“As Mayor of Auckland I wish to point out that Gael Baldock is an activist in the local government scene and although she can appear to be somewhat eccentric she does put in significant unpaid work on behalf of ratepayers as she attempts to keep various council organisations focussed on their main task which is to provide useful services to ratepayers. At times this can be annoying to some people especially those in apparent authority through their positions of employment in organisations such as AT which do not have a good record of listening to the public.” Wayne Brown
The whole experiment of cluttering the roads with obstacles has only caused increased congestion and loss of business for shop owners. Billions have been wasted on an outdoor gymnasium for cyclists yet their use has remained at 1% of commuters.
We have lost sight of the fact that ‘through traffic brings passing trade’, and parking allows people to ‘stop to shop’. Parking is the life blood of retail, that’s why malls have huge carparks. NZ is built on the backs of small businesses. My preference is for Main Street shopping. With a major back injury requiring disabled parking. The lack of mobility access is another point of contention I have with AT.
Architecture is all about enhancing. Drawing on 30yrs design experience, I’ll work to improve traffic flow using practical, proven solutions; pushing to reduce unnecessary inline bus stops, speed humps, road graffiti and parking loss; stop narrowed arterial roads, revenue traps, short traffic-light phasing and keep bus lanes consistent; 7-9am towards and 4.30-6.30pm away from the City. I support time-use-charges to even out the traffic flow but not a congestion tax, because congestion costs productivity.
I will champion park-and-ride buildings at key transport nodes to stop commuters parking in residential streets before catching public transport to the City; and safer roads for kids, with parent parking and illuminated signs to lower traffic speed during arrival and leaving, via simple zebra crossings accompanied by lollipops.
AT have been following the ‘Centre City Master Plan’ [CCMP], the ludicrous design of a car-hater whose philosophy was to chip away at parking, free-left-turns, creating street obstacles and congestion, while directing traffic in huge loops away from their destination. The opposite of my views.
Mayor Brown has assured me a seat in the CCMP review committee next term. It has caused the destruction of Queen Street, our premier city. We need to prioritise public transport, service vehicles and easy access for shoppers, to get people back into the City, starting with the removal of AT’s revenue traps in Queen St ($5million revenue 16 months) and Kyber Pass ($1.4million revenue pa).
Precinct Properties, owners of the Downtown Carpark site, demanded the demolition of the Lower Hobson Street flyover as part of the sale, as outlined in the CCMP. Commuters from the bays were already suffering blocked access from Quay Street narrowing and ‘Victoria Street Linear Park’. It’s the 2025 priority for the ‘City Centre Advisory Panel’, who control $25.9million pa ‘City Centre Targeted Rate’. The committee is led by ‘independent chair’, Scott Pritchard, (Precinct’s Commercial Bay) and Patrick Reynolds, ‘urbanist’ (belief that roads are ‘real estate’ to be taken away from cars).
Enhancing the existing carpark with waka stern panels represent the 19 iwi of Auckland (PN July 2024) and building on top would have saved the safe, affordable, popular carpark that services the Viaduct while stopping the damage to public roads that will be the result of 5,500 double truckloads of concrete rumble from demolition, not including the dig-out below sea level. (PN Feb 2024) The twin towers designed instead will shadow Albert Park. I predict the street leve,l supposed ‘people centric space’, will be a wind tunnel.
My environmental advocacy included attempting to save the Western Spring the regenerating native forest, the significant ecological area, bird, bat and lizard habitat, that would’ve saved 15,000 natives and $1.8million, as appellant to the Environment Court. With a group of locals we stopped most of the bird habitat of ‘exotics’ from being removed from our volcanic cones and saved ‘Te Hā’, the giant pohutukawa in Dove Myer Robertson Park. A healthy environment delivers real economic value.
As a population increases, it is important to increase parks and public spaces, with a variety of amenities and leisure activities. I supported saving North Harbour Stadium and Speedway at Western Springs with rugby concerts and a multi-use venue.
Whilst we do need intensification, particularly around transport hubs, including the CRL stations, growth has been provided for in the Unitary Plan without destroying heritage areas. Our villas and bungalows are an important part of the character of our City. Auckland has a population of 1,711,000 with 611,895 dwellings, we certainly don’t need another 2 million houses unless the plan is to import 8 million people into Auckland making kiwis a minority.
Gael Baldock - passionate, authentic advocate for Auckland. GaelB@xtra.co.nz
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