Ask Phoebe: Cleaning up the railway corridor

KiwiRail are already on the job of removing graffiti. File photo / Brett Phibbs

As the main train route to Eden Park from the city is one huge stretch of graffiti from the city to Kingsland Station, are there any plans to force building owners to clean up their premises so that Auckland doesn't look like a ghetto city during the Rugby World Cup? Will Veolia/Auckland Council also be cleaning up tagging on their properties?
Andrew Garner, Auckland.

KiwiRail are already on the job. They acknowledge that a well-kept rail corridor is important for providing a good first impression to visitors, and also helps furnish a pleasant environment for the locals who live and work here.

Managing graffiti vandalism is an ongoing problem. In the past few years KiwiRail have put programmes in place, in association with various councils and agencies, including the Corrections Department and Keep Manukau Beautiful Trust. A corridor appearance co-ordinator (got to love that title) was appointed at the beginning of last year, so that a more concerted effort could be made as the RWC looms.

One of the more obvious problems surrounding the rail corridor is safe access, and so last year the areas with the easiest access were tackled. The stretch along the Southern Motorway between Ellerslie and Newmarket has been tidied up with new planting and regular painting. The focus is now on those areas between Britomart and Kingsland which have more complex safety issues.

KiwiRail and Auckland Council are currently working together, and to date 213 sites have had graffiti removed, and seven recidivist vandals have been held accountable for the damage they have inflicted. The work will continue through the year, so hopefully the rail corridor will be pristine by September.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown has graffiti vandalism firmly in his sights as well. Local groups are being encouraged to "adopt-a-spot" to ensure fences, bus shelters and the like are kept graffiti-free. The council plans a three-pronged approach of eradication, enforcement and education.

"We are defining what our communities will put up with as acceptable behaviour across Auckland," says Mr Brown. "It is now time to unite and take the message across Auckland that we will not put up with graffiti vandalism."

I was just wondering if there was a possibility that there could be a T2 allowance on the truck lane that leads to the Southern Motorway from the port? I know that trucks and motorbikes can use it, but surely the addition of allowing cars with two or more people would encourage more car-pooling.
Daniel Elder, Auckland.

The problem with this lane up Grafton Gully is gradient. The Transport Agency provided the dedicated lane to give trucks a clear, if slow, run to the Southern Motorway and reduce the likelihood of trucks having to stop and start on the incline. It also helps keep the trucks out of the general traffic lanes, so that vehicles which can handle the gradient better are not hindered. If more vehicles were allowed to use the truck lane, the advantage would be lost.