A New Era for Auckland's Roads: Aligning Transport with Economic Growth

Sunday, 24 May 2026

Congestion and construction mess were a major irritant when he became mayor, says Wayne Brown.

Wayne Brown is Auckland mayor

Opinion: I became the Mayor because I had a plan to fix Auckland, which simply wasn’t doing as well as it should be.

There was sheer frustration with the hurdles Aucklanders had to jump through just to get minor works done on their streets as well as the congestion and construction mess on our roads. Plus sorting out our hopelessly inefficient traffic lights.

Complaining was a waste of time because an unelected Board made the calls on transport planning and investment – not the councillors Aucklanders voted for.

It’s why transport reform was my priority from day one and the cornerstone of my original manifesto when I was elected to take back control of Auckland Transport (AT).

That’s what Aucklanders wanted - AT to listen.

Now, early in my second term, with Parliament unanimously passing laws to reform transport governance in Auckland, that change has been delivered, and the era of Aucklanders being ignored is over.

We’re finally getting rid of things that annoy the public and we are focusing on getting Auckland moving so we can give Aucklanders their time back.

Accountability is returning to the region’s elected leaders, and we can finally get on with finishing the fixes in transport to build an efficient, connected city. This is without a doubt the most significant shift for Auckland Council since the reforms that created the supercity in 2010.

While we still have a six-month lead in for implementation, I’m not wasting time. We’re putting in the work now to ensure we’re ready when councillors take control later in the year. I’ll have more to say about that soon.

Inside Auckland’s city rail link station Te Waihorotiu

Auckland Transport will remain but will be much smaller. Its sole focus will be on the delivery of public transport services – with strong oversight from councillors. Their job is to make sure buses, trains and ferries show up on time and make the most of the new City Rail Link when it opens later in the year.

All other roading functions – including what gets improved - will return to Auckland Council. Our priority will be to look at standardisation, network optimisation and doing things the public actually supports and doing it better, faster and cheaper.

There’ll be none of the gold-plated fantasies or mega projects that create mountains of paperwork. Just simple fixes like smart traffic lights and dynamic lanes that deliver results.

Auckland will get so much more. Through transport reform and the signing of the Auckland Deal, we are finally aligning our region’s infrastructure with a clear economic mandate.

Genuine partnership with Government is crucial to fixing Auckland’s transport problems, not just throwing taxpayer money at it, or announcing new bridges without our input or being part of a 30-year plan.

I look forward to working with the government to establish the new Auckland Regional Transport Committee (ARTC), that will develop Auckland’s first 30-year integrated transport plan, cementing a long-term structure for transport projects to align strategic priorities and investment for the future.

While the ARTC has government appointees on it, unlike other regions, the fact we will have a joint committee reinforces a fundamental shift in the relationship between central and local government. This is underpinned by a more mature approach that better recognises Auckland’s size and what it puts into the national economy, making it more critical to the country’s success than any other region.

This will be a significant improvement on the past, where the region would often be lumped with transport projects we didn’t ask for by the government, announced and then fail because they didn’t get Aucklanders on board. Tunnelled Light Rail was a great example, but there have been many others.

We’ve also got some big decisions coming up, namely the 30-year plan, that will influence an additional harbour crossing, the future of the government’s Roads of National Significance programme and how to deliver rapid bus and rail networks affordably, on time and on budget.

The ARTC provides an important forum to discuss these gnarly issues and find solutions that won’t be chucked out in three years’ time. It will also deliver long-term certainty that many have talked about but no one has yet been able to progress.

Transport is a crucial driver of economic growth so ensuring transport decisions align with our development plans, and the new joint Regional Spatial Plan, will set us up for growth that makes sense.

It’s time to get Auckland moving.