Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Who Steers Auckland Transport?

The Auckland Council election is over and it's the start of a new term. Nobody had the chance to vote for Auckland Transport. That's to be expected as it is a "Council Controlled Organisation" - CCO for short. That is a bit of a misnomer because a lot of what Auckland Transport can do is effectively controlled by Government Ministries that fund much of what happens in Auckland, and by Government institutions that decide New Zealand and Auckland transport priorities.

But that "control" issue doesn't apply to many Auckland transport problems.

Take Auckland's waterfront for example.

Auckland Council - in its vision for Auckland - as set out in the Auckland Plan, the Waterfront Development Plan, and the Auckland CBD Plan - has been clear that there is a need to stitch together the various parts of downtown Auckland. Nowhere is this more evident than the need to join up the public waterfront with Auckland's downtown CBD.

There are so many barriers. The famous Auckland Harbour Board Red fence, the traffic and heavy truck friendly Quay Street, the huge amounts of car-parking on Princes Wharf, the water between Wynyard Quarter and CBD, and the traffic-filled spaces of Fanshawe Street.

Thankfully Auckland hasn't built a motorway standard road between downtown and the waterfront, but there is work to be done, and it is recognised, by the three Council organisations that are immediately affected and responsible. Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and Waterfront Auckland. It is critical to the success of any changes that these three organisations work together effectively. That is why an informal coordinating Harbour Edge entity has been established.

Yesterday it was my pleasure to observe the "Auckland Waterfront Planning Intervention" presentations of the University of Auckland Masters in Urban Planning students. Their projects were based upon a careful morphological analysis of the urban form of their study area, an examination of the problems there, an exploration of possibilities, and then a carefully articulated design solution or partial solution. I was struck by how many of these presentations focussed on the need to establish pedestrian connectivity and to open up public spaces. Students showed a keen awareness of the need to connect Victoria Park with Daldy Street up through to the proposed parks and headland park on Wynyard Quarter. An approach to the public mistakes made on Princes Wharf and the Auckland Harbour Board HQ building, and their poor relationship with Quay Street was far-reaching. And designs that opened up captain Cook and Marsden Wharves for development, linking across Quay Street to Britomart were sensible and attractive.

Students also addressed what's happening on Queens Wharf. Concerns were expressed that it might be heading the same way as Princes Wharf. Another public failure perhaps. (A few days ago this post about Queens Wharf appeared on Auckland Transport blog.)

A number of matters have come to my attention that suggest that Auckland Transport is a significant roadblock to transforming downtown Auckland, and an obstacle to implementing the vision.

1)   Jellicoe Street on Wynyard Quarter has been widely praised for its urban design, character, and pedestrian emphasis. It is not like any other street in Auckland. In fact I understand that Auckland Transport has pretty much dis-owned this street. Says it won't have anything to do with it, and that it's Waterfront Auckland's responsibility. For the past few months Waterfront Auckland has been consulting and designing streets that intersect with Jellicoe - including Daldy and Halsey Streets. The relationship with Auckland Transport has been a challenge - but Waterfront Auckland - as significant land owner and lead developer - has persisted with designs that will deliver the vision. But the nearer these designs get to Fanshawe Street, the less happy Auckland Transport appears to become.

Where to draw the line?

A little bit of Viaduct Harbour Holdings (VHHL) gossip has leaked out. These guys own the land between Pakenham Street and Fanshawe Street, while Waterfront Development Agency (WDA) owns the land North of Pakenham Street. Gossip is that VHHL is grumpy "because WDA is only building its streets halfway..." So VHHL is blaming WDA for what's happening. Daldy and Halsey will be beautiful, landscaped and pedestrian friendly to Pakenham Street, and then BANG back to Auckland's normal car friendly design the rest of the way to Fanshawe Street.

The problem here is that Auckland Transport is unwilling or reluctant to embrace the new world of transport planning that is about more than cars. And like Faulty Towers, "don't mention zee pedestrian connexion wiz Victoria Park..."  Come on Auckland Transport get engaged.

2)   The Queens Wharf progression toward being another carpark and dedicated passenger terminal has been tracked for a while. I wrote about this a year and a half ago. Without evident effect. Transport blog's interest in the matter bears more than a passing relationship with the fact the Sustainability Expo was held in the cloud last week, and so was Generation Zero's Micro Conference. A lot of new visitors to Queens Wharf will have been unpleasantly surprised by what they see there.

Again. This is squarely in the in-tray of Auckland Transport. Nothing is being done.

3)  This list is a long one, but my real beef is with the lack of creative engagement and output from Auckland Transport in how to change Quay Street. Sure there is modelling for Africa about traffic movements and bus movements and public transport patronage. But the more I see of this - and the more I recall what Auckland's Traffic Modelling was good at modelling (from my years at Auckland Regional Council where the model was developed) - is that it is useless at modelling the future that is at the heart of Auckland's pedestrian friendly waterfront plan.

We need to use the right tools for this job.

I am aware that the transport plan for Wynyard Quarter requires 70% of the trips made there to be walking, cycling or by public transport, leaving the balance - 30% - to be by motorised vehicle. This is the opposite of urban Auckland where - on a good day - only 70% of the trips are by motorised vehicle. To use the planning tool that is based on a 70/30 split - to model how streets would work with a 30/70 split is too much of a stretch. This is a classic garbage in=garbage out scenario.

Auckland Transport needs the political steer and the design tools to think itself out of the traffic-centred box that Auckland has been stuck in for decades.

No time like the present. Get on with being part of the solution to the waterfront stitch.

No comments:

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Who Steers Auckland Transport?

The Auckland Council election is over and it's the start of a new term. Nobody had the chance to vote for Auckland Transport. That's to be expected as it is a "Council Controlled Organisation" - CCO for short. That is a bit of a misnomer because a lot of what Auckland Transport can do is effectively controlled by Government Ministries that fund much of what happens in Auckland, and by Government institutions that decide New Zealand and Auckland transport priorities.

But that "control" issue doesn't apply to many Auckland transport problems.

Take Auckland's waterfront for example.

Auckland Council - in its vision for Auckland - as set out in the Auckland Plan, the Waterfront Development Plan, and the Auckland CBD Plan - has been clear that there is a need to stitch together the various parts of downtown Auckland. Nowhere is this more evident than the need to join up the public waterfront with Auckland's downtown CBD.

There are so many barriers. The famous Auckland Harbour Board Red fence, the traffic and heavy truck friendly Quay Street, the huge amounts of car-parking on Princes Wharf, the water between Wynyard Quarter and CBD, and the traffic-filled spaces of Fanshawe Street.

Thankfully Auckland hasn't built a motorway standard road between downtown and the waterfront, but there is work to be done, and it is recognised, by the three Council organisations that are immediately affected and responsible. Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and Waterfront Auckland. It is critical to the success of any changes that these three organisations work together effectively. That is why an informal coordinating Harbour Edge entity has been established.

Yesterday it was my pleasure to observe the "Auckland Waterfront Planning Intervention" presentations of the University of Auckland Masters in Urban Planning students. Their projects were based upon a careful morphological analysis of the urban form of their study area, an examination of the problems there, an exploration of possibilities, and then a carefully articulated design solution or partial solution. I was struck by how many of these presentations focussed on the need to establish pedestrian connectivity and to open up public spaces. Students showed a keen awareness of the need to connect Victoria Park with Daldy Street up through to the proposed parks and headland park on Wynyard Quarter. An approach to the public mistakes made on Princes Wharf and the Auckland Harbour Board HQ building, and their poor relationship with Quay Street was far-reaching. And designs that opened up captain Cook and Marsden Wharves for development, linking across Quay Street to Britomart were sensible and attractive.

Students also addressed what's happening on Queens Wharf. Concerns were expressed that it might be heading the same way as Princes Wharf. Another public failure perhaps. (A few days ago this post about Queens Wharf appeared on Auckland Transport blog.)

A number of matters have come to my attention that suggest that Auckland Transport is a significant roadblock to transforming downtown Auckland, and an obstacle to implementing the vision.

1)   Jellicoe Street on Wynyard Quarter has been widely praised for its urban design, character, and pedestrian emphasis. It is not like any other street in Auckland. In fact I understand that Auckland Transport has pretty much dis-owned this street. Says it won't have anything to do with it, and that it's Waterfront Auckland's responsibility. For the past few months Waterfront Auckland has been consulting and designing streets that intersect with Jellicoe - including Daldy and Halsey Streets. The relationship with Auckland Transport has been a challenge - but Waterfront Auckland - as significant land owner and lead developer - has persisted with designs that will deliver the vision. But the nearer these designs get to Fanshawe Street, the less happy Auckland Transport appears to become.

Where to draw the line?

A little bit of Viaduct Harbour Holdings (VHHL) gossip has leaked out. These guys own the land between Pakenham Street and Fanshawe Street, while Waterfront Development Agency (WDA) owns the land North of Pakenham Street. Gossip is that VHHL is grumpy "because WDA is only building its streets halfway..." So VHHL is blaming WDA for what's happening. Daldy and Halsey will be beautiful, landscaped and pedestrian friendly to Pakenham Street, and then BANG back to Auckland's normal car friendly design the rest of the way to Fanshawe Street.

The problem here is that Auckland Transport is unwilling or reluctant to embrace the new world of transport planning that is about more than cars. And like Faulty Towers, "don't mention zee pedestrian connexion wiz Victoria Park..."  Come on Auckland Transport get engaged.

2)   The Queens Wharf progression toward being another carpark and dedicated passenger terminal has been tracked for a while. I wrote about this a year and a half ago. Without evident effect. Transport blog's interest in the matter bears more than a passing relationship with the fact the Sustainability Expo was held in the cloud last week, and so was Generation Zero's Micro Conference. A lot of new visitors to Queens Wharf will have been unpleasantly surprised by what they see there.

Again. This is squarely in the in-tray of Auckland Transport. Nothing is being done.

3)  This list is a long one, but my real beef is with the lack of creative engagement and output from Auckland Transport in how to change Quay Street. Sure there is modelling for Africa about traffic movements and bus movements and public transport patronage. But the more I see of this - and the more I recall what Auckland's Traffic Modelling was good at modelling (from my years at Auckland Regional Council where the model was developed) - is that it is useless at modelling the future that is at the heart of Auckland's pedestrian friendly waterfront plan.

We need to use the right tools for this job.

I am aware that the transport plan for Wynyard Quarter requires 70% of the trips made there to be walking, cycling or by public transport, leaving the balance - 30% - to be by motorised vehicle. This is the opposite of urban Auckland where - on a good day - only 70% of the trips are by motorised vehicle. To use the planning tool that is based on a 70/30 split - to model how streets would work with a 30/70 split is too much of a stretch. This is a classic garbage in=garbage out scenario.

Auckland Transport needs the political steer and the design tools to think itself out of the traffic-centred box that Auckland has been stuck in for decades.

No time like the present. Get on with being part of the solution to the waterfront stitch.

No comments: