Christchurch Mayor Supports Rail Reinstatement

While at times I think that Mayor Bob Parker is the wannabe dictator of Christchurch, I must confess the man does operate with a vision. Part of his vision is to plan smarter, more long-term solutions for our transport needs. Recently, in an article in the KiwiRail 'Express', Mayor Parker was questioning whether our transport planning was delivering the best possible solution. It would seem to him that it is not, and I, for one, certainly agree.

When you consider that our current system is failing, and detrimental to our economic performance and lifestyles, you start to realise that we cannot continue to put all our eggs in one basket. That line of thinking is what got us the 1962 Christchurch Transport Masterplan, where barely a paragraph was given to public transport. The result of this line of thinking is that if we continue it we will always be behind the eight ball, so to speak. Our road building has never kept up with demand, and with the Christchurch urban area growing at it's current and projected rate, it will continue to fall behind. Whats more, this way of thinking is incredibly expensive, not just in the first phase but also in developing increased capacity in the long term. This simply adds to the bare fact that 'roading' our way towards a transport solution (ala the 1962 'Masterplan') is impossible, we haven't been able to do it, we can't do it and we never will.

So with this in mind Bob's comments on Newstalk ZB that key entry points are at the maximum capacity, and even operating beyond maximum capacity hit home a little more. Sure, we can build more roads to relieve congestion but it won't keep pace with growth because it's too expensive to do so. Alternatives are needed to make the road system work as it should and to provide a properly functioning transportation system. Alternatives with more flexibility when it comes to capacity, and with lower long-term development costs which negate the need to build an illogical road system that will never keep pace with demand.

At this time Bob is talking rail as a solution to relieve key entrance points into the city. The last census puts the commuting population entering the city from outside (e.g Rolleston, Rangiora etc) at 16 000, so considering the growth rates of the Waimakariri and Selwyn districts and their ever increasing high rates of Christchurch workers you really get a feel for how many that might be now, and how fast it must be increasing. With only one per cent of commuters opting to use the bus services in these districts there needs to be development of suitable alternatives to attract greater patronage and ease the congestion at key points on the road system. As Bob himself point's out, 500 people using trains from Rangiora and Kaiapoi means 500 less cars coming in from the north on our roads. Bob also points out that park and ride would be suitable for Rangiora, Kaiapoi and Rolleston and that they could really work well with a rail service. If you've read some of my other posts you will know that this is something I have been screaming for and have already pointed out how it works well with the nature of those areas (a nature Ecan seems to believe provides an excuse for forgetting about public transport altogether).

Bob may not be everyone's cup of tea but it is good to see our Mayor with a vision that doesn't smack of ignorance and uses common sense. Unfortunately, he has a lot of hurdles to cross, first on the list being Ecan and second on the list being a central government that would probably support the 1962 Christchurch Transport Masterplan as a triumph of 21st Century thinking. Nevertheless, it is a start, lets just hope it leads somewhere. Perhaps a Christchurch 'Super City' taking in the urbanised parts of the Waimakariri & Selwyn District Councils and being delegated Ecan's powers over it's jurisdiction would be a good start. However, thats for another forum.