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Unobtainium breakwaters10/29/2022 ![]() ![]() There needs to be a systematic programme from government and council leaders to talk about issues like that we need to get people out of their cars. A single press release announcing it and maybe a couple of media interviews just aren’t enough. ![]() I also think it highlights how there has been a complete lack of strategic communication about why projects like this are needed.I think there are wider issues with Waka Kotahi which I’ll discuss below.The bike the bridge protest a week earlier was motivated by the fact Waka Kotahi had suddenly gone quiet and refused to engage with our friends at Bike Auckland. This didn’t happen with the latest proposal. Typically in big projects like this there has been discussion with advocates and/or the public about the issues that have arisen or the ideas being explored which allows concerns to thrashed out. When the announcement was made in June it was a complete surprise to everyone, including cycling advocates.Thinking a bit wider about why opposition to this project happened I think there are a couple of issues at play. The Ministry of Transports paper on how we can achieve that suggests we will need a 40% reduction in light vehicle kilometres travelled by 2035 and a 55% reduction by 2050 – in other words we will need measures to get over half of our existing traffic off the road and it’s likely many of the interventions needed will be neither cheap nor popular. It’s incredibly worrying given this month they’re due to release their Emissions Reduction Plan, which, if it’s to do anything serious about achieving the goals set out by the Climate Change Commission it will require them committing to significant change in how people travel. Especially when most of that opposition seems to be in the form of clickbait focused unscientific polls and opinion pieces from media outlets. They talk a big game about the need to give people better options and to address climate change but then get scared and backtrack at the first sign of opposition to that. Perhaps more concerning than the actual decision is it highlights that the government don’t have courage of their convictions. This is incredibly disappointing and exactly what many advocates feared would happen when the latest proposal was announced in June, given the history of bigger and better crossings being announced only to be dropped later. We allocated $60 million in the Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) earlier this year for planning work and property acquisition to occur. “Work will continue on a public transport-led additional harbour crossing. It didn’t get the public support needed for a project of its scale and we acknowledge that. “The Government is committed to providing better access to walking and cycling and reducing greenhouse emissions through our transport investments, but this particular project won’t be part of that mix. “The Government has both listened and acted, meaning that the Northern Pathway standalone bridge will not be going ahead,” Michael Wood said The Government has listened to feedback from New Zealanders and has decided not to proceed with the standalone bridge component of the Northern Pathway project and reallocate the funding to other transport projects that reduce emissions and congestion including the Eastern busway, Transport Minister Michael Wood announced today. On Saturday the government announced they have scrapped the walking and cycling bridge across the harbour, something that was first hinted at in August. ![]()
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