Green party backs Auckland congestion plan

Auckland’s Green Party has adopted the Congestion Free Network plan of public transport projects proposed by youth organisation Generation Zero and the Transportblog, a blueprint which lays out a future integrated public transport network in the city, staged at five yearly intervals through to 2030.
August 8, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

Auckland’s Green Party has adopted the Congestion Free Network plan of public transport projects proposed by youth organisation Generation Zero and the Transportblog, a blueprint which lays out a future integrated public transport network in the city, staged at five yearly intervals through to 2030.

According to the Network, the current council's US$28.7 billion Integrated Transport Programme will not reduce congestion. It claims the US$8.4 billion Congestion Free Network plan will not only lead to a higher quality and better functioning city but is also more affordable. Investing in the 'missing' public transport network before further expansion of the road network will almost certainly turn out to be much cheaper and more efficient for Auckland.

The Congestion Free Network plan isolates the top layer of the public transport network and shows how these can be expanded and connected while remaining integrated with the other layers of the public transport system, especially the local bus networks, to form a complete system to complement the existing and mature road network.

Greens co-leader Russell Norman said the party's plan "will make a huge difference to the lives of Aucklanders. What they are saying is that all the investment should be into public transport in Auckland - so by definition, to fund that, they are going to have to cancel all the other investment taking place around New Zealand."

Related Content

  • Copenhagen: everything's gone green
    October 3, 2018
    As the ITS World Congress arrives in Copenhagen, Adam Hill finds out how Dynniq has been helping traffic flow – and CO2 reduction - in the Danish capital. Most of the time, ‘breathing easier’ is just an expression which indicates a metaphorical sigh of relief that something has worked out alright. But it can be literally true, too. Respiratory and other potential health problems which stem from pollution in the world’s increasingly urbanised environments have been well publicised and governments are
    Read More
  • Public transit is weapon in US congestion war
    December 3, 2018
    Public transit is a huge component of US transportation, insists Mary Scott Nabers, CEO of Strategic Partnerships – and infrastructure upgrades have the potential to create thousands of jobs When it comes to public transportation, the US lags far behind other countries. Governments in Europe, Asia and Canada invest heavily in public transportation because it is viewed as an essential public good. The US government, however, views public transit a little differently and funding has been inadequate for d
    Read More
  • Wellington embraces smart parking solution
    February 22, 2018
    A smart parking solution can ease pain for drivers and increase efficiency for local authorities - and New Zealand’s capital is feeling the benefit. Adam Hill reports. ITS technology has the power to ease headaches for local authorities and car drivers alike when it comes to parking. For urban dwellers, few things are more irritating than driving slowly around crowded city centre streets, anxiously searching for a parking space – indeed, in congested downtown areas, as much as 30% of traffic can be driving
    Read More
  • US braces itself for congestion pain
    February 6, 2020
    Mary Scott Nabers, author of Inside the Infrastructure Revolution: A Roadmap for Building America, looks at how different US states are embracing the need for public transport investment
    Read More

Highlighted Content