FERRIES and waterways need to be given higher priority in Auckland’s public transport planning, according to the Half Moon Bay Ferry Users Group.
The Auckland Regional Council already has a 10-year strategy published in 2005, which raises the question: why another one is needed.
Strategies that look out 30 to 50 years have been called for under the Land Transport Management Amendment Act, which was passed last July and resulted in the introduction of a regional fuel levy in Auckland.
The present strategy calls for a substantial increase in public transport spending, completing key arterial routes and roads and managing travel demand.
New issues, the ARC says, include more concentration on integrating transport and land use decisions and, for the first time, the implications of rising energy costs.
The Half Moon Bay ferry group was formed three years ago to lobby for improved ferry services and amenities.
The Half Moon Bay ferry service carries about 450 commuters each day and the group says with sufficient planning and support, the service has the potential for substantial growth.
It wants one organisation to be responsible for managing and funding public transport and its infrastructure.
“The current system is disparate and results in major delays and difficulties to achieve any change,” says the group.
A portion of the seabed licence fees paid by commuters should be used to maintain the transport waterways, while contributing user levies to the cost of maintaining stations and terminals, it says.
“Significant resources are allocated each year to the maintenance of road and rail networks and we believe the waterways need to be given a maintenance budget also.”
Activities that use land, water (river or sea) and seabed resources should be located close together, “preferably within walking distance to encourage people to reduce reliance on their cars”. Development of adequate links to ferry services should be included, claims the group.
Approval for new suburban housing developments should provide for the future development of public transport, the group says, especially facilities linking new subdivisions to large commercial, tourist or industrial centres.
“Facilities should include transport hubs encouraging rail, special bus routes and, where possible, waterway travel with parking (if no viable transport link is available).”
With the spread of suburbia, the group says greater use of the Waitemata Harbour is needed to transport commuters and tourists around the region.
Local business and tourist operators should be encouraged by the ARC to work with local councils and transport organisations, it says. Attractions in the vicinity of Half Moon Bay and Manukau are inaccessible to most tourists visiting Auckland because of the lack of regular public transport, the group says.
“A number of new businesses could be started and sustained by good public transport. Additional visitors from around New Zealand and the globe will be encouraged by events planned for Auckland. Short-term integrated event ticketing and seamless transfer between transport modes is needed.”
Coastal passenger transport, the group says, can be an efficient way to remove private cars from roads.
Use of waterways for freight should also be discussed in the 30-year strategy. Creating a transport hub and port environment in the upper reaches of the Tamaki Estuary have been discussed by local councils.
“We recommend that the ARC incorporate this and other potential water-borne freight options into the strategy.”
The group also calls for thought to go into the design of vessels used on the Hauraki Gulf.
