Logic?

 

Below is a poll from Colmar Brunton on where voters would like the transport dollar to be invested.

 

 

Above is some reactions in regards to climate change and how a four lane duplicate highway does not exactly stack up in fighting climate change that much if at all.

Below is what National is proposing:

Transport system for a growing New Zealand

National will:

• Declare the $955 million Mill Road project as a State Highway, removing the responsibility from Auckland Council. This will provide funding certainty for this important project through the National Land Transport Fund and free up capital for Auckland Council to reinvest in other high priority transport projects.

• Work with Auckland Council to accelerate the AMETI Eastern Busway and associated Reeves Road flyover.

• Work with Auckland Council on a mass transit solution between the CBD and Auckland Airport and complete route protection. 

• Continue construction of the $3.4 billion City Rail Link project on the fastest possible timeline.

• Start construction on the new East-West Link State Highway.

• Accelerate construction on the: Northwestern Busway; State Highway 16 and 18 interchange; Penlink; Southern Motorway widening between Papakura and Drury; widen State Highway 20B to improve eastern access to Auckland Airport; and add Airport-Manukau bus priority lanes on State Highway 20, including Puhinui interchange. 

• Build the Third Main Rail Line and extend electrification to Pukekohe.

• Continue investigations for the introduction of road pricing.

“National’s transport policy will continue to see record levels of investment in Auckland to support the city’s growing transport needs. We have a track record of delivering world-class projects on time and on budget,” Mr Bridges says.

“We are today releasing our transport policy that delivers for all New Zealanders and will provide the country with the transport system it needs.

“Our plan demonstrates that we are committed to building the world-class infrastructure the country needs. We will keep people and freight moving, while supporting our strong economic and population growth,” Mr Bridges says.

National’s transport policy will:

• Deliver the $10.5 billion next generation of Roads of National Significance. These are nation-building, lead infrastructure projects which will encourage future economic growth, rather than waiting until the strain on the network becomes a handbrake on progress. 

……

Source: https://www.national.org.nz/transport_system_for_a_growing_new_zealand

 

As a comparison this was from Labour:

Auckland Transport – Making Auckland a world-class city

Labour will:

• Build light rail from the CBD to Auckland Airport. This will be part of a new light rail network that will be built over the next decade with routes to the central suburbs, the airport, and West Auckland, and will later be extended to the North Shore
• Build a new Bus Rapid Transit line from Howick to the airport, starting with a bus service which will connect Puhinui and Manukau train stations to the airport in one year
• Invest in more electric trains, electrification to Pukekohe, and building a third main trunk line urgently between Westfield and Papakura
• Build a range of significant cross-town bus priority routes including New Lynn-Flat Bush, Point Chevalier-Botany, Silverdale-Whangaparoa, and Howick-Glenfield
• Allow Auckland Council to collect a regional fuel tax to fund the acceleration of these investments, along with infrastructure bonds and targeted rates to capture value uplift.

Click here to read the details.

Rapid Rail in the Golden Triangle

Labour will:

• create a passenger rail service linking Auckland, Hamilton, and Tauranga and, if justified by demand, upgrade it in stages to a rapid rail network throughout the Golden Triangle.

Click here to read the details.

Investing in public transport for Greater Christchurch

Labour will:

• Commit an additional $100m from the National Land Transport Fund in capital investment to Greater Christchurch multi-modal public transport, including commuter rail from Rolleston to the CBD as a first step. We’ll work with local authorities and other partners on a 21st century strategic multi-modal transport plan for Greater Christchurch.

Click here to read the details.

Wellington network plan

Labour will:

• Develop a Congestion Free Network plan and fast-track a feasibility study on rapid transit to the airport, which considers light rail. 

Regional and long-distance rail

Labour will:

• Instruct Kiwirail to retain an electrified network between Hamilton and Palmerston North and work on an evidence-based plan to progressively electrify other key parts of the network.
• Re-open moth-balled railway lines where community and business support exists, and there is evidence that the service would be sustainable, notably the Napier to Gisborne rail line.
• investigate a rail line to Marsden Point and Northport and upgrading the North Auckland Line to take pressure off the roads in Northland.

Regional Transport Funding

Labour will:

• make more funding available for transport projects of regional importance by doubling the funding range of $70-$140m to $140-$280m.

Click here to read the details.

A fresh solution to the Manawatu Gorge

Labour will:

• commit to funding a permanent, resilient replacement for the Manawatu Gorge Road. This is most likely to be the proposed Te Apiti route, subject to the final decision being made by NZTA
• make the process of building a new road as quick as possible to restore a quality link.

Read the fact sheet here.

Ports and Coastal Shipping

Labour will:

• As part of a national freight strategy, develop a national ports strategy with a particular focus on the upper north island.
• Refresh and move to implement the ‘Sea Change’ strategy to revitalise Coastal shipping.

Mode neutrality

Labour will:

• Make investments from the National Land Transport Fund on a mode neutral basis, meaning that rail and walk/cycle projects will be eligible for funding where evidence shows clear benefits to the transport system and local communities.

Investing in walking and cycling

Labour will:

• make it easier and safer to walk or cycle in our communities by committing more funding to urban cycleways, active neighbourhoods projects, and the Skypath on Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Read the fact sheet.

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Our full manifesto document is available here.

 

……..

Source: http://www.labour.org.nz/transport

 

 

Take a look at the two transport polices from the major parties then go back to the poll at the top of the post. This poll was done well after both National and Labour had announced their transport policies so those polled have had time to have a think.

 

In short though it seems National is on the road to madness with its 20th Century roads first policy while Labour is to engage more inline with what voters are wanting – transit and active modes. This does not mean the Mill Road nor East West Link corridors will miss out but rather scaled back.

 

 

With East West Link Labour have said they would scale it back to most likely Option B that comes in at a third of the price of the current proposed Option F. Mill Road is divided into two sections – north and south. The southern end of Mill Road (Dominion Road, Papakura to Drury Motorway Interchange) is in urgent need to be done to get the trucks off Beach Road in Papakura while still servicing the Drury South industrial complex. The northern end of Mill Road (Cosgrave Road, Mill Road and Redoubt Road) is not due for 4-lane-ing (you can thank Councillor Daniel Newman for for putting the Porchester Road to Mill Road Future Urban Zone land back to the third decade for development thus killing off the demand) but rather basic safety improvements such as kerbs, a new viaduct to the east of Totara Park, a new roundabout at Murphy’s Road and preparation for the Southern Airport Line which runs down Redoubt Road from Holyford Drive to Manukau City Centre.

 

 

Something is not stacking up with National’s transport policies. Rather sadly more than ironically the fiscal hole National’s transport policies is larger (and actually real) than Steven Joyce’s imagined fiscal hole he was trying to find in Labour.

 

64% want more investment in transit. I say let’s give it to them!