This post, like all our work, is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans. If you’d like to support our work, you can join our circle of supporters here, or support us on Substack!
Auckland Transport (AT) has decided not to proceed with a paid parking proposal for the Devonport waterfront.
In July last year, AT proposed introducing parking meters to Queens Parade and part of King Edward Parade in the North Shore suburb.
It planned to install $2 power hour meters, which it said would help improve parking availability and turnover for local businesses.
…..
A year on from that proposal, AT are no longer moving ahead, in response to what they called “community concerns”.
…..
Local heritage advocacy group Devonport Heritage had opposed the plan, saying they were concerned the parking meters would be “visual pollution” on what they said was one of the most highly valued heritage waterfronts in Auckland.
They said parking meters did not fit in with the town’s harbour view, iconic pōhutukawa trees, shell paths and heritage charm.
Speaking to Stuff at the time, Deputy chairperson Trish Deans said AT had failed to consider that Devonport was well-known for being a heritage area.
“It’s just visually unattractive and unneeded,” she said. “It’s cluttering, it’s blocking the views, it’s adding more signs. It’s not what we want.”
“We understand that we’re asking for something different for a heritage area, and I think the public would understand that the visual beauty of this area should be preserved,” she said.
If the heritage can’t be impacted by a parking meter, then surely all the on-street parking needs to go too – those modern cars just don’t fit in the heritage of the space.
Have your say on 30-year plan for infrastructure
New Zealand’s infrastructure — our roads, pipes, schools, power lines, hospitals, and much more — affects all of us, every day. The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga, is developing a National Infrastructure Plan that can help tell us what we need to do to fix what’s not working, and how we can plan better for the future.
The Commission has recently put out a draft Plan that they are seeking feedback on.
The draft Plan includes actions that the Commission suggests we take to make sure that we’ll have the infrastructure we need today and in the future. They are interested in hearing from New Zealanders about what’s right in the draft Plan and what issues the draft Plan misses. Feedback received will help inform the final National Infrastructure Plan that will be presented to the Government later this year.
You can share your views through the Commission’s website, either through a feedback survey – where you don’t have to have read the Plan – or through writing a submission: https://tewaihanga.govt.nz/feedback
Coming from two generations of bus drivers, Aucklander Robert Richards wasn’t always keen on following his father and grandfather’s footsteps, but it has turned him into a social media influencer.
The 29-year-old, known as Robby, was convinced by his father to give it a go when his job in retail didn’t work out.
Taking charge of the NX2 double decker, which runs between the CBD and Albany on the North Shore, Richards noticed there were social media fan accounts of particular bus routes – but none from a driver’s perspective.
Robby celebrates 6,000 followers on Instagram with a cake that has bus NX2 printed on it.
“I was very surprised and my imagination was kind of bubbling a bit, because I felt left out,” he told RNZ’s First Up. “I’m like this is a big opportunity that I have to think about.”
With his passion for acting, Richards set up an Instagram account for his bus route and, in his first post in May last year, compared his life with Ryan Gosling’s character in the film Drive.
“One day later, Auckland Transport reposted it on their Instagram story and I was shocked,” Richards says.
“I was surprised. I felt like a kid who saw himself on TV because I was just going to post one silly video and then leave it alone.
“After that, it inspired me to make another video. And that video got a million views and I was hooked.”
Takapuna Golf Course Plans
Earlier this year it was revealed that Auckland Council wanted to transform some of the Takapuna golf course to act as flood storage. This comes as part of their response to mitigate a repeat of the 2023 floods. Now a design concept for the change has been released.
It has chosen a design concept that could allow for both flood resilience and a nine-hole golf course with a driving range at AF Thomas Park, also known as Takapuna Golf Course.
The council said the project aimed to reduce downstream flood flow through Wairau Creek, cutting flood risk to more than 250 homes and three residential care homes in Milford.
It would also protect critical infrastructure and access to key facilities such as North Shore Hospital and Westlake Boys’ and Girls’ High Schools, as well as Eventfinda Stadium.
Auckland Council general manager, healthy waters and flood resilience Craig Mcilroy said the project was a response to the 2023 Auckland floods which heavily impacted parts of Auckland’s North Shore.
“We heard from the community that they wanted us to move swiftly and decisively while protecting the recreational greenspace they love. This design concept achieves both and we can now progress this important work.”
…..
At the same April meeting, the committee requested that the proposed concept be reviewed alongside an alternative put forward by existing leaseholders of AF Thomas Park, Takapuna Golf Course. It explores whether an 18-hole golf course could be retained on the land while providing the same level of flood storage.
Tom Mansell, Auckland Council head of sustainable partnerships (healthy waters & flood resilience) said the golf club’s initial proposal, creating a large number of smaller stormwater storage ponds throughout the park, was soon found to be unfeasible due to cost and maintenance requirements.
The council granted the golf course a one-month extension to provide an another option. A subsequent design was submitted by the golf club which was a very similar approach, both in land formation and stormwater detention, to the Auckland Council design.
“The council has worked closely with Takapuna Golf Course to complete a feasibility assessment of the two proposals. An eight-step technical review ensured both options were evaluated fairly for feasibility, cost-effectiveness as well as addressing environmental considerations,” Mansell said.
“Both the council proposal and the golf course’s revised proposal have similarities in terms of placement and the method of storing stormwater on the site. We’re confident in the single design concept that’s come out of the feasibility assessment and are ready to move this project forward for our communities.”
Given this is the side of the motorway chosen for the eventual Northern Pathway, I wonder if that could be incorporated at the same time. Also, given this would open up the space for more public use, it would be great to see a bridge across from Smales Farm station, which would have the benefit of improving the catchment of the busway
Running errands by eBike
The Spinoff’s Tommy de Silva took a look at using an electric cargo bike, including carrying self-loading cargo.
In my impatient eagerness, I actually picked up the wrong bike from Electric Bike Team (EBT), a bright yellow number set up with a back rack seat that can carry multiple kids, or even an adult. “Everyone always thinks about how cargo-bikes can carry kids, but people aren’t talking about the fact that kidless adults can pick up their mate from the pub on the back of one of these,” explained Helen, the EBT kaimahi who helped me out.
With Helen’s mandate in mind, my partner and I tested the first bike’s tandem capacity. Together we joy-rode around our suburb before journeying to our date night dinner spot. Our neighbours looked slightly confused as we rode past. Seeing two adults comfortably sharing one bike is clearly still a novel experience.
Almost two weeks ago I was hit by a car while biking to work. As an advocate for road safety I can see the irony of becoming part of the statistics myself, watching the many personal and system impacts of an accident in the unforgiving road environment I’ve been working with others to improve.
I spend a lot of time in council meetings trying to close the caring gap; the deep chasm between the genuine concern of elected members and AT leaders about specific individual people being hurt vs the very obvious actions we need to take to lessen the risk and harm. I will keep talking to them all about this, now with very personal anecdotes, to try to build that vital bridge across.
Talking is a key part of my day job as an elected councillor and I have a tendency to talk to other road users as I bike around. I say “Thank you for the space”, “Oh you do have indicators after all”, and, most often, “Do you see me?” Of course drivers can’t hear me, they are in their metal boxes, as am I when I drive, and often I follow up “Do you see me?” with “Yes you can, good job”.
…..
Nevertheless, I can’t carry anything beyond what I can fit and balance in pockets, which means I need people at home to get me anything I don’t have to hand already (like the laptop I’m writing this on).
Critically, this includes food. I can’t put a meal in a pocket or a bag and hang it off my walking frame. I can’t stand at a bench balanced on one leg for long enough to brush my teeth for a full two minutes, let alone cook or prepare a sandwich. I can’t heat a meal in the microwave and carry it to a seat nearby. And I can’t go out because going up and down our stairs is perilous, even with help.
Waikato Regional Council is proposing a shake-up of Hamilton’s bus network that would see more frequent buses on fewer routes, in a shift aimed at boosting public transport use across the city.
Under the plan, three key routes, Orbiter, Comet and Meteor, along with a new Rototuna line, would operate as high-frequency services with buses running every 15 minutes from 7am to 10pm, and every 30 minutes outside those hours, from 6am to midnight, seven days a week including public holidays.
To make this work, the council is proposing to reduce coverage elsewhere in the city, consolidating or replacing existing services and asking passengers to walk further to get to them..
According to the council, the trade-off reflects ‘international best practice’ and local data showing passengers are willing to walk further for more reliable, ‘turn up and go’ bus services.
Auckland FC’s Rich List investors have pulled the plug on their proposal to build a new sports arena at Western Springs Stadium.
The decision marks the end of months of speculation and heated debate over the future of the iconic speedway site.
It comes after the planned stadium had won the backing of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU), the council agency declaring the Auckland Arena proposal to be its preferred option for the site.
However, the proposal was not a clear favourite with Aucklanders. Feedback released by Auckland Council today showed that more people wanted to explore other options for the site or back a bid for a Western Springs Bowl which would host the local rugby club and concerts.
The Auckland FC investors told the Herald in a statement: ”After considerable effort and reflection, those behind Auckland Arena have made the difficult decision to withdraw their proposal for Western Springs.
Please speak for yourself Daphne, that is not true of all fans. In my view the design was likely appropriate ~12-15,000 capacity is good as first season hype dies down. Scalable to 25k for larger games. Don’t need it to be too big if you look around the league
The proposed capacity has been increased to 15k, as per the website. AFC’s debut year had an average of 18k but that was bolstered by two derby games at 25k. And all new A League teams see their average crowds decrease and level out – see Western Sydney Wanderers. The league average is barely above 10k.
15k in the long run would have been ideal, presumably keeping the Phoenix derbies at MS or scaling up the Arena with temporary seating.
Bill Foley owns and operates sports teams and stadiums in multiple countries. The idea that this is ill-thought or would compromise the club is at the very least questionable.
Devonport might as well be in a different country at this point. Years ago there was a subsidised taxi service, and now they appear to be the only community where negative feedback on an AT proposal actually counts for something. There was around 97% negative feedback to the proposal to meter the areas of on-street parking around North West mall and they still did it. I imagine the paid parking out at Hobsonville Point will go the same way.
Yet somehow Devonport always prevails. Perhaps the solution is to merge all our local boards into the one overseeing Devonport and amalgamate the city until we all live in Devonport – imagine how responsive our authorities would be city-wide then.
The argument about parking meters causing visual pollution is something else. The whole suburb is descending into a caricature of itself. Back when I lived there I remember a dispute about a cell tower being installed near one of the primary schools, with some parents arguing about the harm being posed to the kids. Someone then suggested that maybe the SUVs they drove up and down the narrow roads to collect their children posed a more serious and imminent threat…
A 30 year plan for infrastructure you say? I won’t bother reading it because it will be full of meaningless graphics, pretty photos and vague text that doesn’t require any tangible thing to be done but gives an impression of action while allowing the authors to say “we told you so” at some point in the future.
From Statistics NZ. The actual situation is; Arrivals into NZ 139 000 Departures from NZ 124 000 Net +15 000 So the population is still growing. A population of 5 or 6 million is ok. Australia can cope with 50 million
As you can see on Streetview, the Marine Square car park is already P$. Only the kerbside parking is free but time-limited. And good luck trying to find a parking space.
The more amazing thing isn’t that Devonport’s local board was tone deaf enough to write their parking meter solution, it was that AT bought into it. Bonkers on both counts.
Do those heritage groups believe what htye write? Surely not, surely they know they are just shooting their shot with a wild claim? I mean I get it, times are hard for Devonport property owners.
Regarding Flood plains and Golf courses – I recall when Greater Auckland was advocating for a reduction in the number of Golf courses, as that was just a waste of space and was needed for more housing. Probably back when you guys were called Transport Blog. I think that now we can all see that the real importance of golf courses is, and should always be, as a part of an overflowing river system – they should perhaps be engineered to ALWAYS catch ALL of the water that can’t seep into the ground. No one loses except for a few people in funny shoes going on a walk – versus hundreds of people with a mud-laden ruined home.
I think that perhaps we have forgotten the real reason that golf courses exist – because that land was probably always left over, because it was crappy left-over land, not good for much, always getting boggy and flood-prone. That’s why no one built on it. It is really good if they still flood now – sort of shows their real purpose in life, which we need to stay aware about. It’s only when we do really dumb things, lie allow developers to build houses on a flood plain (ref Napier’s Esk Valley, Nelson’s Maitai river consistently breaking its banks, Auckland’s disastrous flooding a couple of years ago) – it is not mother nature that is being “naughty” but instead idiot humans having short memories and limited comprehension.
I think the other reason for downsizing/eliminating these golf courses is the massive subsidy that is provided to a relatively small number of users, and everyone else is blocked from access.
I think what’s proposed is the best compromise; we get the wetland, public get access (in part) and the golfers keep a subsidised 9-hole course.
I happened to be thinking something similar the other day. A creek down the road from us has flooded majorly in the last 2 big rain events, basically turning into a major river. Probably something to do with all the infill housing that now drains into it. It happens to run through a park in an area that isn’t really used much. Surely the cheapest fix is to dig out a lake that can act as a temporary catchment rather than trying to increase the capacity of that creek all the way to the sea. A lot of other creeks in the area that are also causing floods also go through parks.
Good on Julie Fairey for continuing to advocate positively for safety and for a better transport system, even as she recovers from an injury. This was a crash that should never have happened. A crash that happened because professionals aren’t doing their jobs to make the system safe.
What a stellar woman. She goes above and beyond, day in, day out, puts up with nasty pushback from the toxic dinosaurs, and with high expectations from people like me. She also witnesses firsthand the learnt helplessness and unevidenced excuses from the problem officials and decision-makers.
Thanks Julie. I don’t know how to thank you enough. It’s not your job, but I’d really like to see some councillors taking on the task of campaigning about the problem of cutting corners, in a holistic way that covers street design, vehicle design, driving culture, speeds, and enforcement.
The problem is impacting safety and convenience for people walking, biking and scooting, and therefore it impacts modeshare and how our transport network functions.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of drivers cut corners, if my surveys in Pt Chevalier are representative of the city.
We need serious cut-through, by tackling all causes together.
I don’t care about a stadium, but they’d get my support if they significantly reduced the number of carparks in the precinct while improving the sustainable mode connections.
And that’s where council have to grow some b@lls and drive (no pun intended) change.
Set it up to win on PT and active mode access. Make it part of the proposal and have the consortium pay for it. Change perception on how to get to these types of events.
The bones are there (bus network) it just needs prioritisng and enhancing the experience and outcome.
Rail access and land available for building this would be ideal, but we are hardly flushed with options.
The bus from the CBD runs (I think) every 15mins and takes only about that much time to get there. Decent bus services go past there from each direction. There are typically event buses put on by AT, so you could be there from (say) Albany in no time (via UHH).
There is a train-bus option from Morningside station. The NW Busway will have a stop nearby in future.
A bus train option from Mornignside isn’t bad, but it’s not going to efficiently clear 20,000 people at 11:00pm after a concert.
There’s nothing that does heavy transit lifting like a series of stacked 6 car trains. Development for large events needs to be on the spine of the mass transit system. Western Springs isn’t and I’m glad to see we’re not building a stadium there. Redevelopment should be for smaller scale community facilities.
20,000? Allianz Stadium in Sydney does twice that number and on more occasions. Most people arrive and leave by bus because the Moore Park LRT station is about the same distance as Morningside is from WS.
Sure, trains are optimal. But I wouldn’t underestimate what a good working bus network can do. And the NW Busway will eventually be LRT, surely.
Wairau is 15m+ above sea level. Rather than digging a huge hole in the golf course, simply enlarge the channel to the sea
I’m a bit cynical about AT (Transport) and bike safety. Nothing was done in response to this (link below) beyond the standard corporate “we will investigate” but can’t tell you anything about outcomes because ‘privacy’. Ironic it is Captain Scott Rd, Glen Eden, where the local board removed a covid pop-up cycle lane, a month or so before, to restore roadside parking because public storage of private goods is more important than people. https://youtu.be/MTJt9strgvA?si=yLISH_MSVI8d_ttf
Thanks for signing up for news from Greater Auckland! Keep an eye on your inbox for regular updates.
Processing...
STAY IN TOUCH
We love being able to keep you in the loop - it means we know theres a community of like-minded people who are keen on making Auckland better on bikes. Sign up for updates about what's happening, and how you can be part of it.
Processing...
So, they got their helipad, then buggered off. Typical!
Tall poppy syndrome?
This was a consortium behinf Auckland FC. They are in it for the long term as evidenced by a desire to invest $300m.
The “explore other options” crowd will be alot of speedway fans who want it to stay there. Not happening.
Ponosnby Rugby Club wants $20m of ratepayer money.
Auckland’s loss, again.
Auckland FC football fans opposed their club’s scheme, because that design would be far too small.
Please speak for yourself Daphne, that is not true of all fans. In my view the design was likely appropriate ~12-15,000 capacity is good as first season hype dies down. Scalable to 25k for larger games. Don’t need it to be too big if you look around the league
The proposed capacity has been increased to 15k, as per the website. AFC’s debut year had an average of 18k but that was bolstered by two derby games at 25k. And all new A League teams see their average crowds decrease and level out – see Western Sydney Wanderers. The league average is barely above 10k.
15k in the long run would have been ideal, presumably keeping the Phoenix derbies at MS or scaling up the Arena with temporary seating.
Bill Foley owns and operates sports teams and stadiums in multiple countries. The idea that this is ill-thought or would compromise the club is at the very least questionable.
Devonport might as well be in a different country at this point. Years ago there was a subsidised taxi service, and now they appear to be the only community where negative feedback on an AT proposal actually counts for something. There was around 97% negative feedback to the proposal to meter the areas of on-street parking around North West mall and they still did it. I imagine the paid parking out at Hobsonville Point will go the same way.
Yet somehow Devonport always prevails. Perhaps the solution is to merge all our local boards into the one overseeing Devonport and amalgamate the city until we all live in Devonport – imagine how responsive our authorities would be city-wide then.
The argument about parking meters causing visual pollution is something else. The whole suburb is descending into a caricature of itself. Back when I lived there I remember a dispute about a cell tower being installed near one of the primary schools, with some parents arguing about the harm being posed to the kids. Someone then suggested that maybe the SUVs they drove up and down the narrow roads to collect their children posed a more serious and imminent threat…
Totally agree.
I will certainly take my custom elsewhere, and share my reasoning widely
Respect the Heritage! No cars built after 1960 to be permitted!
A lot of Devonport heritage like the seafront houses stem from the late 19th century, so the cutoff for cars should probably be 1890 or something.
The cryptkeepers of Devonport abhor change in any form.
A 30 year plan for infrastructure you say? I won’t bother reading it because it will be full of meaningless graphics, pretty photos and vague text that doesn’t require any tangible thing to be done but gives an impression of action while allowing the authors to say “we told you so” at some point in the future.
Yehaaa! I agree with Miffy on something. +1000
From Statistics NZ. The actual situation is;
Arrivals into NZ 139 000
Departures from NZ 124 000
Net +15 000
So the population is still growing.
A population of 5 or 6 million is ok. Australia can cope with 50 million
Devonport is so bonkers. Basically should be a gated off Ryman at this point.
So this nice carpark full of crappy old Toyotas is ok? https://www.google.com/maps/place/Queens+Parade,+Auckland+0624/@-36.8318334,174.7946141,3a,75y,141.74h,83.65t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1stgxSQ1DqMqegBy6mW0MXNg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D6.349966805564108%26panoid%3DtgxSQ1DqMqegBy6mW0MXNg%26yaw%3D141.7357711826841!7i16384!8i8192!4m6!3m5!1s0x6d0d37e789901f23:0xa935b0a05a2bc4a1!8m2!3d-36.8314508!4d174.7937056!16s%2Fg%2F1tf28wc9?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDcwNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
As you can see on Streetview, the Marine Square car park is already P$. Only the kerbside parking is free but time-limited. And good luck trying to find a parking space.
The more amazing thing isn’t that Devonport’s local board was tone deaf enough to write their parking meter solution, it was that AT bought into it. Bonkers on both counts.
I love the Robby Richards story. Needed something heartwarming.
Do those heritage groups believe what htye write? Surely not, surely they know they are just shooting their shot with a wild claim? I mean I get it, times are hard for Devonport property owners.
We aren’t a real City.
Regarding Flood plains and Golf courses – I recall when Greater Auckland was advocating for a reduction in the number of Golf courses, as that was just a waste of space and was needed for more housing. Probably back when you guys were called Transport Blog. I think that now we can all see that the real importance of golf courses is, and should always be, as a part of an overflowing river system – they should perhaps be engineered to ALWAYS catch ALL of the water that can’t seep into the ground. No one loses except for a few people in funny shoes going on a walk – versus hundreds of people with a mud-laden ruined home.
I think that perhaps we have forgotten the real reason that golf courses exist – because that land was probably always left over, because it was crappy left-over land, not good for much, always getting boggy and flood-prone. That’s why no one built on it. It is really good if they still flood now – sort of shows their real purpose in life, which we need to stay aware about. It’s only when we do really dumb things, lie allow developers to build houses on a flood plain (ref Napier’s Esk Valley, Nelson’s Maitai river consistently breaking its banks, Auckland’s disastrous flooding a couple of years ago) – it is not mother nature that is being “naughty” but instead idiot humans having short memories and limited comprehension.
I think the other reason for downsizing/eliminating these golf courses is the massive subsidy that is provided to a relatively small number of users, and everyone else is blocked from access.
I think what’s proposed is the best compromise; we get the wetland, public get access (in part) and the golfers keep a subsidised 9-hole course.
I happened to be thinking something similar the other day. A creek down the road from us has flooded majorly in the last 2 big rain events, basically turning into a major river. Probably something to do with all the infill housing that now drains into it. It happens to run through a park in an area that isn’t really used much. Surely the cheapest fix is to dig out a lake that can act as a temporary catchment rather than trying to increase the capacity of that creek all the way to the sea. A lot of other creeks in the area that are also causing floods also go through parks.
Good on Julie Fairey for continuing to advocate positively for safety and for a better transport system, even as she recovers from an injury. This was a crash that should never have happened. A crash that happened because professionals aren’t doing their jobs to make the system safe.
What a stellar woman. She goes above and beyond, day in, day out, puts up with nasty pushback from the toxic dinosaurs, and with high expectations from people like me. She also witnesses firsthand the learnt helplessness and unevidenced excuses from the problem officials and decision-makers.
Thanks Julie. I don’t know how to thank you enough. It’s not your job, but I’d really like to see some councillors taking on the task of campaigning about the problem of cutting corners, in a holistic way that covers street design, vehicle design, driving culture, speeds, and enforcement.
The problem is impacting safety and convenience for people walking, biking and scooting, and therefore it impacts modeshare and how our transport network functions.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of drivers cut corners, if my surveys in Pt Chevalier are representative of the city.
We need serious cut-through, by tackling all causes together.
The idea of building a stadium at Western Springs without easy access from a mass transit service was never going to fly.
Any future stadium or concert venue needs to be close to a railway station, ultimately this is what will keep Eden Park and Mt Smart in the game.
Yeah, probably.
The existing amenities within the whole Western Springs precinct needed far better active and public transport connections to mass transit provided.
Instead, Motat built an enormous extra carpark, inducing a whole lot of traffic that now undermines the connections that are there.
There’s just no excuse for such regressive planning.
“The existing amenities within the whole Western Springs precinct needed far better active and public transport connections to mass transit provided”
This could have been done (required?) as part of this proposal.
I don’t care about a stadium, but they’d get my support if they significantly reduced the number of carparks in the precinct while improving the sustainable mode connections.
And that’s where council have to grow some b@lls and drive (no pun intended) change.
Set it up to win on PT and active mode access. Make it part of the proposal and have the consortium pay for it. Change perception on how to get to these types of events.
The bones are there (bus network) it just needs prioritisng and enhancing the experience and outcome.
Rail access and land available for building this would be ideal, but we are hardly flushed with options.
The bus from the CBD runs (I think) every 15mins and takes only about that much time to get there. Decent bus services go past there from each direction. There are typically event buses put on by AT, so you could be there from (say) Albany in no time (via UHH).
There is a train-bus option from Morningside station. The NW Busway will have a stop nearby in future.
It ain’t that bad…
Good cycling connections too….
A bus train option from Mornignside isn’t bad, but it’s not going to efficiently clear 20,000 people at 11:00pm after a concert.
There’s nothing that does heavy transit lifting like a series of stacked 6 car trains. Development for large events needs to be on the spine of the mass transit system. Western Springs isn’t and I’m glad to see we’re not building a stadium there. Redevelopment should be for smaller scale community facilities.
20,000? Allianz Stadium in Sydney does twice that number and on more occasions. Most people arrive and leave by bus because the Moore Park LRT station is about the same distance as Morningside is from WS.
Sure, trains are optimal. But I wouldn’t underestimate what a good working bus network can do. And the NW Busway will eventually be LRT, surely.
Wairau is 15m+ above sea level. Rather than digging a huge hole in the golf course, simply enlarge the channel to the sea
I’m a bit cynical about AT (Transport) and bike safety. Nothing was done in response to this (link below) beyond the standard corporate “we will investigate” but can’t tell you anything about outcomes because ‘privacy’.
Ironic it is Captain Scott Rd, Glen Eden, where the local board removed a covid pop-up cycle lane, a month or so before, to restore roadside parking because public storage of private goods is more important than people.
https://youtu.be/MTJt9strgvA?si=yLISH_MSVI8d_ttf
The Spinoff article on “In praise of the Number 24 Bus, Wellington’s most scenic commute.”
https://thespinoff.co.nz/wellington/11-07-2025/in-praise-of-the-number-24-bus-wellingtons-most-scenic-commute