Dialogue: Britomart must not be allowed to stagnate

Auckland City councillor Victoria Carter has questioned whether people are being railroaded into accepting the Britomart transport centre. Auckland Mayor CHRISTINE FLETCHER responds.

The Waitemata Waterfront Development transport interchange project - also known as the Queen St Station or Britomart - is one of the most important developments our city has embarked upon. It will have far-reaching benefits and play a real part in Auckland's direction, shaping how it deals with growth and attracts investment.

Getting this downtown public transport interchange built and better public transport systems in place is critical to the region's future.

I reiterate my confidence in this project and the people whose skills are pulling it together - and my conviction that the project will go ahead.

Doing nothing is not an option. Getting traffic moving is far too important an issue to allow it to be the target of unfocused, unconstructive pre-election attention-seeking.

We need the interchange to cope with growth. We are planning an interchange with a structural life of 100 years. It will provide a user-friendly environment that encourages people to use public transport.

That there will be growth is undisputed. We need look no further than regional population projections, the big increase in inner-city residents, and student numbers in the central city - currently around 30,000 and growing fast.

The present proposal is very different from the old Britomart scheme, an underground transport centre with 3000 carparks and provision for up to 11 high-rise towers. The contract with that developer came to an end in November 1999.

So where are we now? The region still urgently needs a passenger transport interchange to connect the ferries, buses and trains from all round the region. This will enable new transport technology to be introduced, including rapid transit systems which, like rail, have the advantage of being separate from road congestion.

The council's 5.2ha Britomart Place site must be the most strategically placed of undeveloped areas in central Auckland. It includes the old Central Post Office building and is bordered by Quay and Customs Sts.

We were aware when launching this project that people felt key decisions about its predecessor had been made in secret and they had had little opportunity to have their say. So this time all decisions have been made public, people have been kept informed and we've sought public input.

The interchange design itself was developed through a competition. Designers were invited to enter their concept drawings for the first stage. The judges chose seven finalists from the 153 entries. From these, the Mario Madajag/Jasmax design was chosen and is being developed.

During the competition, entries were on display at the old CPO and the public asked for their views. More than 130,000 people visited the display centre and many commented. The competition judging panel is the basis for a reference group which regularly evaluates aspects of the project, reporting regularly to the council's Waitemata Waterfront Development Working Party.

What are the main components of the project? The guiding principles adopted by the council for its interchange design brief were to create a gateway to the city centre and waterfront and provide a safe and welcoming area with exciting and vibrant public spaces.

The old CPO building will be the hub, linking bus, rail and ferry services. The council has a responsibility to upgrade and preserve this landmark heritage building and it is well suited to this new role. A new station will bring rail into Queen St again through the recently constructed tunnel.

The project has been carefully costed. The budget envelope for the initial brief to architects was $174 million. Refinements to the brief have increased it to $189 million to improve the quality. Over and above this initial figure we have included some of the discretionary innovative ideas that came through from the design competition. None of these is fundamental to the integrity of the transport interchange but all would add value for the region. These have been separately costed and are options for the future. This is where the $262 million figure being touted has come from. It does not reflect the core project cost.

Once the new interchange is operational, what will this mean for commuters? Few people will need convincing about the benefits of a single, covered interchange. It opens the way for a wider range of public transport means, including several rapid transit options.

Once we have this interchange, a trip across town from Waitakere to Glen Innes, Devonport to Manukau (for example) will be simplified, with a single transfer location possible for most services.

The region needs both roads and passenger transport. Public transport, while not the whole answer, is a large part of the solution to potentially crippling traffic-congestion problems.

We need faster, more frequent, more extensive and high-quality public transport, services that people find convenient and safe and want to use. International experience shows that when rapid transit systems are introduced, the demand has generally been much greater than the initial forecast.

Aucklanders are asking us to get on with the interchange project. The region's metropolitan local authorities recognise the importance of the development and are giving it their support.

This is not a time for cold feet and mediocrity and not a time to allow an outstanding project to stagnate because of shallow political posturing - particularly when those doing the criticising have been involved with and supported this project since its conception.