Category: General

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Vandals on Rail Network Risk Their Lives

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The is a saying for that and it begins with ‘D’

From Auckland Transport

Graffiti attacks on trains are dangerous 

Auckland Transport is warning that someone will be seriously injured or killed if foolish young people continue to graffiti trains. The warning comes after an incident yesterday. CCTV footage shows a group of youths wearing balaclavas spraying paint on a train as it slowed and stopped before entering the Parnell tunnel.

Auckland Transport, Manager Rail Services, Craig Inger says being anywhere near train tracks, at any time, is stupid and dangerous. It’s also costly, with ratepayers and taxpayers forking out tens of thousands of dollars a year to cover up the damage.

Improved security at railway stabling yards has seen the problem move onto suburban rail lines in recent years, he says. Mr Inger adds that the region’s new fleet of electric trains are also faster and quieter than the old diesel units and this poses an even greater risk.

In an unrelated incident yesterday, a young man was struck while trespassing on tracks near Orakei station. CCTV footage shows him running away after the incident however services were delayed, and thousands of customers inconvenienced, until Police and the rail operator, Transdev, investigated as it was initially thought to be a fatality.

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Road Works in Wynyard Quarter to Cause Closures

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For your information

From Auckland Transport

Road closures – Wynyard Quarter   

Street and utility upgrades in Wynyard Quarter will require road closures on sections of Halsey and Gaunt Streets from late May 2015 to mid-2016, and Pakenham and Madden Streets from mid-2015 to mid-2017.

These major works are part of the transformation of Wynyard Quarter to create a vibrant and accessible waterfront, as well as to accommodate future growth in the area.

They are being undertaken by Auckland Transport, Auckland Council, Waterfront Auckland and Watercare and involve wastewater and stormwater upgrades and street refurbishments.

Due to the complexity and scale of the works road closures are necessary on Halsey and Gaunt Streets, and staged road closures on Pakenham and Madden Streets.

Motorists are advised to expect delays when travelling through and around Wynyard Quarter and to consider walking, cycling or public transport as an alternative.

For more information please go to https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/wynyard-quarter/#works

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Dutch Planning and Engineering Do It Again

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Flood protection and a “new” City to boot

I was forwarded the following article on the Dutch city of Nijmegen not only engineering to combat flooding but also using that engineering (and planning) to literally build a new city core as well.

An extract from CityLab:

A Dutch City Makes Room for Its River and a New Identity

Nijmegen is turning a flood-control project on the River Waal into an opportunity to redevelop its inner core.

NIJMEGEN, The Netherlands — In this city along the River Waal, this year marks the 20th anniversary of a scary event that quite nearly turned into a catastrophe.

Heavy rains upstream in France and Germany, where the river is known as the Rhine, sent a surge of water toward Nijmegen. The city of 170,000 people is protected by dikes. But as the waters rose and fear built that the dikes would break, many people and cattle in and around Nijmegen evacuated. Luckily, the dikes held, and after several harrowing days, the water level dropped again.

There’s two reasons why. First, Nijmegen is not simply raising or strengthening its dikes, which might seem like the obvious solution. Instead, it is moving some dikes back from the river, essentially creating a much wider floodplain. Into that floodplain, excavators and cranes are carving a new channel for the River Waal. That channel is broadening the river—and giving future floodwaters more room to flow without threatening the city.

The second reason is that all this engineering work is creating a whole lot more than flood control. Construction of the new channel also means that a new island is being made in the middle of the Waal. The island’s elevation is high enough in some spots that it will be possible to construct a whole new section of the city here, along with parks and nature areas.

Meanwhile, a new neighborhood is rising across the river from the city center, bringing some balance to the urban development on both sides of the river. And four new bridges are being built, connecting the new island to both sides of the river. When it is all done, Nijmegen will have a new urban heart in the middle of the very river that has occasionally threatened its existence.

“For the first time,” says Alderman Bert Velthuis, “the city center will actually be in the middle of the city.”

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Source and full article here: http://www.citylab.com/design/2015/05/a-dutch-city-makes-room-for-its-river-and-a-new-identity/393404/

Never underestimate the Dutch in their creativity with planning and engineering. In saying that though they were quite amused and have taken up our own created term of #quaxing (in honour of our Dutch born Councillor Dick Quax) to recognise doing the shopping by active and public transport modes.