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What is being described as 'the current oil shock" with fuel prices expected to rise to $2.80 a litre for petrol and $2.50 for diesel, appears to be driving a "drive not to drive". The New Zealand Herald reports
"Consultants to the Government's new Transport Agency are recommending a
smorgasbord of measures - including a national road pricing scheme and
tax incentives for public transport passenger - to ensure those who are already driving less for economic reasons can continue doing so for decades to come." Read the article here
Nevertheless, the Green Party says Government was still spending far too much on new roads in defiance of the impact of high fuel prices. This may be borne out by an earlier report in the New Zealand Herald referring to a draft report which the Government's new Transport Agency is circulating among interested
parties. The report "proposes building a four-lane motorway on a new alignment
between Puhoi and Warkworth, and then an expressway of similar capacity
over the 19km section to Wellsford.
The report also proposes
pressing ahead with a realignment of the difficult Schedewys Hill
section north of Puhoi, upgrading an extension of the Northwestern
Motorway to a four-lane expressway to Brigham Creek Rd, and extending
the Northern Busway to Silverdale. The realignment may form the first section of a future motorway." Read the article here
But here's the thing. In the face of increasing poplutation growth on the North Shore, increasing congestion, increasing greenhouse emissions and now increasing fuel prices why are our transport planners NOT looking at alternatives like PRT. Auckland Regional Council members have baulked at some of the roading suggestions above. The environmental impacts have also been noted. There has also been a request to the Transport Agency to work within the Auckland Growth Strategy which is partly aimed at controlling urban sprawl. But that is another point. If the Regional Council really want urban development to remain within "designated growth areas" then the appropriate transit paradigm should be the one that is flexible enough to accomodate that. PRT, at least conceptually, can provide that flexibility. It can go where people are. People are not forced to cluster to transit corridors like motorway ribbons or rail routes.
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