Auckland City Council officials have come back with their report in response to our deputation last December on light rail for the new Wynyard Quarter precinct. It recommends deferring any decision on light rail or trams for the waterfront for a year, in order to tie in to their CBD transport strategy document which they are working on.
The Auckland City Council Transport Committee will decide whether to accept this recommendation at their meeting tomorrow, 1:30pm on Level 15 of the Civic building on Grey’s Ave.
The Auckland City report is available here:
The Campaign For Better Transport disagrees with the findings of the report, for reasons outlined in this letter to the Transport Committee:
Our biggest concern is that it will be too late to implement light rail if a decision is deferred for a year, as planning is well advanced for street design and the exhibition centre in the new precinct. Furthermore, we consider that current proposals for public transport are inadequate for the new Wynyard Quarter. Current thinking is that a 70% target for non-car modes of transport can be achieved by:
- Promoting walking and cycling from the CBD
- Extending the Remuera Rider bus service to Daldy St
- Rerouting the City Circuit bus to the Wynyard Quarter
- Increasing the cost of parking more than double current CBD rates
We are also disappointed that Auckland City has chosen not to work with the ARC, who recently voted to “champion light rail, including heritage trams, in any public transport options for Wynyard Quarter and Quay Street as part of the area’s redevelopment, and take the lead in developing and progressing this initiative.”
