Auckland Mayoral candidate Viv Beck says a new report from the AA, which shows congestion levels worsening in the period between lockdowns, highlights the need for a more balanced, pragmatic approach to keeping congestion at bay.
 

Viv says that Auckland Transport’s (AT) efforts to deal with congestion have focused squarely on getting people out of cars, and onto public transport, walking and cycling, while investment to address general traffic congestion has hardly had a look-in. The AA report shows that this approach is not the answer.
 

“Changing transport behaviour is a critical piece of the puzzle, but it’s not enough on its own. Over 90% of the travel in Auckland is done in cars and trucks, and that’s going to remain the case into the future. We need to get serious about supporting the mode of travel that most people use – if we don’t, it’s a recipe for a congestion disaster.”
 

Viv says that addressing congestion isn’t just about large-scale, high-cost projects.

“There are piles of smaller projects that can be implemented much more affordably and quickly, and that can really make a difference,” she says.

To that end, if elected Mayor, she’s promising to establish a Congestion Reduction Unit, which would oversee a $200 million package of smaller-scale projects designed to get general traffic moving. This would include: 

• A pinch-point programme, concentrating on improvements to congested intersections (improvements to layout, adding and expanding lanes) on Auckland’s arterial roads
• Improved real-time traffic light phasing, including use of sensors to detect queue length
• More use of dynamic lanes and clearways, which would improve the efficiency and safety of busy roads at busy times
• Speeding up motorway incident response, through investment in more crash response vehicles, retrofitting more of the network with message boards and emergency stopping areas, and optimising systems and processes for crash investigation

“These sorts of projects generate really high benefit for every dollar spent,” says Viv. “And the great thing is that we can crack on with them while the longer-term solutions to congestion – road and public transport infrastructure, more cost-effective cycling investment, better land use planning, and behaviour change – are being developed.”

“Congestion is a millstone around the neck of this city – it drags down our productivity, liveability, and efforts to reduce emissions. Waka Kotahi says it costs $1.25 billion per year, and it’s the number-one transport issue Aucklanders are telling me needs greater action.”

Viv says the Unit would sit within AT, and would reorganise an existing “network optimisation” fund to focus on Aucklanders’ number-one transport priority. Significant investment would continue to be made to optimise public transport performance, and the Unit would work closely with other areas of AT to get the right balance between initiatives that free up car and truck movement, and initiatives that help get the bus network humming.

The Unit would be modelled on similar initiatives in Sydney and Brisbane, and other responsibilities would include setting congestion targets for the Auckland transport network, and measuring performance against them.

“I want AT to demonstrate to Aucklanders that it is doing all it can to minimise congestion’s impacts, and being up front with us about what is and isn’t being achieved.”

Viv says she looks forward to working with AT to help it focus better on the top transport priorities Aucklanders are telling her need attention.

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