It doesn’t matter if they're wide motorways or tunnels under the harbour, more roads are not going to solve our transport problems
Comment: Alarm bells sound across the globe with rising summer temperatures, ocean warming, and ice melt, all shattering records, yet it’s increasingly clear that neither of our two major political parties has grasped the seriousness of the climate crisis.
Last week National unveiled its “Transport for the Future programme”, which was more of a throwback to the era of massive road building of nearly 70 years ago. The party’s idea to build a four-lane motorway from Whangārei to Tauranga is part of a $24 billion plan for road improvements and expansions that would come at the expense of light rail in Wellington and Auckland. It’s a plan that would lock us into a car-dependent, carbon-heavy future at the worst possible time.
READ MORE: * National to derail Auckland’s light rail * Industry groups seek answers over delayed transport plan * Kerb your enthusiasm for cars, Auckland Transport
Not to be outdone by poor transport visions, the Labour Government over the weekend announced a decision for a second crossing over the Auckland Harbour, an even more elaborate and expensive option. The plan would prioritise building two car tunnels under the harbour. Only when those car tunnels were complete would the Government start constructing a massive light rail tunnel in Wynyard Quarter, crossing the harbour and ending in Albany. Eventually, the existing harbour bridge would be converted to allow buses on one clip-on and walking and cycling on the other, retaining car lanes in the middle. The project would allegedly commence in 2029.
This plan is not only audacious but is most likely to result in absolutely nothing.
A case of tunnel vision
The Labour Party seems to have a bit of an obsession with tunnelling. First came the announcement last year that the long-awaited Auckland Light Rail project would be tunnelled under the CBD at an estimated cost of nearly $15 billion. Then, earlier this year, several options were put forth for a second harbour crossing with a mix of new bridges, tunnels, or both.
As announced on Sunday, Labour has picked the most expensive option, which would build several tunnels under the harbour and part way up the North Shore. The taste for tunnelling comes with a hefty price tag. Estimates for this project range from $35 to $45 billion, but given the scope and complexity of the project, the budget is almost guaranteed to be a blowout.
The bridge is dead; long live the bridge
Labour’s harbour crossing plan would not break ground until 2029. By that time, the Auckland Harbour Bridge will be 70 years old. At the age of 64, it is already at or near the expected life of the bridge.
In 2009, the NZ Transport Agency reported that after strengthening the clip-ons, which were installed in 1969, they would have a life of 20-40 years. Once construction on the alternative crossing commences, the clip-ons will have already entered their twilight years.
With no firm timeline on Labour’s proposed tunnels and an almost certain threat of cancellation across decades of election cycles, we will have no viable alternative to the existing bridge as its functional life draws to a close.
Isn’t it ironic
A final detail about Labour’s plan is quite striking. For years, the transport agency has pushed off demands to dedicate a lane or two of the bridge for walking and cycling. The Government’s argument, backed by consultant reports, has put forth many reasons that making room for active modes on the bridge would not be feasible.
The latest safety-related arguments have centred on the wind, proximity to car lanes, flexing of the clips-on and the gradient of the bridge. However, Labour plans to put people on foot and bikes on the very same bridge and clip-ons without significant changes to the structure, estimating that up to 6400 a day would cross. If we can do it safely in the future, why shouldn’t we take a lane now for a quick win with traffic over the bridge holding steady or declining for nearly the past decade?
Less is more
More roads are not going to solve our transport problems. It doesn’t matter if those roads are wide motorways or tunnels under the harbour. We already have a vast network of roads that we haven't been able to properly maintain.
The only way to accommodate a growing population in our cities is to reduce the number of cars on the road. Doing that on a timeline that meaningfully reduces carbon emissions is to provide a robust public transport system, and walking and cycling infrastructure. This can be done with busways and above-ground light rail connected to networks of wide footpaths and cycleways – infrastructure that could be at least partially funded by a congestion charge for Auckland’s CBD.
The past was about building elaborate networks of car infrastructure. A sustainable future in the age of climate change is to build low-carbon infrastructure that maximises efficiency and allows us to better utilise the roads that already crisscross the country.
