NZTA warn of congestion

The NZTA is warning motorists to avoid using the Northwestern Motorway from tonight.

The city bound motorway lanes between the Brigham Creek roundabout and Lincoln Road off-ramp, and the westbound lanes between the Te Atatu Road off-ramp and the Lincoln Road on-ramp will be closed from tonight until midday on Sunday (15 January). 

The closure will start from tonight and according to the NZTA be lifted around midday Sunday. This work is required for the demolition of the 45 year old Selwood Road Bridge, as a upgrade to the Lincoln Rd Intersection.

The new bridge will be fully completed in 2013, with seven lanes for traffic and a shared path for walkers and cyclists. Ramp improvements will improve capacity, safety and trip reliability. The $100M improvements are part of a suite of works to complete the Western Ring Route road of national significance and provide a motorway alternative to SH1 to improve travel for people and freight in Auckland.

Although this upgrade does include some provision for pedestrians and cyclists, NZTA have gone with the bare minimum here which is disappointing given their recent works, a return of the NZTA of old?

Sad times for Auckland Transport - AKT Finished

Well I arrived back from Aussie, after a fantastic summers holiday for two weeks on Sunday past, following the good weather everywhere I went.

Shortly after arriving back home I found out the sad news, Jon from AKT is moving over to Australia, and this is one case where we can't say it's improving the IQ of both countries. AKT has been a fantastic blog, and the one I first turn to on a daily basis.

Jon did a great job at raising awareness of transport issues, generating good debate and getting certain politicians thinking about Auckland's Transport needs.

Where to next, well there are still some good Auckland Blogs, and Auckland Transport Blog still provides great updates and debate about Auckland Transport, Eye on Auckland, although more a focus on the Architecture development, also touches on transport related development.

Here at Auckland Infrastructure I will continue to provide as much original updates and debate as I have time.

AKT though became more than just a Transport Blog and it's sad to see it discontinued, however I would like to personally thank Jon for all his effort, blogging takes up time and money, the adverts on the sites don't bring in near the amount that it takes to run these sites. So thanks Jon for the 4 years and I personally wish you well in your adventures, enjoying Australian Cities Transport and lifestyle.

Auckland will get there eventually, so look forward to seeing you back in NZ once we do make it.

Lack of posting

Well I have to say that I'm personally disappointed with my commitment to blogging, and over the last while my posts have been far and few between.

This post is there to say I haven't forgotten about you out there. During a period where there has been a lot of action in the transport realm, I've been lucky that follow bloggers AKT and auckland transport blog have been doing a great job in covering the events.

So where to next? Auckland is becoming a great city, it's exciting to see it develop first hand, so as usual we bloggers stand to question, opinionate and provide input to the landscape that is been created for today and tomorrow.

If anyone has a opinion or piece they want to provide to this blog, please post it to aucklandinfrastructure@gmail.com

RWC - Media Fail

Well a simple topic, I have deliberately not commented for a while, given all the negative media during Auckland's proudest most internationally recognizable period.

And it was great!!!! The opening ceremony was spectacular, the Crowds were amazing and the rugby so far has been inspirational. But the media, including bloggers like AKT were determined to give Auckland a bad name internationally. Was it due to them trying to attract readers, or were they just being ignorant to what they were doing? I expect a bit of both.

Aucklands transport plans showed weakness, when 200,000 people turned up to town to celerbrate the cities biggest ever event, the train system didn't cope, and let's face it, every regular train user in Auckland was expecting it. The most disappointing part was the fact they only had contingencies for 150,000 people...this is Auckland's biggest event, who thought that we wouldn't get over 200,000 people when that number turns out every year to Christmas in the Park needs a reality check. However the trains are normally crammed and slow for international events overseas let alone in Auckland. The walking trail was always promoted as the best way to the park, and has subsquenclly been very popular.

Given all that I can understand having a article in the papers identifying the problem, but NZ media and bloggers, were instead of being positive about the wonderful show, a wonderful opportunity to show nz talent, decided it was better to shut nz and try to get the world to notice our flaws. International media were never going to comment on small transport problems in NZ, but these guys seem determined to gain their attention.

The papers are flooded with bad omens even forcing the government to seize Aucklands Waterfront in damage control mode. Yes there were problems , but I put the escalation that has resulted purely on the NZ media, common guys, get in the mood like the rest of the country, stop moning and let's start celebrating!!!

Mike Lee Lecture - Rise and Fall of Auckland Public Transport

The Fall and Rise of Public Transport in Auckland - a New Zealand success story?

Councillor Mike Lee  

Auckland City Council

6.30pm - Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

Mike Lee will review the history of public transport in Auckland - from the mid-1950s up to the present day and reveal some surprising facts. Facts such as: Aucklanders, who are conventionally believed to have had an enduring love affair with the private car, were as recently as the 1950's some of the most diligent users of public transport in the world. Mike will discuss the reasons for the mid-century collapse in public transport usage. He will analyse the present renaissance and discuss its long term sustainability. He will identify factors which threaten to block and reverse continued progress. 

Michael Lee (MSc) is a former chairman of the Auckland Regional Council, and current chairman of the Auckland Council Transport Committee and director of Auckland Transport.

Head along to this lecture as I'm sure it will be great, unfortunately I will not be so lucky to be in Auckland during this time, so will be unable to attend.

It is being held at the Horse and Trap,

COME AND JOIN US!

Each month we organise a facilitated discussion in the downstairs lounge bar at the Horse and Trap. After a short presentation by an expert in their field, the floor is open for questions and debate over a meal or drink.

Topics range from science, politics, economics, psychology and sustainability, to New Zealand's space programme (yes, we have one!), and depending on the topic it will be called either Cafe Scientifique or Cafe Humanities.

We suggest you aim to arrive at the Horse & Trap @6pm, so that you can find a seat and order your meal or drink.  The presentation starts at 6.30pm, with open discussion from around 7.10pm.  The formal part of the evening is over by 8pm. 

Link Bus - Outer Link, Inner Link and City Link off to a shaky start

Auckland Transport has added to new links to the popular Link Bus, which is effectively a circuit bus.

It actually might be a bit of a stretch to say it has added new links, rather than saying it has merged existing links into the one brand. However it has improved on the previous services and now provides regular intervals, with almost turn up and go frequency.

The previous City Circuit is now defunct, replaced by the City Link, this is the new route.

The previous Link bus has been renamed the Inner Link, and only had a slight adjustment.

The Outer Link is a new service that replaces some other routes, this is the biggest improvement that comes with the changes.

After a rather shaky start on Sunday last week, a lot of the buses ended up giving out free rides, as the snapper system was not working. I actually managed to get two of my trips for free. They are now running as they should, and if today was anything to go by, they are getting used.

However one thing that many people are getting annoyed with, is these stupid waiting times, which happens regularly at different stops around the route. Some of these stops can last what seems like forever before you actually get going.

The reasoning for these stops is to keep the Service on timetable, as to stop bunching of the buses. Bunching of bus services can become a problem when operating circuit routes, however for the passenger on board these frequent stops seem like a waste of time, especially if your running late for a meeting or work.

Elliott St Shared Space

Elliott St Shared space project has now been completed, and so far has been sort of successful.

www.aktnz.co.nz

The once car dominated street has now been taken over by pedestrians, and wondering through it's great seeing pedestrians being proactive, taking their time wondering and having no fear in walking in front of motorists as they past. This is how city streets should be.

It has also revived the stores which have received a increase in foot traffic, the most important type of traffic when in the hospitality or retail business. People are only now rediscovering places like the Elliott Stables, a group of cafe and restaurants, right now I'm personally sitting at the Forchon Creperie having a flat white and waiting for my Eggs Benedict.

However their are also disadvantages with the space which would be easily overcome, the first being empty seats/tables, this space is useful in creating the right atmosphere however currently remain empty, one of the main reasons I would put this down to is the alcohol law, because of the alcohol ban in the city, the restaurants are not allowed to serve it outside. This should be an exception for places which would come under their alcohol license.




--Advert--


I have fortunately not seen the Darby St symptoms, which have motorists ignoring pedestrians, and using the street as a parking yard, so lets hope it's not contagious.

So far this space has shown a lot of promise, and once the Aucklander's get use to the concept, I think we will see it being very successful.

I might seem a little optimistic about Aucklander's taking up the concept, Jon over at AKT is not as confident as myself, click here for his assessment. I have also stolen a couple of photo's from him.

Eden Park Success - RWC Ready

Eden Park has just successfully hosted the All Blacks vs Wallabies Match, and the result wasn't the only success!!

With the trains expected to take 15'000 people, they reportedly took around 18'000, with only a few small town complaints, lets face it, the herald were up to their usual games.

Wynard Quarter Open Day Today!!! (Photos)

Head down today to not only be entertained,

But see the new Open Space that has been created at the bottom of town, on Saturday it was busy with everyone trying to get a early look...

Taken from Events Centre

North Wharf - Wynyard Quarter Open 6th August 2011

Rugby World Cup is now only days away, and the great thing with tournaments like these is they let you fast track infrastructure projects. The timing of the tournament hasn't been great, with the recession hitting the world including us down here in little New Zealand, the Christchurch Earthquake putting further economic and emotional pressure on the country and not to mention the pressure of the high NZ dollar at the moment.

Unfortunately in Auckland the lead up to the Rugby World Cup has been one of lost opportunities, we have failed to achieve any major Public Transport improvements, we failed to build a Cruise Ship terminal, and we failed to build a true International Stadium.

However there are things that we have achieved, and they are things that will be iconic and special to Auckland over the RWC and beyond.

Wynyard Quarter and North Wharf were some of those on the list that has been fast tracked because of the RWC. The good thing? It opens on the 6th of August!!!

www.waterfront.co.nz