Transport / September 2015
October 2015 | August 2015-
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Rare Native Falcon breeding in Takapu Valley? Looking good
- Save Takapu Valley
- We’ve had regular sightings of the rare Native New Zealand Falcon in Takapu Valley over the last few years (and some going back decades), BUT yesterday Rob Suisted (who owns land in upper Takapu Valley) photographed a pair of Falcons – kārearea (Falco novaeseelandiae), flying together, and vocalising (“ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki”), in what appeared to be courting… Read More
- Accepted from Save Takapu Valley posts by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- takapu-valley
Takapu Valley, Wellington City, Wellington, 5028, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Rare Native Falcon breeding in Takapu Valley? Looking good
- Save Takapu Valley
- We’ve had regular sightings of the rare Native New Zealand Falcon in Takapu Valley over the last few years (and some going back decades), BUT yesterday Rob Suisted (who owns land in upper Takapu Valley) photographed a pair of Falcons – kārearea (Falco novaeseelandiae), flying together, and vocalising (“ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki”), in what appeared to be courting… Read More
- Accepted from Save Takapu Valley posts by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- takapu-valley
Takapu Valley, Wellington City, Wellington, 5028, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Loop track ballast drop
- Rimutaka Incline Railway
- On Saturday 26 September 2015 the track gang joined up the track sets on the new loop track, and dropped three wagon loads of ballast. By the end of the day the track was able to be used to store five ballast wagons, freeing up our mainline track.
- Accepted from Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust news
- Automatically tagged as:
- local-history
- rimutaka-railway
Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust, Maymorn, Upper Hutt, Upper Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Opinion Stan Andis: The Funding Circus
- Guardians of the Bays
- The year was 2013, a few days after written submissions followed by oral submissions had closed against the 2013/2014 Draft Annual Plan.
- Accepted from Guardians of the Bays posts
- Automatically tagged as:
- runway-extension
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Transport Minister Simon Bridges: NZTA Intends To Enter Into “Open And Collaborative Process” Over Basin Flyover Aftermath
- Save the Basin Reserve!
- In a letter to the Save the Basin Campaign (in response to one we sent to John Key soon after the High Court decision was announced), Transport Minister Simon Bridges says some encouraging things: The NZ Transport Agency advises me that … it intends to enter into an open and collaborative process with councils and the community to spark new conversations and ideas about the best way to deliver substantive solutions to the congestion at the Basin and other pinch points in the network. I appreciate that you have had a strong interest in this issue over a period of time, and thank you for the time that you have already committed to developing and presenting alternative solutions for consideration. This is great to hear – but there are concerns that the process adopted so far is neither open nor collaborative, and furthermore that the experts who have developed alternative solutions which the Board of Inquiry said deserved further consideration have not been consulted in the wake of the flyover decision. Let’s hope that Minister Bridges’ views, as expressed in the letter above, result in the Regional Transport Committee, City and Regional Councillors, and NZTA officials demonstrating a new openness and willingness to genuinely and widely consult on the Basin, and on the best options for Wellington’s transport network.
- Accepted from Save the Basin posts
- Tagged as:
- basin-reserve-flyover
Basin Reserve, Dufferin Street, Mount Victoria, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Wellington Journalists Ask: Can Former Flyover Fans Be Trusted To Evaluate Basin Flyover Alternatives?
- Save the Basin Reserve!
- As Wellington Scoop reported on 10 September, a small group of local body politicians and NZTA officials has taken it upon themselves to make decisions about the future of the Basin Reserve – and all but one of those local body politicians was in the pro-flyover camp: At yesterday’s regional council meeting, three councillors sought an integrated approach to deciding on at-grade roading improvements around the Basin. Paul Bruce and Sue Kedgley were supported by Barbara Donaldson. But Paul Swain refused. He said that a small governance group of himself, Fran Wilde, Celia Wade Brown and Andy Foster, plus two Transport Agency staffers, would make the decision, and would then report back. In a comment on this article, Councillor Helene Ritchie christened this group the “Secret Six”. This group subsequently promised to work with the community, but there remain concerns about how well this work will in practice given the composition of that group, and whether they will be prepared to take a fresh and unbiased look at non-flyover options they had previously rejected out of hand. In the Dominion Post, columnist Dave Armstrong came up with a memorable analogy: It’s like getting the Keep Our Old Flag Society to design a new flag. Will this group report back with recommendations that are the urban design equivalent of three boring silver ferns and a koru that looks like a cow doing number twos? Wellington Scoop has dug further into the track record of the members of this “governance group”, and what it has found does not inspire confidence. For its part, Save the Basin hopes that NZTA’s decision not to pursue its flyover plans through the courts will enable even the most entrenched flyover supporters to think afresh, and we are pleased that the New Zealand Transport Agency has indicated it will take a new and more genuinely consultative approach to post-flyover discussion and decision-making. But we’re mindful of the point the preceding Wellington Scoop report makes in its final paragraph: No doubt there’s no way of excluding Transport Agency representatives from the next round of road planning for the Basin. But the Agency should consider its past bad behaviour and find some new faces who have the ability to listen, rather than to threaten or dictate or just misrepresent. As both Wellington Scoop and the Dominion Post have pointed out in these articles, there are real alternatives on the table at the Basin, including the BRREO, Option X and tunnelling. As Dave Armstrong points out, it makes sense to focus on approaches which are low-cost and don’t foreclose other options if they become necessary: Some critics say that BRREO is only a short-term solution. Even if that is true, wouldn’t it be worth giving it a go? If it works, keep it; if it doesn’t, start digging for a longer-term alternative. When you look at the time and money already been wasted by myopic officials intent on a flyover, BRREO and Option X deserve some serious consideration, not just by sore losers. What’s more, Wellington transport needs much more than a rethink at the Basin. FIT Wellington and Generation Zero have made a valuable and timely contribution to this debate with their revamped light rail (modern trams) proposal for Wellington, released last week.
- Accepted from Save the Basin posts
- Tagged as:
- basin-reserve-flyover
Basin Reserve, Dufferin Street, Mount Victoria, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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What Save the Basin Said To The Regional Transport Committee On Tuesday
- Save the Basin Reserve!
- On Tuesday morning, Wellington’s Regional Transport Committee met – the first such meeting since NZTA abandoned its pursuit of a Basin Reserve flyover through the courts.
- Accepted from Save the Basin posts
- Automatically tagged as:
- basin-reserve
- basin-reserve-flyover
- lobby-groups
- cricket
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Loop track construction update
- Rimutaka Incline Railway
- More progress with our loop track at Maymorn, following on from the previous Loop track build starts story from July and August. Rails have been crowed to form the curve off the double slip, cut and drilled. Good to finish that part of the loop and get on to the straight lengths.
- Accepted from Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust news
- Automatically tagged as:
- local-history
- rimutaka-railway
Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust, Maymorn, Upper Hutt, Upper Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Work in progress 5 September 2015
- Rimutaka Incline Railway
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- Accepted from Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust news
- Automatically tagged as:
- local-history
- rimutaka-railway
Rimutaka Incline Railway Heritage Trust, Maymorn, Upper Hutt, Upper Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Safer speed limits
- Wellington City Council
- Proposal to reduce the speed limits in six Wellington suburbs: Berhampore, Happy Valley, Khandallah, Ngaio, Northland and Wadestown.
- Accepted from Wellington City Council open consultations by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- berhampore
- khandallah
- ngaio
- northland
- wadestown
- wellington
- consultation
- speed-limits
Berhampore, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6242, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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What exactly is happening with the Council funding the airport runway extension?
- Guardians of the Bays
- Some interesting developments have recently happened in the runway extension saga and we are going to have to start asking some serious questions about the Council’s involvement with the airport.
- Accepted from Guardians of the Bays posts
- Tagged as:
- runway-extension
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NZTA has decided not to try to appeal the High Court Basin Reserve flyover decision
- Save the Basin Reserve!
- The New Zealand Transport Agency has decided not to seek leave to appeal the High Court decision which upheld the Board of Inquiry decision to decline resource consent for a Basin Reserve flyover.
- Accepted from Save the Basin posts
- Automatically tagged as:
- basin-reserve
- basin-reserve-flyover
- lobby-groups
- cricket
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Regional council may get tough on trespassers
- Greater Wellington Regional Council
- Regional council park rangers are becoming increasingly frustrated at the behaviour of people ignoring closed signs on the new Te Ara o Whareroa cycleway and putting themselves and others in danger.
- Accepted from GW Feed
- Tagged as:
- island-bay-cycle-way
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An Excellent Analysis By The Architectural Centre of NZTA’s Options
- Save the Basin Reserve!
- NZTA has until Friday 4 September to decide whether it will seek leave from the Supreme Court to appeal its defeat in the High Court over its Basin Reserve flyover plans. While we wait to see what their next move is and respond accordingly, it’s well worth reading this excellent analysis of NZTA’s options by The Architectural Centre.
- Accepted from Save the Basin posts
- Automatically tagged as:
- basin-reserve
- basin-reserve-flyover
- lobby-groups
- cricket
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