North Shore residents invited to talk transport

North Shore residents are being asked if they want to continue their love affair with the car or adopt a more serene lifestyle based on walking, cycling and public transport.

With the highest number of cars a household in the country, the North Shore City Council is seeking residents' views for a transport strategy over the next decade.

The choice is between making car travel as convenient, fast and safe as possible; a "people city" focused on making walking and cycling safer; and a public transport city, where improving bus and ferry services are the priority.

Works and environment committee chairman Dr Joel Cayford said the three scenarios set out in a consultation booklet sent to every household.

They were aimed at giving people some choices so the council could see what future people preferred.

"In practice, we will probably adopt a 'pick-and-mix' approach, which is a consistent mix of the most preferred options.

"We need to get the mix right and meet the needs of pedestrians, ferry and bus users, motorists and cyclists. But we must also ensure that the roads and transport corridors we build don't destroy the lifestyle we all enjoy throughout the city today," he said.

About 10,000 homes on the North Shore have three or more vehicles out of a total motor vehicle fleet of 66,015, according to 2001 Census figures.

Traffic growth is running at 4 per cent.

On the public transport front, the North Shore is building a $200 million busway with 8.5km of bus lanes and bus stations to halve travel time for commuters, and a range of improvements are being made to ferry services.

* The national cycling conference will be held at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna next week.

The focus will be on the first New Zealand cycling and walking strategy, which has a Government budget of $3.8 million.

Speakers include the Conservative candidate for the London mayoralty elections, Steven Norris, who chairs Britain's National Cycling Strategy Board, and Transport Minister Paul Swain.