Like most cities, Wellington has an addiction to private motor vehicles that is destroying our ability to interact with others as well as do business. To address this we MUST prioritise the movement of people and goods in the most overall efficient ways possible.
To do this council must prioritise transport investment in the following order.
- Pedestrian
- Cyclist/Micromobility
- Public transport
- Freight/Commercial
- Private motor vehicle
But people need cars, vans, etc.!?
Prioritising other modes of transport is not a ban on private motor vehicles. There is only so much land available to move people and goods. This space must be prioritised to do the most good possible. Even if it means that for users of some modes will have to adjust how they do things. There will still have to be space allocated for loading and unloading of freight and space allocated for those unable to use other modes. And we must be willing to support people during this change that are unable to quickly replace their current way of moving around with another.
Something that is rarely highlighted is that as infrastructure is improved for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transport. The ability for those with less mobility to use it improves. This is something that has been seen in many countries as they increase the quality and amount of things like pedestrian areas, protected cycle lanes, and improved public transport stops.
Public roads are a public commons. It is a tragedy of the commons that storage of private motor vehicles has become so expected that many treat it as a right. Our current use of roads has turned them into rivers where humans cannot exist. They exist only for cars and this has helped damage any sense of community as we are encouraged to live our lives in metal and glass bubbles. Never interacting with those that live around us.
Cost efficiency
Cars have been getting bigger, our population is increasing, and there is nowhere to put more roads and parking without spending billions of dollars. EVs will not fix this as they are still the same size and even heavier than the vehicles they replace. The cost to maintain roads already eats up a large section of the council budget and this will increase at a faster rate if we continue to encourage larger and heavier vehicles in the city.
In comparison reallocating road space to forms of transport like cycling, scooters, and walking, will not only move more people but also dramatically reduce the maintenance costs for council. If you seriously wish to lower the amount you pay in rates then we need to reduce how much road space is dedicated to so many heavy vehicles.
Pedestrians
Cars do not buy dinner, you cannot park right out front the store you want to go to in a mall, you cannot drive up and down the aisles of a supermarket, we don't park our cars in our living rooms or bedrooms. It is people that actually buy things and live in a place. So we must prioritize the movement and existence of people in transport.
Council must adopt changes that prioritize pedestrians at crossings and intersections. There should be a maximum waiting time so that people are not encouraged to walk in front of traffic. And begging buttons must be removed with pedestrian crossings being triggered automatically either via sensors or on a timer.
I would push for the adoption of 30kph as the default speed limit throughout urban Wellington. This is to increase the safety of pedestrians as well encourage use of other modes of transport. Speeds should only be allowed to be higher where pedestrians and micromobility modes are safely separated. Lower speeds will also help reduce the noise and particulate emissions of vehicles which are a major source of pollution within Wellington.
Council must adopt maximum crossing distances between footpaths. Expecting people to cross 4 or 6 lanes in a handful of seconds only encourages people to drive. People of all physical abilities should feel that they can safely cross roadways in the time available.
"Courtesy Crossings" must be removed from use within Wellington and replaced by full pedestrian crossings. They not only confuse all involved but still prioritize private vehicles drivers. Meaning pedestrians are at the mercy of drivers stopping.
We should also adopt a policy of maximum distances between pedestrian crossings. Current regulations allow pedestrians to cross if not near a designated crossing. But so many of our roads are completely unfit to support the safe crossing of pedestrians. Requiring them to appear out from behind parked vehicles or cross multiple lanes of fast flowing dense traffic.
Pedestiran crossings should be elevated by default. This is something that should be worked through with emergency services so as to not impede their work needlessly.
Encourage the installation of pedestrian shelters or footpath coverings. Wellington weather can be nasty from time to time. The biggest threat for most of us is the sun however. Installation of more awnings or planting of trees will help create the shade needed to keep the sun off pedestrians. Such coverings can also be used to install solar panels, reducing the emissions from other generation modes as well as the cost of installation and maintance of shelters.
Footpaths must have a minimum width in urban areas. This width cannot include any disruption from walls, kerbs, posts, advertising boards, etc. Where footpath width cannot be maintained the roadway must be turned into a shared space that supports the safe mixing of foot and wheeled traffic. This width should be identified through consideration of existing requirements as well as working with groups that depend on clear footpaths such as sight limited, mobility limited, and parents. Parking must be secondary to maintaining a minimum width. Council workers must also be empowered to rapidly respond to issues that block footpaths such as overgrown vegetation, construction signage, and illegally parked vehicles. Rural areas such as Makara will need special consideration due to the distances covered and unlikeliness of pedestrians even if footpaths were installed.
Modern vehicles are increasing in size at an accelerating rate. When standing at a corner of an intersection it is often impossible to see beyond a few metres. This has to be addressed at it impossible for any vehicle travelling at speed to see a pedestrian, react, and stop with such short sightlines. Such vehicles have also been shown to be deadlier to pedestrians than older models that were smaller. If we do nothing we will see even fewer people walking around. Even in cases where they could have driven and parked nearby.
Cycling and micromobility
Cycling is where Wellington City will be able to make the biggest impact on our transport infrastructure. Especially with the massive uptake of e-bikes. Bikes provide an energy and space efficient mode of quick local transport that is not tied to a timetable or route.
For urban trips e-bikes are a car replacement. Their ability to flatten hills and make raging winds effectively disappear makes them a game changer for Wellington.
An increasing number of people in Wellington cannot afford to own and operate motor vehicles. These people still need to be able to move around Wellington city. Investment in cycling and micromobility infrastructure will support these people.
We always talk about how we want to support kids to be more independent. They can’t drive and public transport doesn’t exist in many areas even during the day. Investment in cycling infrastructure gives our children the ability to live without being tied to someone who owns a motor vehicle. This means education, socialising, and even work.
Cycling also provides a great way to increase the amount of exercise we do. Even e-bikes are shown to improve the health of their users. Improving the long term health of Wellington residents will reduce the sickness and chronic health problems many of us deal with. Freeing up our health funds to focus on other illnesses.
Council changes
The biggest thing the council can do right now is to support the accelerated rollout of the cycle network. This network will create something that is actually usable by the residents of Wellington. The haphazard collection of disconnected cycleways previous councils have created has been pointless. Without a network of connected paths, other changes are a waste of time and money. To encourage anyone but the most confident to cycle we must provide a way to get around that doesn't have a multi-tonne vehicle 30cm behind you.
I would push council to install secure cycle storage at stations and the core bus routes. This supports the ability for people to use a bike for the last kilometre and connect more of Wellington to the high frequency routes, increasing patronage. Secure storage could be supported through the use of the ticketing system in use by Metlink.
I would work with business groups to identify the best locations in urban centres for the installation of secure bike storage. This can be through installation on council owned protperty, reallocation of vehicle parking, or even installation on public areas of private property.
Wellington City Council should be directed to work with other local councils and central government to implement ways we can make purchase of e-bikes more accessible to residents. This could be through subsidies or even joint purchases or production runs to be sold on at cost. We should work with local bicycle shops and even car dealerships to see how this can best be done.
Council should explore incentives for installation of all sorts of bike storage by land and building owners. This could be through rates rebates depending on the capability of the storage or reallocation of on premise vehicle parking to bicycles.
Public transport
To improve public transport the biggest changes have to be done outside of what Wellington City Council has direct control over. This does not mean there is nothing the council can do.
Council should continue to work with other groups and local government bodies to apply pressure on central government to provide the ability to make the needed changes. This will also be helped through the councils of the Wellington region amalgamating into one.
Full time bus lanes and bus priority at junctions for all core routes must be adopted. This is something that can be done quickly and will make a massive impact on the reliability of services. Users of public transport must trust that it will run when it says it will run.
We must build all bus stops to have level boarding, safe road crossing, and the ability for vehicles to pull up completely parallel to the stop. Too many stops in Wellington are dangerous even for those who have full mobility. Every stop in must be safe enough that anyone can use them safely. This can be done in co-ordination with community and specialist groups to identify the priority of stops to fix. It will have to be a multi year project to do effectively.
Council should work with central government to adjust road regulations to prioritize the movement of buses in traffic. Such as pulling out of a stop and into the flow of traffic or from an intersection.
To make it easier to use public transport I would push for council to work with Metlink and Greater Wellington to install public toilets at all bus hubs. This is a small thing that can greatly increase the quality of life for residents of Wellington. Council should also work with Metlink and bus operators to identify other locations that could benefit from installation of public toilets.
The core bus routes as identified by Greater Wellington Regional Council must be updated to prioritize buses. Even if this means reducing the amount of on street parking.
Freight/Commercial
Large amounts of freight and equipment is hard to move on a bus or a bike. So we must make sure to allocate space to the vehicles that provide these important services.
I would work with council and businesses to identify core freight corridors throughout Wellington that can be better optimized for use by these vehicles. Reducing the amount that trucks have to accelerate or brake will reduce the wear and tear as well as emissions, especially noise. Even if such corridors have lower speeds to support adoption of active modes.
I would put forward the ability for large trucks to make use of segregated pathing like bus lanes. This could be expanded to tradespeople but would require a system to minimize abuse outside of the hours they are operated as tradespeople vehicles.
Private motor vehicle
No matter how much we wish we could move every trip into other modes, private vehicles will still be needed by some. So while they may be at the bottom of the priority list they cannot be ignored.
I would require council to work with groups that show a need for private vehicles that other modes cannot reasonably provide at the time. People such as those with mobility limitations, shift workers that work outside of hours that make other modes safe or even available, vital services that must be running at all times and may need specific people to travel at immediate notice.
Council must make sure that access for these people is not unduly disrupted. This can be through
- making sure there is access to the areas needed by general traffic
- using timed restrictions to allow mixed use outside of congested times
- systems that can allow access to restrcited roadways for specified vehicles
- dedicated parking at frequent distances for various users
Authorised by James Sullivan. James@TFG.nz