Building more motorways is not the answer to traffic congestion

Monday, 18 April 2022

Transmission Gully was first talked about in 1919. Nearly 100 years later, plans were in place to build the motorway, and as of March 31, it's actually open.

Dave Armstrong is a Wellington playwright and satirist.

OPINION: As many Wellingtonians fled the city last week for an Easter break, they enjoyed the luxury of driving on the impressive new Transmission Gully motorway – to be followed by sitting in a queue of traffic, apparently up to 15km long at times, outside Ōtaki.

Although some hoped Transmission Gully would solve our transport problems – and it is solving problems for Kāpiti residents travelling up and down the coast – it’s no silver bullet. The problem is now further north from Ōtaki to Levin, and once we fix that with expensive, new roads and then fix Levin to Palmerston North …

It’s simple physics that if you make a funnel bigger but don’t increase the stem diameter, or the amount you’re pouring in, it works no more efficiently.

Taking Transmission Gully to Ōtaki in peak Easter traffic. Traffic came to an excruciating standstill before Peka Peka.

* NZTA data confirms slower commute into Wellington from Paekakariki since Kapiti expressway opened

* Michael Barnett: Building roads won't solve traffic problems

* Dave Armstrong: Is the Kapiti expressway a waste of money? Not quite

“Countries such as Germany, France and China, that have invested in fast rail technology are reaping the benefits,” writes Dave Armstrong.

Nevertheless, traffic surges in and out of the city are relatively rare. Boxing Day, Easter, Queen’s Birthday and Labour Weekend are the worst days. Building extra capacity on our roads to reduce congestion for these few exceptional days would be ridiculously expensive, and the question no one seems to ask when suggesting where new motorways could be built, is how can we reduce traffic at these super-peak times?

It’s already happening thanks to Covid. People are working from home more, so congestion is less of a problem. But it certainly hasn’t solved it entirely as last Thursday’s congestion proved.

Something we could look at is congestion charging. Before you accuse me of being a militant socialist, bear in mind that congestion charging already exists in our gloriously free market. Get an Uber on a busy and rainy Saturday night, and you’ll pay way more than on a quiet, sunny weekday morning.

Dave Armstrong: ’’...it’s hard to find a literary description of the excitement of sitting in a stuffy car outside the Terrace Tunnel for 45 minutes after a long weekend away”.

Could we stagger school holidays between different schools so not everyone goes away at the same time? Could workplaces provide incentives for annual leave taken outside peak times? For example, in late February this year, I spent a week on holiday in the Wairarapa. The weather was perfect, yet the place was deserted. But as a government minister once said to me, not entirely in jest, “surely, you’re not suggesting different government departments work together to solve a problem?”

The other factor rarely mentioned by the “let’s build more motorways” movement is trains. Could people prefer a holiday by train rather than car? A decade ago, I would have said no way, but today I’m not so sure. People are increasingly conscious of climate change, and the advent of e-bikes means that if you were to take the train to a North Island destination you would have little problem getting around.

Since the 1950s, New Zealand has based itself around the car, but it wasn’t always that way. In 1938, eight trains carried over 3000 passengers from Wellington to Auckland. Easter 1939 saw similar numbers. Could all our congestion problems be solved by trains? No, but it would only need a small increase in train usage to have a major effect on holiday congestion.

That’s why even though our roads seem busy at rush hour, when the commuter trains aren’t running, the city becomes entirely gridlocked. Motorists need trains.

Train travel also allows you to work or read if you want to and can be safer and more enjoyable than driving. I can easily find romantic descriptions of the delights of New Zealand rail travel by writers such as Janet Frame and Robin Hyde, yet it’s hard to find a literary description of the excitement of sitting in a stuffy car outside the Terrace Tunnel for 45 minutes after a long weekend away.

Our rail system has seen decline and underinvestment since the 1970s, culminating in their privatisation in 1993, followed by a gradual buy-back between 2002 and 2008. Sadly, the emphasis since then has been at the top overseas tourist end of the market, which has been decimated by Covid.

People who want ordinary, affordable passenger rail services are seen as quaint and deluded. It’s sad that our domestic rail system is less efficient and expansive today than in 1936.

Yet climate change, petrol price increases and the increasing cost of motorways could tip the balance. Petrol won’t get cheaper, and expensive electric vehicles will also need major investment in charging infrastructure. Countries with privatised rail services and imported trains, such as the UK, have struggled to run efficient rail systems. Countries such as Germany, France and China, that have invested in fast rail technology are reaping the benefits.

The North Island’s main truck line opened in 1908. It took 23 years to construct and overcame significant engineering challenges involving massive viaducts and the famous Raurimu Spiral. Yes, the challenges facing long-distance rail in this country are significant, but I can’t help thinking a bit of bold and ambitious 1908-style thinking might go a long way in a short time.