Our city is inevitably and irrevocably changing and we need to shape that change, not resist it.
There’s a lot going on and some are not happy. Change is not comfortable, but it’s being forced on us by factors outside our control. Those who don’t want change have little choice but to accede.
Am I saying we should just accept what Council and Auckland Transport are proposing with no question? Absolutely not.
Council is often wrong, has improvements to make to its communications with the community, and can be inefficient. But wholesale opposition to everything Council and AT do because of perceptions of unproved corruption, or a desire to keep our streets and our lives as they are now, is counterproductive, retrograde, imposes extra costs and forces badly needed changes to be delayed indefinitely.
We have processes for involvement in decisions and it’s time we stopped tantrums every time something happens we don’t like. The abuse of our elected members and council officers must stop, too.
Auckland faces a complex mix of critical issues. We have a shortfall in infrastructure spending going back decades, so not only do we need to adapt to a challenging future, but we must catch up on building infrastructure that is adequate for today and future decades.
We have grown from barely one million people in 2006 to now nearly two, with increases in cars and trucks (and bigger, too). Increased air and water pollution, changing shopping habits and new styles of living are all impacting on our daily lives and we must adapt on a personal basis – as must the city.
We need more homes for people to live in and built in a way that will minimise environmental impact. We must change our transport habits to accommodate these extra people or continue our endless sprawl across productive land, adding to our clogged roads and air pollution. More roads are not the answer.
Our neighbourhoods need changing, too. Make our residential streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and kids and make a nicer environment in which to live.
Let’s be clear – encouraging change to habits does not mean cars will be banned. There are those who need to use a car for an assortment of reasons, but for the rest of us, we must change our habits, starting now.
Our shopping villages are dying. I think that changing how we live and how we get around will see a revival in our local urban villages, but they need to change, too. Make them more attractive places to be, and make them easily accessible with public transport and alternative modes.
The evidence of climate change is all around us. We must change our individual behaviours and our city must build to encourage them. It also needs to anticipate these changes with infrastructure because it lasts for decades.
There are those who want to retain the past–keep roads flowing, ensure plenty of carparks, minimise infrastructure spend, leave things as they are. This is not realistic.
Change is inevitable and Council and AT, despite their inefficiencies and sometime incompetence, are actually leading our response. Our only real choice is for us all to work to meet the challenges before us and in doing so create a better city. (MARK GRAHAM)
Mark Graham ran for council at the last election, was part of the Western Springs Pohutukawa Savers Group, and has been active in local issues for three decades. He was a publisher in building and architecture before an accident two years ago gave him severe concussion, from which he is recovering.
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Published 6 August 2021