee Orchard looked splendid in lycra, and will certainly push a strong cyclist agenda.

Tamatha Paul, along with Jennie Condie, was the freshest new voice in the city council mix. If you want an alternative to the middle aged, middle class Pakeha perspectives which dominate Wellington City, Paul is streets ahead. In terms of political organisation, Paul is close to Lester’s team. Too close for some? Depends on your view of Lester.

Where to next?

Along with the City Council candidates, last Wednesday’s Hui also featured candidates standing for the Wellington ward of the Regional Council.

I’ve decided to save my analysis of their pitches and priorities until after our second gathering, on Wednesday September 25th.

If you live in Wellington’s south or east you might like to as well.

It’s in the Maitairangi Room of the ASB Sports Centre, from 6.30pm. Stuff writer and Newtown renaissance man Dave Armstrong will chair it.

We’re expecting a good turnout of candidates for the city’s Eastern and Southern Wards, and we’re expecting most of the Regional Council hopefuls to be there as well.

And if you can’t make it, there’s always next week’s Traffic Jam.

The Billboards are up, the slogans are out. This year’s local election campaign is underway. But as I’ve said in previous blogs, the debate on shaping Wellington’s transport arteries (and Capillaries) has been timid. In the face of a slow down in road construction, what alternatives are there? I managed to track down a visionary for my latest podcast. He’s not standing for council, but he might influence others who are.

Oliver Bruce isn’t afraid of the future. Just as well, given he’s the right side of 30.

He’s not afraid of Micromobility either. Some of us may struggle with the e-scooters, the e-skates, even the e-bikes. Oliver’s embracing them all. You may already have heard his work as one of the voices behind a podcast of the same name. His enthusiasm for the future may be one of the reasons he’s prepared to put time and energy into a plan re-jigging Wellington’s street system to make room for the modes of the 21st century.

It’s called “Let’s Get Welly Riding”, co-created with fellow futurist, Brett Skinner. The details are in this post on the Talk Wellington blog.

To explain, here’s a map of the proposed Wellington Cycleway system after 2028.

Much of the network; the orange, won’t be completed until 2028, the pale blue, after that.

Oliver and Brett want work to begin on the whole network now.

Wellington mayoral candidate Conor Hill comes closest to echoing the duo’s sentiments, but even he stops short of a push into the city’s northern and western suburbs – at least in the next three years.

Why is an e-scooter enthusiast (he’s got his own in his Oriental Bay apartment) so keen on cycleways?

You might have heard the phrase Rori Iti, the Little Road . It’s the street space we need for all the wheeled traffic too fast for the footpath, but too slow or fragile to mix it with the cars, trucks and buses. The arrival of share schemes for e-scooters is only the beginning. Oliver argues the real change will be in e-bikes, flattening hills and cutting through headwinds in a way which will revolutionise mode choice in Wellington.

E-scooters are fun – for some. They’re handy if you can find one (and when walking would take too long) but unlike e-bikes, your can’t carry much on them, apart from yourself and maybe a friend – probably a close friend.

Sales of new e-bikes are increasing at a greater rate than new electric cars, and until recently, e-bikes didn’t have the advantage of any government subsidy or support scheme.

For Oliver, it makes no sense to be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on more big roads, when the demand for new space is coming from the little road users.

Given the conclusion of Let’s Get Welly Moving was big roads are going to have to wait, a lot of voters want to know what they’ll get instead.

Oliver Bruce and Brett Skinner are two of the few offering a bold alternative. They’re  not even running for office. Elsewhere mayors are campaigning to get a few of the previous Government’s Rons back on the table. Ray Wallace is promising Hutt voters the council will start work on a new Melling Interchange. Mayors from Horowhenua to Whanganui want the Kapiti Expressway extended to Levin. Even Justin Lester is trying to bring forward the central Wellington road construction, LGWM put back a decade.

My suspicion is being told you’re just going to have to wait in traffic, won’t cut it with a lot of voters.

Perhaps I’m missing something. Perhaps there are candidates putting forward public transport alternatives; extending our electric suburban rail service to Levin and Masterton, a rail link from Plimmerton to Silverstream, or even a dedicated busway from Wellington to Mirimar (via the airport) in time for the opening of Transmission Gully, not at the end of the next decade.

I’d love to know.

Meantime, I agree with Oliver;  demand for Rori Iti space looks likely to outstrip supply. The walker in me doesn’t want to see a “Hunger Games” situation developing on our footpaths. As more Wellingtonions get riding, we may need more than public service announcements telling us to be nice to each other.

Although it’s still important we try.

Happy jamming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wellington Mayor Justin Lester is keen on forgoing steel wheels for rubber tyres when Let’s Get Welly Moving decides how it will link the central rail station with Newtown and beyond. He reckons our creative little capital could shine as an early adoptor. Why are many public transport advocates worried? 

The timetable for Let’s Get Wellington Moving might be as vague as a long range weather forecast but it has placed Rapid Mass Transit at the centre of its strategy. Problem is, we don’t know what form that RMT will take.

Should we, as our Mayor has been suggesting,  become one of the first to embrace the newest kid to run around the block, the so-called Trackless Tram?

Or is the spine linking the central city with its southern and eastern suburbs served best by a more tried and tested light rail approach?

For a start, what’s the difference? Basically, light rail runs on steel wheels rolling over steel rails. It’s what we used to call a tram, and some still do.

Light rail differs from heavy rail in that its vehicles can negotiate tighter curves and steeper grades, and they don’t weigh as much – funnily enough. Heavy rail’s greater mass enables it to carry heavier loads and run more powerful locomotives. This makes it ideal for freight and higher speed passenger services.

A trackless tram operates much like a light rail vehicle does. If differs from light rail in that it rolls along a road on rubber tyres.

So what’s the difference between a trackless tram and a bus? Well, that’s when things get a little more subjective.

Ideally, your trackless tram has its own designated road way and uses an automatic guidance system to follow a pre-determined route, as our trackless example in ZhuZhou does. Its interior space is similar to Light Rail. You can board or exit from any door, and like light rail, the vehicle runs in either direction.

However, at least one of the trackless examples cited in my research, runs like a bus, and steers like a bus. To paraphrase somebody’s remark about walking and talking like a duck, doesn’t that make it a bus?

To sling another cliche at you, why bother dressing mutton as lamb?

Firstly, say its supporters, because it’s cheaper to build than light rail. Secondly, because when a bus looks and behaves more like a tram, it’s funkier and more people want to use it.

It’s not entirely clear how the trackless tram idea reached Wellington. I first noticed  it entering the conversation last year. In fact one of the first articles in this part of the world extolling the virtues of trackless traction appeared in this Australian blogsite last year, written by Peter Newman, Sustainability Professor at Perth’s Curtin University.

A few months ago one of Newman’s colleagues, Marie Verschuer, was in New Zealand with a similar message.

I tracked her down by phone for an interview in Perth,  in which she described Trackless Trams as the “evolution of the bus”.

You get something that looks and feels like light rail with less disruption (less digging up streets to lay tracks) which means lower initial cost, which means less pressure on rate and taxpayers.

Marie argues if you want to increase the uptake of public transport and reduce reliance on cars, the trackless tram offers easier pickings.

When local media published Marie’s comments, FIT Wellington’s John Rankin was one of the first to respond. He reckons we should stick with the steel wheels, at least for the initial line through the central city to Newtown and the eastern suburbs.

FIT stands for Fair and Intelligent Transport. It’s a collection of engineers, planners and health professionals trying to increase this country’s transit IQ. This was his initial response to the Trackless Tram excitement here.

You can listen to John’s reasons for sticking to the tracks in the podcast above, but I’ve also listed them below.

First, longevity. Steel rails last at least 25 years. Roads need resealing. Some will need strengthening. Chances are we’ll still have to dig up a lot of road to enable it to handle a trackless tram load.

Second, light rail currently has greater capacity.  Trackless tram fans can point to the currently experimental set up in the Chinese city of Zhuzhou, but a more established version could look like this. Marie describes this as an example of a trackless tram. Others regard it bus rapid transit. Whatever you call it, it doesn’t offer the same capacity as  a typical light rail setup, such as this one currently going into service in the capital city across the ditch, a city which just happens to be about the same size as Wellington.

Third: light rail uses less energy to operate. Simple physics. Steel wheels on steel rails encounter less friction. Rubber’s greater grip does enable trackless trams to climb steeper hills, but for the planned route run from Wellington Rail to the eastern suburbs, steel rails eat up less juice. Light rail literally is greener. It can even run in the grass.

That’s nice. In fact that is Nice.

Fourth: Whatever option you choose – and here Marie and John are in agreement, it has to have its own designated right of way. If you’re supporting Trackless Trams because you think they can just slip in and out of ordinary traffic, you’re doing the rest of us a disservice. If it gets bogged down in existing congestion you’re no better off than you are in a conventional bus. You might as well stay in your car, if you’re not prepared to walk, cycle or scoot.

Fifth: The investment effect. Light rail encourages residential and commercial development along its route and the people who move into those developments tend to use light rail instead of a motor vehicle. Perhaps it’s unfair to compare the two kinds of trams just yet, given the trackless technology in its higher capacity form has only been around for a few years. Still, is it wise to use a new technology for such a key part of the city’s transit spine?

In my conversation with John I suggested steel wheels have another potential advantage over rubber; access to the heavy rail network. If we build it to the same track gauge, what’s to stop us running a light rail service from Johnsonville or Melling to Mirimar?

John is unconvinced. The conventional wisdom is light and heavy rail don’t mix. When a heavy rail vehicle collides with a light one, the results are disastrous for the latter, and anyone inside it.

Still, I’m curious, and hope to revisit that possibility in a later Traffic Jam.

But I’m getting off track. Back in the world of rubber wheels there is potential Wellington could tap into. John sees Trackless Trams as an option for Karori, a route that doesn’t have the traffic to justify investing in light rail. Interesting to see at least one local body candidate is already on board with that idea.

Then there’s the issue of retro-fitting rapid mass transit inside our post 1960s suburban sprawl. Just think of all the development around Whitby, Paraparaumu, and Waikanae that’s only going to grow in response to Transmission Gully and the Kapiti Expressway.

Perhaps trackless trams are the future for lower density suburbs? Perhaps, if we really want to link  Petone and Grenada we use rubber wheels to get the tram over the hill?

John Rankin shared a quote with me. It’s from Peter Newman, the academic who got the trackless conversation rolling in this part of the world; “If a Trackless Tram is to be able to attract value capture opportunities it must be more like a train than a bus. It must be more like a fixed service that will not be easily removed from serving a station where developers are needing to see a return from their investment.”

Which brings this post to its final point.  A lot is made by some politicians, and even a few bloggers, of how trackless trams can deviate from their route; no worries about a disabled train blocking your way, and if there’s an earthquake, you don’t have buckled rails shutting down the system.

However, fixed rails and wires, and even earthquakes haven’t stopped existing trains and even our dear old departed trolley buses from working in a Wellington setting. Sure, it might be handy to pass a disabled unit every now and then, but if that’s happening on a regular basis, you’ve got a crap system.

Worse, what if the knowledge the “trackless tram” can get around an obstacle gives others licence to sneak onto its path?

People tend not to park on rail lines.

The thought of them or their car being taken out by a train (no matter how light) puts them off.

Happy Jammn’.

 

There was a bit of a fracas in the Wellington cycling community the other day, over this…

The standard sort of anti-lycra meme, only this one was posted by a senior manager at one of bus companies serving Wellington, Tranzurban.  Now, I’m all for a joke, but given the lack of passing space some buses give bikes on the road, I did feel the company’s initial response to cyclist queries – along the lines of – don’t worry, he’s only having a laugh, cut it like a truck cutting me off at the corner.

So it didn’t surprise me, once I’d passed this story onto a colleague in the RNZ Newsroom, to see  the company change its response.  Good. Next time, think before you post, Mr Tranzurban Manager. Turned out, a few of the people you shared your joke with on social media were cyclists.

Which brings me to the point of this blog post. We are all multi-modal. When was the last time you drove to the counter at the shop? Sure, they’re talking about drive-in supermarkets in Dubai, but really, what happens when you meet an SUV coming the other way in the male hygiene products aisle? How many of you own a bike in lieu of a second car? Or take the bus when it’s too wet to scooter?

Actually I felt a little sorry for the Tranzurban man. It’s probably stressful work dealing with an omnishambles, even if some of it is partly your own making. A joke at some other road users’ expense might just help ease tension with the foot soldiers.

But what we all ought to be doing is looking out for each other, and showing support and appreciation when we do.

I’ve had many close calls with motor vehicles. I’m here today writing this because I often anticipated their mistake before they made it. Does this mean all motorists are wankers?

I can also think of the dozens of times a car has given me space this month. Just yesterday, an SUV waited until I cleared a narrow piece of Aro Street before overtaking. I gave him a wave. Riding with my son along the shared path at Balaena Bay, a ute waiting to enter the main road, reversed so we didn’t have to cycle around it. I gave him a big thank you.

So I decided to dedicate the latest episode of The Traffic Jam to courtesy. Using my regular “Quax” down to the Sunday market as a vehicle for chatting about some of the things I do to help other people on the road, and thank others when they help me.

These include….

• Waving vehicles past at a blind corner when I can see the way ahead is clear: I don’t want to hold up others any longer than I have to. The sooner they safely pass me the better.
• Waving a thank you for vehicles that stop for me at a pedestrian crossing: They could get away with rushing past, but they chose not to. I want them to feel good about the choice they made.

 

• Going slowly on shared paths when pedestrians are around: Having someone on a relatively large and hard object speed by a few centimetres away is no fun. If they have their back to me, and there’s not much room, I gently let them know I’m approaching (a little tinkle on a bell works a treat). If they still don’t hear me and the way is blocked, an “excuse me” usually works. If it doesn’t, I simply wait until there’s room.  If I’m in a hurry, there’s almost always the road (yes I know the road can be scary, which is why I’m all for calming traffic and more separated lanes for cycles, skates and scooters).
•  When a vehicle chooses to wait, rather than risk passing me at speed in a tight space, they get a wave when they do eventually slip by. I do the same if the lane is so narrow I have had to ride in the middle of it: They could have bullied me with their extra mass, power and speed, but they choose not to. I want them to know I appreciate that.
• Thumbs up for people who stop at yellow lights rather than rushing red ones: because the city is so much more chill when we decide to be the first off the rank on the next green, rather than the last to shoot through on someone else’s.

Am I mad? Naive? Possibly. But now you know what that crazy guy at the lights was on about.

There’s going to be a lot of discussion about how we share the road over the next few months. Let’s Get Welly Moving is saying, in its own mother of all roundabouts way, more space for cars is not the number one priority.

Fair call I reckon. I think 50 years of car-first policy is enough. However, that change in approach is going to upset quite a few people, and until we up our game on public and active transport in some of the outer suburbs, it’s going to make life harder for some as well.

In recognition of that, I’m putting away the middle finger and trying on the positive mindset. Being a cyclist,  as well as the part-owner of a car, has made me happier and healthier, and I want to share some of that happiness. In the battle for common sense, I reckon a smile is an under utilised weapon in the arsenal.

I even end Episode 14 with some positive thoughts on the new bus system.

 

Those bike racks, for example, make it possible to Quax, even when you live 150 metres higher above sea level  than the market. They’re also handy when taking kids to distant cycle paths.

But I might save those thoughts for another blog, lest you think I’m on someone’s payroll.

Still, I’d love to get some of your’s on sharing our highways and byways, while spreading the love, so feel free to comment.

Happy jammin’.

 

 

 

 

 

Warning, some images may not reflect reality.

There’s a problem with Let’s Get Wellington Moving.

Well, you’d expect that in a document that comes out in May 2019 with October in the headline.

But where Let’s Get Welly Moving really comes unstuck is it’s a local fix to a regional problem.

Much of the traffic LGWM is designed to address comes not from Wellington City, but from the growing suburbs and commuter towns to the north, and the new roads built to accommodate, and in some cases, encourage that growth.

Those advocating for better alternatives to the private car, celebrated the LGWM announcement. So they should. For a start Wellington Mayor, Justin Lestor, and transport minister, Phil Twyford, chose the city’s railway station as the venue for their big reveal.

And it is significant their announcement did not include a major programme of new roads at the top of the list.

But the roads are still there, just buried in the text. Their importance open to interpretation. Will Wellington build a mass transit  link from its railway station to Newtown before it builds a second Mt Victoria Tunnel? At the same time?

Then there’s the unanswered question as to what form that mass transit will take. Trackless trams? Light rail?

It took Auckland a long time to convince the previous National lead government to proceed with its City Rail Link. That may have been frustrating for the CRL’s supporters, but it did bring one benefit. By the time John Key and then transport minister, Simon Bridges, recognised its merit, Aucklanders (including Auckland businesses) were pretty united in their support for it.

The same can’t be said for Wellington. Let’s Get Welly Moving might have come up with a plan, but I’m not convinced it’s achieved consensus. The Chamber of Commerce still wants the roads, if not first, then at least at the same time as the other stuff. Local National MPs have been vocal in their calls for the Government to complete road projects promised by the previous administration.

And all the while, that low density car focused residential development continues. In Whitby, above the Hutt, and along the Kapiti Coast, as the increased traffic flow of Transmission Gully and the Expressway extension approaches with the inevitability  of an advancing glacier – not that we see many  of those in real life these days.

Let’s Get Welly Moving’s first tranche of proposals involve plucking the seemingly low hanging fruit of calming city traffic, giving more road space over to buses, cyclists and micro-mobility users, encouraging walking; all the stuff that a growing number of poeple living in the central city love.

But their needs are on a potential collision course with those from the North, who either choose, or have no option but to live in Carland.

And if you didn’t click on the link, here’s a bit of the sales pitch to give you an idea of what I mean;

The suburb of Whitby, within Porirua City, is set to leverage off the infrastructural benefits of the Transmission Gully project which promises to cut commute times to Wellington city.

The Automobile Association’s Mike Noon made an observation about “lifestyle choices”  when I got his reaction to LGWM the other day. And he has a point. The kids are marching to stop climate change, but many  Mums and Dads are still buying SUVs. They’re still investing in low density housing, and even when someone suggests a bus service might be a good idea, some of them oppose it.

Most of the people who move to such places expect to be able to drive where they want without encountering congestion, and for the first few years that’s often the case. Think about the space you currently enjoy on the Kapiti Expressway.  Just like the artists impression at the top of this blog…

It won’t last. Soon more homes pop up, housing residents with more cars and the same expectations. Now the call is for an Expressway all the way to Levin to the north, and “Four Lanes to the Planes” to the south.

That’s why I spent a bit of time up the coast the other day. I needed the reality check. As the (probably) outgoing chair of the Wellington Regional Council said of the LGWM launch; “it’s the beginning of the beginning”. Mr Laidlaw hasn’t exactly covered himself with glory recently, but he’s right about that.

Let’s Get Welly Moving isn’t locked and loaded. The results of this year’s local, and next year’s national elections will have a significant bearing on what gets priority – although it is important to note, as Isabella Cawthorn from Talk Welly does so well in this edition of Traffic Jam, for once, the motoring lobby isn’t in the driving seat.

But we can’t solve Wellington City’s mobility problems and ignore the needs of the wider region. That’s why investment in public and active transport in Kapiti and the Hutt is key. That’s why the choices residential developers make on greenfield sites matter. That’s why the connectivity of whatever mass transit mode Wellington City decides on, is crucial.

Why would you ditch the car for the train in Kapiti, if you have to walk several hundred metres through a subway at Wellington Railway Station to catch a trackless tram to get to Newtown? In fact why would even bother driving to Waikanae station on a week day when the park and ride is already full?

Or, as I hint at the end of my podcast with Mike Noon, is there an even deeper question? Is the low density housing model an unsustainable solution subsidised by roads?

I’m not quite ready to declare war on cars. I still like to drive, as well as cycle, bus, walk and train. However, I am enjoying a podcast by those who have. For a fresh view on mobility with a nice light touch, I recommend these guys.

In the meantime, keep asking the questions, keep the smart debate going, and when you’re stuck in a jam, keep thinking.