31 May 2012

We will not repeat the Harbour Bridge

As international experts lend their support to the Mayor’s rail plans, Auckland Mayor Len Brown has promised there will be no repeat of half-baked transport infrastructure.

Len Brown says Auckland knows only too well the false economies of underinvestment, something plainly illustrated by the Auckland Harbour Bridge, and decades of delaying core transport infrastructure.

“There is no solution to Auckland’s transport woes that does not involve the City Rail Link. It is our single biggest transformer for the region and its economic growth.”

Transport for London Deputy Chair Daniel Moylan, in Auckland this week, says if cities want an efficient transport system that supports their economy, they need a rail-based system.

“If people want a really efficient and productive city, they are going to need some sort of rail-based system to move people around and this is a good time to start investing in it.”

Mr Moylan says like Auckland, London is the motor of its national economy, and the most important thing the city has done is invest in its rail network.

“We will reach 2 million people by 2030,” says Len Brown. “Based on current patronage, Britomart will be at capacity nearly 10 years before that.

“Starting now, the project is set to cost $2.86 billion with no impact on rates until after the completion of the project in 2021. Delay it by three years and that cost goes up to $3.2 billion.

The Mayor says Auckland Transport is rightly looking at ways to optimise the CRL project in terms of transport, efficiency and cost.

“I have seen some sound work around the project for traffic and cost efficiency and I fully support that. I have also heard talk of doing one station at a time and I do not believe this is an option.”

“Seeking the most efficient options does not and will not mean accepting suboptimal, piecemeal solutions. Auckland deserves better than that. A cheap compromise for the Harbour Bridge ended up costing us much more than would otherwise have been the case and causing as many problems as it solved.

“Talking to Mr Moylan once again reaffirmed that this is the single best thing we can do for Auckland, and that we need to do it now.”

ENDS

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