Herald asks; I reply with my Top 5

 

It seems the Herald is running a week-long series on how to improve Auckland as the City celebrated its 175th birthday yesterday.

In brief:

From apps to zones: Is this how we get city moving?

5:00 AM Monday Jan 26, 2015

Today Auckland celebrates its birthday. What better occasion to take stock of where the city is and to think about what happens next. It’s a great place — but it can be even better. Starting today, the Future Auckland series aims to stimulate debate. It’s not intended to be definitive, or to be a list of fully realised proposals. Instead, it aims to get our readers and leaders thinking and talking our future. About solutions, not problems. About where we’re going, and how we’re growing.

……

Source and full piece: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11391753

 

While yesterday’s piece as on transport and today’s is the economy (of Auckland), the bottom of the article had this:

Now it’s your turn

What are your ideas for improving Auckland? They could be a way to perk up your local park, or a big-ticket investment for the whole city and beyond.
Email: newsdesk@nzherald.co.nz

 

So I put together my top five ideas, plus a bonus on for the economy and sent it to the Herald. In case it does not get published (99% chance) here is what I sent in on my ideas to “improve Auckland:”

 

1) Parks to Community Gardens

We need to do an audit of our parks in Auckland and find which ones are not being utilised well OR have some spare space to one side. If the parks not being utilised well or if they have some spare land (in the case of being utilised well) why not covert some to community gardens.

We know from overseas experience community gardens not only give a source of fresh food either cheaply or for free but the other benefits such as physical exercise, social interaction, diet variety when fresh fruit and veges are expensive at the supermarket also come into play.

So why not better utilise some of our parks with community gardens

 

 

2) Pocket Parks in Metropolitan and Town Centres

I am working with Auckland Transport and various departments of Auckland Council to have a pocket park built in Manukau City Centre opposite the MIT/Manukau Train Station, and M Central apartment building due to open soon

So why pocket parks?

They are small, often easily modular and most of all movable as to allow them to go other sites.

Pocket Parks also give that small bit of extra green space in an otherwise built up or rather “desolate” area full of concrete and asphalt.

Pocket Parks with Council/Auckland Transport support could be privately sponsored as well to help keep the costs down on Council strained budgets.

Here is the link to the Manukau Lot 59 Pocket Park idea currently being worked through with Council and AT: https://voakl.net/2014/12/17/further-update-on-manukau-pocket-park/

The idea came from here: https://voakl.net/2014/06/23/pocket-parks-to-be-trailed-in-quay-street/

 

 

3) Manukau South Rail Link

This idea while small and costs a few million dollars to build a single rail line from the main Southern Line to the Manukau Line that would then allow direct Papakura to Manukau services rather than the current arrangement of transfer at Puhinui further north then do some back tracking to Manukau, the connectivity and benefits reach most of Southern Auckland.

The Manukau South Rail Link has been an ongoing battle with Auckland Transport. When the Manukau Station was opened 2013 it was designed to have trains service it both from Britomart to the North and Papakura to the South. Auckland Transport has built the north link to allow Britomart to Manukau services but still has not built the South Link to allow the Manukau to Papakura services despite promises from it and even the Mayor Len Brown.

As I said earlier the Manukau South Rail Link allows direct Papakura to Manukau services rather than cumbersome transfers at Puhinui Station as current.

Running at 20 minute frequencies all day, seven days a week using the Electric Trains the travel time between Papakura and Manukau via the South Link is around 14 minutes long. In comparisons with other modes you get:

• Papakura to Puhinui, transfer, then back track towards Manukau Station: even if the train for Manukau is at Puhinui the trip is around 22 minutes, longer if waiting for your connection
• Bus along the Great South Road from Papakura to Manukau: 34mins in the off-peak, 45 minutes if the Great South Road packs up
• Car: From Takanini Interchange to Manukau Interchange is 6 minutes in the off-peak but can triple in the peak. I have not included local roads to get to and from the motorway but from where I live in Papakura North to Manukau the trip is 15 minutes off-peak.

Most of Manukau Station’s patronage comes from the south rather than the north so building the South Link would allow better connectivity between Manukau City Centre and its population catchment south of it.

More on the Manukau Rail South Link here: https://voakl.net/2014/09/02/auckland-transport-replies-to-manukau-south-link-lgoima/

 

 

4) Botany Line Sky Train

Why get stuck on the roads to the airport, Panmure Interchange, or to the City Centre from east Auckland when the Botany Sky Train will get you to your destinations without the road traffic hassle.

The Botany Line Sky Train idea can be found here: https://voakl.net/2013/12/10/the-botany-line-sky-train/

 

 

5) Local Residential Roads as Shared Spaces

How about local residential roads (so not main thoroughfares) dropped to 30km/h from 50km/h by default and allowing them to be used as shared spaces. Use the street space as a social community space rather than rat runners and have safer as well as more inclusive neighbourhoods. If need be calming measures like large speed tables could be built to force-calm traffic.

Of course this idea is for local and quiet residential streets not arterials nor main thoroughfares

 

 

Extra idea to cover Economy:

 

Well might as well give this one a crack seeming Sydney is about to embark on it and we compete against Sydney.

Auckland Council Planners detest it but Auckland pretty much recognises it by default. That is how about we finally acknowledge we have TWO City Centres and we should run as such.

That is our main City Centre which is our primary international competing hub.

While Manukau City Centre as a secondary hub that (already) services all of Southern Auckland, the northern Waikato, and all of our heavy industrial complexes which apart from Southdown are located on Southern Auckland already (Wiri, East Tamaki, Highbrook, Airport complex, and soon Drury South)

 

Southern Auckland already recognises Manukau City Centre as ITS City Centre and more so than the main City Centre further north. Even all the signs leading to Manukau have written on them either by NZTA or Auckland Transport: Manukau City Centre. So the notion is reinforced.

 

But Manukau City Centre would not compete against the Main City Centre but operate as the Main City Centre’s complementary satellite. Remember Manukau City Centre services Southern Auckland which houses 38% of all of Auckland’s population as well as all but one of our heavy industrial complexes. Southern Auckland is also the fastest growing population area in Auckland – noted by the intensive housing developments currently.

So why not allow our Auckland economy to run unrestrained and work with two City Centres like Sydney is about to.

I draw your attention to here: http://www.strategy.planning.nsw.gov.au/sydney/the-plan/#section-223&212 as Sydney BACKED by the New South Wales State Government are preparing to run (or at least try) to run a dual City Centre city; Sydney City Centre and Paramatta City Centre.

 

Like Auckland and Manukau City Centres they both are complementary to each other while servicing their own distinct catchments and purposes.

Again remember we are competing against Sydney so if their economy booms running two CBDs and ours falls off the wayside against Sydney/Parramatta because we failed to fully realise our two CBDs of Auckland and Manukau then we will be worse for it…..

 

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I will leave it at that 🙂