50:50 – Is it SMART TRANSPORT?

Is splitting the land transport fund 50:50 between roads and other forms of transport (rail, public transport, cycling and walking) a good idea?

I think so as I have mentioned for a more moderate and balanced approach to our transport infrastructure funding. My submission to The Auckland Plan acknowledges the role of both road and other transport thus calling for the more balanced approach. You can see my submission and the parts where I call for a more balanced transport funding approach in the embed at the bottom of this post.

But what I want to mention is something I came across in one of my Twitter feeds. They are called Generation Zero and this is from their introduction page:

Introduction

Climate change is the challenge of our generation, and responding to it is a matter of inter-generational justice.

While every other generation has inherited a world with a promise for greater prosperity and a brighter future – our generation is facing a potential inheritance of ecological, environmental and economic debt.
Yet we have the opportunity to rewrite, reinvent, and redesign our vision of New Zealand.

Our generation has the passion, perseverance and skills to guide the transformation into a zero carbon Aotearoa. But we cannot do this all on our own.

We need New Zealanders of all generations to join us in finding and enacting the solutions that will solve the climate crisis, and create a thriving, safe zero carbon Aotearoa.

We are Generation Zero.

Check out their site and even sign the petition against our Governments pounding of the gold plated asphalt – known as the Roads of National (Party) Significance 

I for one signed their petition after checking their 50:50 page out, you can take a preview of the page below

50:50 from Generation Zero

To create a zero carbon Aotearoa, we need to develop zero carbon infrastructure. Transport is New Zealand’s largest source of CO2 emissions (40%), and yet over the next decade – our Central Government plans to spend $14 billion on new highways, but only $0.5 billion on smart transport solutions.

Our 5050 campaign is calling for smart investment into our future. We’re calling for a move towards a 50-50 split between roads/highways, and smart transport solutions such as rail, buses and active transport like cycling and walking.

We’re calling for a smart transport system – one that is designed to integrate roads, rail, buses, cycling and walking to provide a more efficient and sustainable transport network that would:

• Drastically reduce our carbon emissions
• Provide greater personal choice and reduce congestion
• Less dependence on increasingly expensive foreign oil
• A healthier nation
• The development of smart zero carbon infrastructure

 

Just a note; I am not going to agree with these guys all the time but I am giving a VOAKL shout out to them as I believe their cause is a worthy cause.

So here is a SHOUT OUT to Generation Zero

VOAKL will be watching these guys with close and keen interest.

Because VOAKL believes 50:50 is SMART TRANSPORT