AT gets coldish shoulder

Four teams from Auckland Transport (AT) fanned across the Devonport town centre last week to talk to 85 shopkeepers.

Going door-to-door, they sought to spread the word about construction management for pending roadworks – and received a muted response.

AT project manager Sunny Ha said the reaction was mostly neutral, or no comment was offered. Fourteen of those approached supported the work while 10 opposed it.

Four people spoke of nearly being run over on Victoria Rd crossing, said AT’s northern head of community engagement,

Bad timing for disruption for Devonport business

Are the Devonport town centre improvements a nice-to-have rather than a must-have in these budget-restricted times?

Devonport businesses, still paying back debts from Covid lockdowns and lost trading days, can ill afford to lose money through the disruption wrought by the construction phase on Victoria Rd.

Just ask the businesses along Queens Pde what happened when the Marine Square upgrade project occurred several years ago. Some were forced to close, others downsized. All were drastically affected economically. Compensation from Auckland Council/Auckland Transport was nominal. Only the Peter Raos Gallery survived.

It has been revealed the safe-speeds improvements budget is $3.3 million: 51 per cent is through Waka Kotahi (the government), with 49 per cent coming through Auckland Transport/Council funds.

These funding agreements can lead to poor, misguided or ill-timed decision-making, with cash-strapped Auckland Council keen to grab any money from the government it can.

Paul Thompson. One woman said this had occurred to her twice on the same day.

Thompson said the project was about improving safety for all in Devonport, including its workers and visitors.

Devonport had been chosen for the Safe Speeds programme because it ranked high on three factors: the level of on-road pedestrian activity in the town centre; the number of crashes causing injury that needed medical attention (44 from 2016 to 2020); and the number of those crashes that involved vulnerable road users, including the elderly and children.

Dearest harbour crossing option: subway via Belmont

Five options for an additional harbour crossing were announced by the government on 30 March, one proposing a light-rail tunnel through Belmont.

The tunnel would run from Wynyard St in the CBD to Smales Farm station, via stops in Takapuna and Belmont.

An additional road tunnel creating a new section of State Highway 1 from Auckland’s central motorway junction to Akoranga Dr to is also proposed as part of the option.

Lanes on the existing Harbour Bridge would be reallocated for buses, cycling and walking once the tunnel is open for freight and traffic.

The option is the most expensive of the five, with an estimated cost of up to $25 billion. It is predicted to take the longest to build and have the highest carbon emissions during construction.

Other options on the table include building a second bridge parallel to the existing Harbour Bridge and having light-rail lines to Takapuna run over it; or building a light-rail tunnel from Wynyard St to Takapuna via Birkenhead, Northcote and Akoranga station.

The preferred option for a crossing will be chosen in June 2023, after feedback is collected and assessed.

A similar funding arrangement occurred in the days of North Shore City Council when its transport officers snapped up 50 per cent funding from Waka Kotahi for bike lanes on Lake Rd. Waka Kotahi was offering up half funding for bike lanes on arterial roads.

A lot of people didn’t want the lanes on Lake Rd, particularly some members of the then Devonport Community Board, including Roger Brittenden, who was concerned about cyclist safety – especially going through the Belmont shops intersection.

Making town centres safer is to be commended, but AT projects tend to be run overtime and be over engineered.

Rob Drent Editor