Len Brown cool on light rail in Auckland transport plan

Thursday, 22 January 2015

PEOPLE MOVER: A light rail train in the UK.

Don't get excited about light rail.

That's the word from mayor Len Brown, despite the city's transport agency saying it wants to see modern trams back on the main arterial routes of Auckland.

MOTORWAYS MEET: Auckland's Spaghetti Junction.

Auckland Transport (AT) says bus routes in the central city and along main roads such as Dominion Road and Manukau Road are at near capacity, and light rail is the most practical solution.

Light rail sharing the road with cars can move 12,000 people an hour, compared with just 2,500 on buses, the agency says. A light rail priority route (like a busway) could move 18,000 people an hour.

But Brown says light rail has to be weighed up against all the other transport options, and it's not in the council's current 10-year plan.

'This is a long discussion, amongst many,' he said.

The mayor was speaking at the launch of the public consultation period on the council's 10-year plan this morning.

CONFLICTING PLANS

The plan is at odds with AT's Regional Land Transport Plan, launched at the same time, which calls for a light rail network on Auckland's old tram routes such as Dominion Rd, Manukau Rd, Mt Eden Road, Symonds St and Queen St.

Symonds St and Fanshawe St in the central city already carry up to 150 buses an hour, AT's chief engineer Steve Hawkins said.

'That's way over what we would use as an operational maximum.'

AT had looked at all sorts of other options, including double decker buses, bus rapid transport, and the extension of heavy rail but nothing addressed the issue.

'There were no solutions that did not include light rail,' he said.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Aucklanders now get to have their say on both plans. For the next seven weeks they can send feedback via email, post, social media and the dedicated website, shapeauckland.co.nz.

A brochure summarising the key points of the budget and containing a feedback form is being sent to every household.

There will also be a series of 30 'Have Your Say' events held around the city.

The council says the formal submission process has been done away with, and all forms of feedback will be taken into account.

MANAGING GROWTH

Local tram advocate Geoff Houtman said the reintroduction of light rail was an excellent idea, and Brown should be taking it more seriously.

'This sort of thing where there's two plans come out on the same day … what the hell's going on there? Do Auckland Council and Auckland Transport even have each other's phone numbers?'

Labour Party Auckland issues spokesman Phil Goff said the city's population was estimated to rise by a quarter of a million in the next 10 years, and the growth must be preceded by infrastructure that could cope with the intensification.

'Across from my electorate office, for example, the development of the Three Kings Quarry site will add 3000 residents in just a small area.'

FUNDING OPTIONS

At this morning's event the mayor reiterated his commitment to keeping average rate rises across the city to 2.5 per cent.

The 10-year plan allows for an average 3.5 per cent rates rise.

Brown stressed that it was only a draft budget.

'This is not Parliament. We go to our community, and we listen to them.

'I'll certainly be working towards it (keeping rises to 2.5 per cent) over the next five months.'

He also scuppered suggestions the council would introduce a transport levy, ahead of the go-ahead on other funding solutions.

As part of the consultation on the 10-year plan, Aucklanders are being asked if they support motorway tolls or a fuel tax and extra rating charge to fund an additional $12 billion in transport projects.

Without the funding, the city would have to stick with a basic $6.9 billion transport programme, the mayor has said.

There was an array of options open to the council, Brown said.

'To presume we will do a transport levy to get us through a two to three-year period is wrong, and conjecture.'

AT says its investigations into light rail are the next step following the 2012 City Centre Future Access study which showed Auckland's CBD is facing worsening congestion.

It was not at the funding stage, but was considering the option of private investment, Hawkins said.

Internationally the cost of light rail was anywhere from $25m to $100m a kilometre, depending on the terrain. The costs for Auckland would fall somewhere in the middle, he said.

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