Jos Nagels’ Invited Opinion Piece
[All contactable candidates for the 2024 Tauranga election were invited to supply CityWatch NZ with an opinion piece.]
Omni solution for Tauranga
1.0 Introduction
Cities are for people, yet for past 70 years cities have been designed for the motorcar (and reshaped by Urban Sprawl) destroying neighbourhoods liveability and communities
Worldwide,this mistake is being reversed by the 15-minute city concept of easy access, affordability, and convenience to employment housing ,social facilities and everyday activities
2.0 Tauranga as New Zealand’s most car dependent city, continues to embed outmoded 1950s total road dependency in 2024-2034 LTP.
This merely repeats Auckland’s 70 year traffic nightmare. SmartGrowth policy started 2002 proved an embarrassing failure.
Despite billions of dollars expenditure for new roads, congestion is still predicted for the next 10 to 15 years- failure for the start !
2.1 Car dependency is a drain on the economy and a burden to individual households.
2.2 Car dependent urban sprawl is the most expensive form of habitation in human history.
The evidence is overwhelming that repeating deficient 1960s total road dependency coupled with urban sprawl is a costly error, just the maintenance and upkeep, in time, proven to bankrupt communities. Our existential future demands a better way of doing things.
3.0 Where to from here?
Essential and urgent is Transportation reform-integrated with housing intensification. Tauranga can become NZ’s leading city, by fully engaging Passenger rail multimodal 21st-century electrified rail transit as it is particularly suited.
3.1 Brief description; The existing railway corridor passes through CBD, itself a destination, ideally complimented by connection to Cameron Road arterial with trams at 15 minute intervals. Similarly other rail hubs (Mt Maunganui, Bayfair, Papamoa, Te Tumu, etc,) are connected with suburban arterial trams linked with short haul buses to outer areas. To serve Road-locked Tauriko industrial and residential, lay a new branch line off the main railway at Te Puna.
3.2 Provisional scheme plan prepared of the concept. A unified and staged transition can preplanned but we must start now for it to happen.
An anecdotal effect is housing intensification occurring by the proximity, accessibility and convenience that Multi-modal transit provides .
Roads less busy, Congestion and Busgestion avoided.
4.0 Funding;
As govt transportation budgets since 1950’s have mainly funded highways/roads into existence, similarly for Rail infrastructure to appear, it must be part of a State supported programme that ensures mass transportation for needs of the public. Having the potential to reduce NZ’s annual (2023) $11Bn imported fossil fuel bill by 1/3 saving $7m/week or $366m/year is itself fiscal justification, let alone the priceless uncosted environmental wins, Rail becomes a community/public asset.
5.0 Conclusion
It is insane building 6 lane highways parallel to the rail corridor or as a substitute. Much better to double track the existing rail corridor (where needed) to ensure adequate capacity for trains. common sense beacons passenger and freight rail is the obvious most efficient and economical solution. People actually want their trains back!
Multimodal 21st century rail transit complimented with cycling infrastructure would be a godsend. Then Tauranga will have a (sustainable)future. Governance needs to stop making excuses, show real leadership and have the will to make to make better choices that utilise efficient 21st Century Rail technologies that NZers deserve
The social and equitable effects of multi-modal transit will be enormously beneficial, tangible, proven and a better future
Jos Nagels,
Mayoral Candidate and Bethlehem Ward Candidate, 2024 Tauranga City Election.
Email: solarjoss@gmail.com
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