Sydney, as we all know, has much in common with Auckland – a CBD that faces onto a magnificent harbour, a North Shore, a harbour bridge, beautiful beaches, a temperate climate – and a whole lot of Kiwis!
Sydney's population is around 5.5 million. Auckland will eventually top 4 million. So it isn't much of a stretch to see in Sydney the future Auckland.
Or, if we're smart about urban and infrastructure planning in Tāmaki Makaurau, the future Auckland can take the best bits of Sydney, and avoid the pitfalls of the not-so-good bits. Here therefore are some brief personal observations from a recent visit to our biggest Aussie neighbour:
The good bits:
· Light rail in the CBD and central suburbs. Easy to use, looks good, well integrated with other public transport (mainly rapid transit rail and ferries) and 100% reliable. Far cheaper to install than underground rail, because it uses the existing road network.
· Rapid transit passenger rail, mostly underground in the CBD and out to the airport. Faster than light rail in the roading corridor but not as accessible, so better for longer, cross-town journeys. High quality carriages and stations. Both modes – rapid transit rail – which we would have to put largely underground – and light rail in the road corridor surely have a place together in Auckland.
· Graffiti, broken street furniture, piles of rubbish, dirty public spaces, overgrown green spaces – almost non-existent, unlike Auckland. Sydney takes pride in itself. If the Auckland Council think it's okay for Tamaki Makaurau to look "third world", we'll soon be third world. Not part of my plan!
· Visible Police presence – there is one. The vibe in Sydney at night is far safer than Auckland. No coincidence there.
· Public art installations – "self-pride" on show again. It's not an entirely novel idea – but we could go one better in the Waitematā Local Board area, with an integrated network of magnificent public art – a simple, elegant way of creating walking tour routes that guide residents and visitors into the places that we want them to see (think Newmarket, The Domain, K Road, Ponsonby, CBD) and a great way of supporting the visual arts sector and showcasing our culture.
· Thriving hospitality outlets in the CBD. Hospitality = people. People = lifeblood of cities. Simple. How about investing some council money to seed hospitality outlets into the unwelcoming hospitality death zone that is Queen Street? (Auckland Council, BTW, is not broke – it just spends its money on the wrong things).
· A beautiful waterfront, with (mostly) well-designed public spaces, giving access to the water's edge – and one of the world's iconic examples of destination architecture and civic pride - the Sydney Opera House. Auckland's waterfront is essentially an ugly industrial port zone, fenced off to the public … but the good news is that we have a blank canvas on which to wow the world (cue – let's not waste the opportunity).
· Dual harbour crossings – do we really need to be taught this lesson? Our 100% reliance on Auckland's brittle Harbour Bridge – which has always been one of our best "how not to" examples ("we'll only ever need four lanes") is surely Auckland's, and New Zealand's, single greatest infrastructural risk.
Sydney has a bridge and a tunnel, with another tunnel on the way. The Govt has announced that it will fast track Auckland’s second harbour crossing, but the route has yet to be selected. Let’s see some action on this before it’s too late.
The not-so-good bits:
· Pitt Street cycleway – the major blemish in an otherwise well-connected network of cycleways. Has produced total gridlock in the CBD. Just ask the taxi drivers who can't deliver passengers and their luggage to central city hotels.
· No large-format CBD entertainment/sports facility. These facilities produce huge economic spinoff and, built the right way (fully enclosed and adjacent to existing public transport hubs and hospitality outlets), huge public amenity.
Melbourne, not Sydney, teaches us this lesson. I'd rather see Elton John in a beautiful, dry Auckland waterfront stadium, than wearing a rain poncho and gumboots, in tired, old world stadia that I have to trek through suburbia to reach.
· … and, last but not least, Sydney's ultimate "OMG what were they thinking moment” – Circular Quay! Functional but "off the dial" ugly. This perhaps provides the greatest lesson from Auckland's future self – don't accept second best if you want to be world class.
Genevieve Sage
Chair, Waitematā Local Board
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PUBLISHED 5 MAY 2023