April 2021: Local Board Member Report

This month’s report is a little later than usual as I’ve been busy with a few things on the go at the moment, some of which I will update you on as soon as I can.

The great news is that Glenvar Rd realignment project is back in the Regional Land Transport Plan for funding and scheduled to start 2021/22. This has been a major lobbying project for a number of years and something I’ve got stuck into in my first term as a Local Board member writing extensive feedback on the design proposals last year as well as resolutions at any relevant opportunity in support of the project occurring ASAP and supporting sufficient funding to Auckland Transport.

I’m continuing lobbying efforts for a recycling centre to be built in a central, accessible location on the North Shore to service our residents. I’ve arranged a meeting with staff and all interested North Shore local board members for this week, so more to come on this piece of work.

Here’s a few more things to bring to your attention:

Inquiry into congestion pricing in Auckland

One of the things I’m working on right now is giving feedback on behalf of the Local Board, to inform Auckland Council and Auckland Transport’s submission to the ‘inquiry into congestion pricing in Auckland’.

The Parliamentary Transport and Infrastructure Committee is calling for public submissions on its inquiry into congestion pricing in Auckland. Congestion pricing involves implementing a charge (or charges) to manage demand on the road network. This can encourage users to change their travel behaviour – the time, route, or mode by which they travel. The committee’s inquiry is informed by the Ministry of Transport’s The Congestion Question report.

I have some serious initial concerns about such a proposal, including:

• Such a scheme would require significant investment in improving public transport to even allow our residents to have a credible choice.

• The reality of the impact to families in our community who need to travel by car to work at peak hours who also have child care arrangements (e.g. need to drop and pick up children from daycare/school and/or travelling at peak hours after school time for school sports and activities that are often on or off main routes). This could unfairly disadvantage hard working mums and dads who work full time and try to provide the best opportunities for their kids.

• If it was introduced, the funds collected should be attributed back to the area they were collected for investment (i.e. the money shouldn’t go into a central pot).

• Concerns about the cost of implementing and running such technology and charging (as well as the required massive investment that they would need alongside it in public transport). What would the projected cost-benefit be versus investing that type of money into more efficient public transport in the first place to provide more options for people to switch to public transport?

• How might this impact people in lower socio-economic areas and/or people who are under an annual income threshold where public transport isn’t an option or appropriate?

• The range of exemptions would need to exist for a large number of groups and scenarios.

If you have any thoughts on this please email me ASAP, or you can give your own feedback by 20 May: Inquiry into congestion pricing in Auckland.

Browns Bay Boardwalk – renewal underway

Work is commencing shortly on the boardwalk at Browns Bay Beach Reserve. The current timber boards are in very poor condition and have become a safety issue, needing constant and costly repair.

Construction will be in sections starting at the skate park end. Unfortunately, this will mean that the adjacent car parks will be temporarily unavailable (or reduced to parallel car parking) – however, I’m pleased that they are doing this at a lower-impact time (winter and during school term). Work on the sections from the skate park to Phoenix Plaza will be completed by the end of August.

The cost of replacing the entire boardwalk like-for-like was far beyond our limited budget. We’re awaiting feedback from a light consultation staff undertook about potential options for the section between Phoenix Plaza and Speaker’s Corner. Watch this space.

Waiake Pohutakawa tree limb

It’s been a long, painful time trying to sort out something so basic as removing a tree limb, but that’s a big bureaucracy for you. For those of you unfamiliar – a low hanging Pohutakawa limb is at head height across the scenic boardwalk under Beach Road leading to Waiake Beach. We found out that not only is it current complaints of people colliding with it, but an account was brought to our attention of a young boy who hit his head some years ago and continues to suffer some life-long health consequences as a result.

At a Board meeting, we resolved to remove the tree limb and staff have had to apply for resource consent to do so, which we’re still awaiting the outcome of. Once the consent comes through, staff can finally work with the arborist about getting the tree limb removed.

In the time it’s taken to get to even this part, someone in the community took a chainsaw to the branch and removed part of it themselves. (still low hanging and across the boardwalk though).