There have been lots of complaints about cycleways in West Lynn and elsewhere in recent times, and they are part of the problem that is the West Lynn Auckland Transport upgrade.
But the problem is about more than just cycle lanes. The whole of our roading system is being dealt with piecemeal. There are arguments about motorway development, safety measures, bus lanes, park and ride, car parks being taken away, cars being banned from certain centre-city streets, speed limits for cars being reduced to 30kph, no speed limits at all for Lime scooters, where they should travel, whether riders should have helmets, not to mention trams and trains.
So what is the problem? Surely everyone wants Auckland’s transport difficulties sorted out?
Well, yes they do. It seems to me there are three main problems.
The first is inadequate or poor consultation, the second is ‘getting the cart before the horse’ or getting ahead of public opinion, and the third is a question of responsibility for what, in West Lynn’s case, is actually ‘town centre development’ - something beyond the brief of a purely transport organisation.
I have talked about consultation and the lack of it many times.
The problem is Auckland Transport’s autonomous status, and its secretive behaviour. Yes it consults - but reluctantly, and not frequently enough. Too often it is consultation which consists of telling the public what it intends to do - not asking them for opinions. “We are the experts, we’re telling you how it will be done.” Never mind that it is our money AT is spending. This is ‘top down’ imposition on residents. We should be encouraging ‘bottom up’ consultation.
The second problem is a political one. Governments and local councils have two major choices when it comes to spending discretionary money. They can be retro-active responding only to strong voter agitation, or they can be proactive, taking the lead and acting on what they think should be done now.
Most of us agree that climate change is a major worry, oil is becoming scarcer, pollution is a killer, and we should be getting out of our cars, taking public transport, cycling or walking, both for our individual health and the health of our city. The question is how quickly this should all be done. Ask environmentalists and they’ll tell you - yesterday!
But here’s the rub. Councils and governments can get too far ahead of the public - at their peril. It is often left-leaning administrations that risk getting ahead of themselves. They get accused of being ‘nanny state’, telling us how to live and what to have for breakfast. And yet they are usually being proactive, and often know ahead of the general public what should be done.
So, in Auckland Transport’s case, they need to be careful not to get too far ahead of public opinion. New Zealand must and will change, Ford utes can’t be the biggest selling car of the year for much longer, and public transport must improve.
The third problem is a worry that Auckland Transport is not sticking to its knitting. If West Lynn is a typical example, and I think it is, AT is trying to be a ‘local town developer’, dabbling in issues way outside its expertise and brief. Poor drainage is just one example. AT should not be redesigning West Lynn, it should be improving transport to and through the shopping centre. This must also be much better coordinated than is happening right now. AT has made a hash of it, and now ratepayers will have to fork out again for a makeover. Maybe staff who stuffed up should have to forgo some salary or bonuses instead of the long -suffering ratepayer.
There will always be people who object to everything. Some will, from time to time, have right on their side, but by the time they’ve pissed everyone off too many times, no one will listen to them.
It’s about consultation, stupid. Get everyone in a room and thrash out options. Eventually the vast majority will reach a consensus, and if there are still a few outliers, they will see that their views, while having been heard and listened to, have been rejected. All but
a particularly recalcitrant handful will accept the majority decision. But, if excluded from day one, those who oppose various proposals will rightly howl 'unfair'.
We must at all times try to improve our community, using social and political capital, while preserving the amenity values we treasure.
Auckland Transport and other Government agencies must not trample on those amenity values, creating noise, unwanted extra traffic, fewer trees, obstructed sea views and new, unwanted seven-storey walls suddenly appearing on our boundaries.
Get citizens heavily involved in discussion groups, thrashing out ideas, until consensus is reached and then tell our elected representatives, and the bureaucrats, what we want. Let them argue with us on technical difficulties, explaining why some ideas are simply not practicable by proving it to us. Then let them get on with implementation. No more bulldozers suddenly appearing outside our houses starting to tear up the footpath without consultation.
These days we question our doctors about medication they want to prescribe, so why can’t we do the same with our bureaucrats? (JOHN ELLIOTT)