Tony Garnier: Time to fix Auckland's Third World roading mishmash

As a former transport planner, Phil Chase should know better than to argue that completion of State Highway 20 is a gigantic mistake. He couldn't be more wrong.

In a report prepared over two years by transport planners from the Auckland Regional Council, Auckland City, Manukau City, Waitakere City, Transit New Zealand and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA), the message is clear : "SH20 should be completed, through to the Northwestern Motorway."

"This is to provide additional transport capacity in the region, to improve accessibility, assist economic development and support the [region's and Government's] growth strategy.

"It will also assist other transport improvements, such as greater bus priorities along Mt Albert Rd and allow greater emphasis to be placed on pedestrian and cycle activity in the Avondale and New Lynn growth centres."

Given that for two years Auckland politicians have sat on undisputed Australian research showing that the economic benefit from completing the western ring route will generate an additional $830 million GDP growth a year, a decision against completion of SH20 is unthinkable.

Chase claimed that by OECD standards Auckland already has one of the most extensive motorway networks in the world.

The Auckland reality is that we have a one-third completed motorway network made up of a single north-south State Highway 1 corridor used by national, regional and local traffic - a Third World network trying to service a First World city.

The rest of the region's so-called strategic roading "network" is a mishmash of short motorway sections, a number of arterial roads and upgraded local roads that, predictably, give Auckland a daily traffic nightmare and make provision of reliable regional bus services impossible.

Auckland's aspiration to be a high quality world city requires that it have a modern, integrated transport system - one that comprises both a strategic roading network and a high quality public transport service.

The issue is not about trading roads for public transport, but how to get the right balance of roads that will enable a better quality public transport service to be provided.

In the absence of a truly "strategic" roading network, efficient and reliable public transport services cannot be provided.

Modern cities like London, Sydney and Vancouver can provide good public transport only because they have built an integrated "network" giving commuters options such as Sydney's orbital road or the ring roads that encircle metropolitan London, Vancouver and Oslo.

Construction of a completed SH20 will not only directly service the economic (freight and businesses) growth centres in the four cities along its route - Manukau, Auckland, Waitakere and North Shore - by improving accessibility, it will also reduce traffic through the over-stressed SH1 central corridor.

Auckland's predicted vehicle growth - 51 vehicles a day regardless of what improvements are made to public transport, not the 100 that Phil Chase suggests - means that congestion will get worse.

Part of the solution Auckland needs to action without delay is to build a viable strategic regional ring road network.

An efficient bus service from Waitakere to Manukau needs an efficient roading infrastructure.

An overwhelming majority of Aucklanders (and politicians) want Auckland looking its best by 2011 and the Rugby World Cup, and this means getting on with building the western corridor - not launching another round of relitigation and debate.

The key solution to Auckland's transport woes is not in building more roads, but in ensuring that the roads that are built contribute to the completion of a strategic motorway network that helps Auckland's economy to perform at a higher level, makes efficient public transport services possible and the city to be a more enjoyable place to visit and move easily around in.

With central, regional and local government officials and politicians (from left and right) at last all on the same page, and seemingly in agreement that completion of the western ring route is top or near the top of the list of regional, if not nationwide priorities, the focus of debate has moved on.

The project status and debate now needs to be moved from a decision "in principle" to a published project timetable, that includes confirmation of funding and a rolling construction programme leading up to the western ring route opening in 2014, or earlier.

An overwhelming majority of Aucklanders want nothing less than the completion of the western corridor as fast as possible.

* Tony Garnier is project co-ordinator for the Auckland Business Forum.