So far so good!

So far it seems that the bus lanes along Papanui Rd are doing well. Being school holidays overall traffic will have been reduced this week so it will be interesting to see how they go next week when it's 'all go'. Interesting to see that the Press reported that some bus drivers weren't using the lanes (in the process taking a cheeky swipe at the legitimacy of the $30 million project). This can probably be attributed to the school holidays as I explained.

Leading up to the implementation of the first stage of bus lanes there was some attention given to those opposed to their worth. This came from shop owners in particular who were worried about losing a few car parks. In the end it is really about what is the greater good, and with car parking down side streets, and potential increases in foot traffic due to greater public transport use I'll go with the bus lanes.Unfortunately local journalism stops short of the big picture!

Another point being made was that Christchurch residents loved their cars too much, making the money being spent on bus lanes a waste. To this, I once again point out that out of the 'big three' NZ cities Christchurch has seen the least amount of public transport development and that this correlates with our low rate of use as an overall proportion of trips made. Where investment has been made people have flocked to public transport. Auckland rail patronage has more than doubled in just a few years while the development of the Northern Busway has revolutionised transport on the North Shore. Closer to home, look what happened when we built the 'Bus Exchange' and introduced integrated smart card ticketing (metrocard), patronage increased. However, we still have a long way to go and bus lanes are simply the next step (although well overdue). I look forward to seeing what is next, hopefully I will be able to tick a few more things off my wish list (see previous posts).

I have yet to check the bus lanes out for myself but will be doing so next week when they will be operating with schools back in session. I will post on here my thoughts and hope to start posting on here more regularly again. Until then...

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.

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...

Rail/Bus Hybrid?

There was an article today on Stuff outlining the idea of Selwyn District Councillor Annette Foster to run a hybrid Rail/Bus system between Rolleston and Christchurch. The idea would be to run them on the existing rail line and she pointed to the use of the O-Bahn in Adelaide of the success of this concept (buses fitted with small wheels and utilising guide rails).

The problem with this , of course, is that it would be impossible to fit in with a working railway (the O-Bahn is a stand alone piece of transport infrastructure by the way), it gains only the benefits of the railways right of way, and most of the potential gains would be nothing like a railway and could be met with bus lanes which would be much much cheaper. It is, however, nice to see a local politician looking at new ways of improving our public transport system and also looking at transport options that don't just involve roads. Foster is planning to undertake a trip to see Adelaide's O-Bahn in September.

Amusement Park Attraction Or Public Transport Asset?

With the extension of Christchurch's tram tracks now finally given official approval it reminds me that this is an opportunity that this city cannot afford to ignore. Is this to be a simple extension of a tourist attraction, little more than an amusement park ride? Or will this form the first part of a modern CBD light rail line? I've already outlined what I want to see before (scroll down a bit) so now I want to focus on why we must not let this go to waste.

Presently, the heritage tramway runs past mostly tourist orientated attractions as it pierces the very heart of the cultural precinct. The extensions, however, run right through major retail, commercial, entertainment and medium and high density residential areas. In short it runs through a more cosmopolitan precinct, and one with considerable plans about to go into action which will only amplify its cosmopolitan characteristics. These are not the conditions suitable for a tourist heritage tramway and such an operation would hardly be the best utilisation of the tram extensions for this area. With potential for much higher local use we should be aiming at utilising the new tram extension as a form of public transport. Not only would it be of benefit to the people living, working and playing in this area it would give greater encouragement for the planned developments. As I have said, I've already outlined my views on what we need, right now I'm concerned about actually getting it in the first place. I'm worried this will simply end up as a quaint tourist heritage tramway, still costing an arm and a leg to use trundling around half empty while locals use their cars

Utilising the tram extensions as a form of public transport, would provide encouragement for the planned developments in the area. It would encourage business to grow in the city as the increasing residential population can use the tram to access them rather than go to the suburban malls in their car. It would make this area and the CBD a more livable space. I urge our council not to ignore this opportunity to provide a valuable asset for this city. If we end up with a museum tram, we may as well rip it up again. We won't get value for money.

Christchurch Roads Getting National Funding

Three major Christchurch road projects were announced as part of the Government's 'roads of national significance' scheme, the Southern Motorway, the Northern Arterial and the Western Bypass. Of note, all three are hangovers from the 1960's era Christchurch Transportation Masterplan, of which a major part was to build an extensive motorway system for Christchurch (which obviously was never built!). The total cost of the projects is meant to be $650 million to $800 million and will be paid for out of the Government's increase in State Highway spending from $6.2 million to $10.7 million over the next ten years. Essentially what this means is that our local transport authorities will potentially save millions of dollars as these projects will now come under central government funding. Local authorities were going to put $176 million into the Southern Motorway alone which now means that money can be spent elsewhere. In addition the roads are to be given priority and may be further fast tracked through the consents process.

The Western bypass is perhaps the road I support the most. It's function is rather unique and would be hard to replicate by other transport modes. The plan is to four lane Russley and Johns Roads and build a flyover at the Memorial Road intersection. The flyover I am intrigued about as it could allow much improved traffic flow into the airport by separating north-south traffic from airport bound/origin traffic. However, what are we really getting? Until I see dedicated plans its hard to comment, but other intersections will cause problems and delays if they remain as roundabouts (even if the road is upgraded to four lanes). The other problem is at the north and south ends. At the north the bypass slots into Main North Road as a regular intersection and currently causes painful back-ups. What will happen here? At the south end the bypass flows straight into Hornby and a busy commercial and retail area, slotting into Main South Road at a busy and hazardous traffic light intersection. Continued population and traffic growth will eliminate any gains made on this road if it is not done properly and if steps aren't taken to reduce road use by investing in public transport.

The Northern Arterial is just a rehashing of the 1960's transport master plan albeit on a lighter scale. It could improve the dispersal of traffic from the north but will likely fail in reducing traffic congestion in the long term. The Waimakariri area is one of the fastest growing in New Zealand and is heavily dependent on the car. A large and ever increasing percentage of Waimakariri residents commute to Christchurch everyday so unless measures are also taken to get more commuters on to public transport the potential gains to be made by improving road access into Christchurch from the north will be nought and it will be money poorly spent.

The Southern Motorway has been on the drawing board for years and has been delayed time and time again as money has been diverted to North island projects. It basically involves widening the former Southern Motorway to four lanes (as it was always intended to have been) and extend it south around Wigram and towards Halswell Junction Road (which in turn will be upgraded). Ultimately the motorway will be further extended to just beyond Templeton (and State Highway One upgraded to four lanes from here to Rolleston), but many think this latter extension should be accelerated, an idea with which I agree. The benefits of this road are enormous as it will allow a better flow from the industrious south to the port at Lyttelton. However, once again it will be all for nothing unless other efforts are made to get less people dependent on these roads and allow them to do their job. The Selwyn District, like the Waimakariri, is one of the fastest growing in New Zealand and spending on improved public transport will be needed for this project to be feasible long-term. In addition a perfectly good double tracked railway runs from the south to Lyttelton, getting more freight moving this way would have obvious economic benefits.

All in all I believe this to be a good thing, but I must stress that developing these roads at the expense of public transport will not be beneficial and will not get these roads working the way they should. I hope the money saved by local authorities is put to good use and is largely spent on improving public transport (perhaps my wish list?). Unfortunately I believe most of it will probably be put to use improving local roads, particularly those that inter operate with these projects. However, it is early days yet and these roads might never get built such is the way of New Zealand. Remember that most transport infrastructure proposed for Christchurch in the 1960's never got built, Christchurch not only being a 'car city' but a poor one at that.

Snap? Infratil bidding for 'Metrocard' replacement

Earlier this year the Christchurch City Council issued a tender for a new integrated ticketing system to replace the current 'Metrocard' system. On Monday it was announced that New Zealand company Infratil had made a bid for the supply of this system utilising it's 'Snapper' card system currently in use on some Wellington buses.

Seeing as we want to get the absolute best possible public transport system for our city, it makes sense to invest in a ticketing system that is world class and saves patrons time and money. Moving top ups off buses and into agents (such as dairy's), seamless integration between different services and transport modes (ferry, CBD tram), and allowing future expansion of services offered (small purchases, new transport modes) are all benefits we can expect from a new system.

Now here is the funny thing. Infratil is actually the operator of most of Auckland and Wellington's bus networks as NZ Bus. Critics have argued that this forms a conflict of interest and that it would be unhealthy for Infratil to operate the ticketing system. Most of this came up due to Infratil's recent failed bid to supply an integrated ticketing system for Auckland's public transport network and their subsequent, and very public, spitting of the dummy and associated throwing of the toys out of the cot in response. Infratil argued a back lash would ensue as the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) chose a foreign firm to supply the system instead, but the fact was that Infratil offered an unproven system that has yet to fully roll out anywhere and presented a substantial conflict of interest.

Now here is the even funnier (and fishy) thing. Auckland's integrated ticketing scheme has stalled due to the governments cancellation of the regional fuel tax. As this tax was to help pay for the new system uncertainty remains over the legitimacy and status of the current successful bid, and Infratil seem to remain confident that they will eventually be awarded the contract despite ARTA's preference for an alternative supplier.

Now here is the hilarious bit. The Christchurch tender stipulates that the new ticketing system be interoperable with Auckland's! Ha! So basically who knows what will happen and when. Personally I want to see something that is up with London's Oyster card, can be used over the entire network, is easier to use (quick boardings), can be topped up online and at shops and means we don't have to wait behind someone fumbling about with coins and notes waiting to top up their card on the bus.

For what it's worth the Snapper card in Wellington is only able to be used on some Wellington buses. It can also be used for a number of small purchases and has scope to be used for more (such as online music etc). It isn't used as an integrated ticketing system. Wellington trains, ferry's and other bus companies still issue their own tickets. There is clearly uncertainty over the Snapper system representing a world class integrated ticketing system and as public transport in Christchurch is deplorable and needs all the help it can get I am starting to think it might be better to go for a proven firm, even if it is overseas based.

Nevertheless, what Christchurch needs is an integrated ticketing system that is easy to use and top up and can easily be adapted to advances in Christchurch's public transport system. Whatever system is eventually chosen it is good to see the local authorities pressing on with investment in a more sustainable and efficient form of transportation. Improving Christchurch's public transport system with initiatives such as this can only be good.