Bus Lane Implementation on Papanui Road

Finally, we are about to see some progress on the issue of bus lanes!!! The Christchurch City Council has announced that on 17 August construction of bus lanes for Papanui Road will begin. There will be seven stages with each stage taking about two-three weeks to complete and the whole thing should be up and running by mid December. When completed the bus lanes will stretch along Papanui and Main North Roads from Bealey Ave to the Northern Motorway just north of Belfast (its a shame they will not extend onto the motorway, bus lanes would be a much more appropriate option than an extra traffic lane).

The Council has indicated that lanes will be either full-time or part-time but has not indicated which parts of the current development are which. Full-time bus lanes operate 24 hours a day, while part-time bus lanes will operate 7am-9am inbound and 3pm-6pm outbound (except outside schools from 3pm-4pm). Enforcement is an issue I am concerned with but I am glad to see that they are following the London example and cars parked in lanes will be immediately towed while those caught travelling in the lanes will be fined $150. The lanes will likely be administered by the City Councils parking wardens and the New Zealand Police Force.

There are other upgrades mooted as well, including new shelters and improved stops altogether. It is also important to note that cyclists will be able to use the bus lanes as well, this is good, as I am all for encouraging more cycling, but I wonder how much of a danger this could be, or whether it will hold up buses? It seems to work in London, so I guess we will have to see. There is also some controversy over the fact that much on street parking will make way for these bus lanes. I believe it is a small price to pay, the benefits far outweigh the costs and there is plenty of parking down side streets. Plus it works fine overseas, it is just a case of moving with the times (well this effort is still 40 years too late!).

Finally I want to point out three things. First, there is no other mention of other bus priority measures such as bus signals. I feel such measures can only aid bus lanes and transit times. Second, expect a similar announcement for the southern portion of Colombo Street towards Cashmere some time soon with similar completion dates. Finally, I must point out that many of the planned bus lanes are simply too far away from being a reality. The Sumner route isn't planned until 2013/14 and Cranford Street until 2017/18. This is unacceptable, more funding must be made available for these initiatives. To find out more about bus priority measures in Christchurch the Council has a very helpful website while if you want to check out the relevant press release visit here. All in all this news is excellent and is a start to finally making public transport in Christchurch a realistic opion for everyday people. Hopefully we will see more of this in the near future.

What Will Bob Parker See In North America?

Its old news that Mayor Bob Parker and the City Council CEO are to visit North American cities to study urban regeneration and public transport and at the time I didn't think much about talking about it on here. However, I got to thinking about what exactly he will see transport wise when he is there. So, basically, I'm going to have a very quick 'tour' of the various transport systems present in the cities that Bob will be visiting and the characteristics of each.

San Francisco

Population: 800 000+ (Bay area is 6 million+)

San Francisco is the second most densely populated city in the USA after New York. It is served by a light rail system called the 'Muni Metro' which has a daily ridership of 150 000+. In addition there is the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) which serves the wider Bay urban area and the 'Caltrain', a single line commuter rail operation.

Bob & Co will most likely be interested in the 'Muni Metro' as it serves an area that is more realistic in comparison to Christchurch and is within an area of density for which Christchurch is planning to mirror.

Below is a map of the light rail system.

Portland

Population: 500 000+

Portland is considered the greenest city in the USA and the second greenest in the world. Portland is well known for its land use planning and investment in light rail. Given these characteristics (which Christchurch and other NZ cities such as Auckland and Wellington are trying to emulate) and it's relative similar population it must be high on the list for Bob & Co.

The MAX light rail system has three lines and a daily ridership of over 100 000. The light rail vehicles run within their own reserved lanes on the streets and sometimes in their own corridor. There is also the Westside Express Service which is a commuter train opened earlier this year on tracks formerly used for freight only (sounds familiar!).

Seattle

Population: 600 000+

Seattle got rid of much of it's rail systems but the ensuing road congestion has forced a recent back track (for those who continue to deny that automobile dependency is a bad thing please take note!!!). Seattle has begun to rebuild what it lost in a bid to counter congestion more effectively including the 'Sounder' commuter rail service, which has two lines and is still expanding, and the 'Central Link' light rail system. The latter is still being expanded and is similar in operation to the MAX system in Portland (though less extensive).

Vancouver

Population: 600 000+

Vancouver is the Canadian city everyone raves about and it is often ranked as one of the most livable cities in the world.

In addition to one commuter rail line Vancouver also has the much heralded 'Skytrain' system which is a fully automated elevated rail system that is still undergoing expansion.

Below is an image of the Skytrain.

So, what does all this mean? Well let me first point out a couple of things. First, yes these cities are all at the centre of much larger metropolitan areas, but these areas spread out a long way and the transport systems that are being talked about are only relevant to the immediate population as listed. If you think Christchurch is still too small to compare, consider that the current population is almost 400 000 (second largest in New Zealand) and will be well over half a million by 2030.

Now, there are several things I have picked up on. All these cities appear to have undergone a phase where their respective rail and tram systems were removed in favour of freeways and buses. Of all New Zealand's cities, Christchurch fits this bill most (Auckland and Wellington retained their rail systems, in Auckland's case just). It is also quite clear that all these cities have undertaken a review of their land use and have adjusted to a more efficient and well planned use of their land. This later point is important because it increases the future viability of mass transit and is an exercise Christchurch is now beginning.

Most of the commuter rail services have been reinstated or are totally new, utilising lines previously only used for freight. All rail proposals for Christchurch have been regional in nature, aiming to serve the outer urban areas and ease traffic congestion on the approaches to the city by using the three existing lines. There are obvious parallels there. It must also be noted that Christchurch has the characteristics of a North American city, again more so than Auckland or Wellington and the success of light rail in these examples is very encouraging, particularly the high ridership and the populations they are serving.

Of all these examples I am most encouraged by Portland, and perhaps San Francisco's light rail. There have been some people who have scoffed at this attempt by the Mayor to visit these cities, and they have come up with many reasons why it is a folly. Rubbish, I say, these are very good examples from which Christchurch can learn a lot. I believe that I have given much reason to suggest that Christchurch is in a state that these cities were in ten or twenty years ago. To ignore the lessons is the true folly.

Pedestrian Friendly Street for CBD

Hereford Street is to be made more pedestrian friendly with wider footpaths, more trees, outdoor dining and a slow road between the intersections with Manchester Street and Oxford Tce. Okay, so this is only very slightly related to transport but I still think it's important. I'm not totally into pedestrianising streets too much, I have always felt the 'City Mall' was slightly too big and that Cathedral Square is too open and barren. However, this is different. This is creating an environment where traffic still exists, it just takes second place to pedestrians. I am fully in support of this because for some time now I feel our CBD has lacked that real 'city' feel. Hereford Street is one of the most dense in the city and is home to a significant chunk of the city's commercial firms. Recently I was in Wellington and I loved the way Lambton Quay retains its traffic but was dominated by people. The street looked nice, busy and full of life. At the moment, Hereford Street is drab, cold and boring. It should also flow into the City Mall upgrade quite well.

This project is seen by the City Council as a way to encourage more business in the area and I feel that they are onto something here. In addition to Hereford Street, Armagh Street is also an important commercial area with more projects planned for the future. With the tram running down it, and with New Regent Street running off it, I feel Armagh Street should be in line for a similar upgrade if the Hereford Street project is successful. Another possibility is Glouchester Street, especially with construction to start soon on two commercial buildings and one high density residential building on the soon to be vacated Press site. Keeping road traffic but not letting it dominate is something I believe will help create a more vibrant and attractive CBD. You can find the project here at the Christchurch City Council website.

I'm still working on creating a new better blog, unfortunately I just don't have the time to get online as much as I would like. However, it is slowly coming together, I have decided on simply making this blog a bit nicer and then developing a concept Christchurch 2020 transport plan which can be accessed and commented on. Hopefully, this will create some debate and I can get it 'out there'. Until then...