Projected Transport Outcomes Unacceptable

Projected Transport Outcomes Unacceptable

Media Statement
28 March 2013

"The release of the Auckland Integrated Transport Plan is a landmark in combined central, local, land use and transport planning, but indicates serious problems with existing proposals in our largest city," says Stephen Selwood CEO of the New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development.

"The AITP sets out the 30 year transport investment programme to meet the Auckland Plan’s spatial vision. It looks at the proposed $60 billion of combined central and local government transport investment outlined in the Auckland Plan and models the impact of this spending on transport performance.

"This is the first time such a comprehensive analysis has been undertaken in any New Zealand region and the efforts of the three leading organisations involved – Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and the New Zealand Transport Agency – are to be acknowledged.

"The projections from the analysis, however, are not nearly as favourable as the collaborative process behind them.

"Despite vastly increasing transport investment, the AITP shows congestion worsens significantly during both the peak and interpeak periods, with freight and regional arterials particularly affected beyond 2021. As the plan notes 'while some congestion is to be expected in a thriving, successful city of two million people, the levels of congestion forecast for Auckland by 2041 are well in excess of the current levels experienced in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, which already have considerably larger populations'.

"Emissions too will increase, with only safety targets remaining the major transport outcome achievable.

"It is now clear that significant work is required to optimise transport investment and land use as outlined in the Auckland Plan. In an ideal world, the analysis captured by the AITP would have informed the Auckland Plan. But this was not possible in the time frame in which the Auckland Plan was developed. We should now see this work as a step towards continually improving both the Auckland Plan and the supporting transport programme.

"It is good to see acknowledgement in the AITP that more work is required and that additional demand management measures will also be necessary. The New Zealand Council for Infrastructure Development considers that introduction of road pricing is necessary to keep Auckland moving.

"It is now essential that Government becomes a proactive partner in developing future transport solutions for Auckland, including evaluation of road pricing options, and that all major parties continue the progress to date to better align investment and planning in Auckland," Selwood says.

ENDS

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