23 June 2016

Vic Crone: Let's Get Auckland Moving

Auckland Mayoral Candidate Vic Crone is ruling out congestion charging without viable alternatives in place. She has just announced the first stage of her transport policy for Auckland.

“I'm fundamentally opposed to congestion charging when there are no viable alternative routes or good public transport options available. The point of congestion charging is to change behaviour which you simply can’t do when so many Aucklanders are forced to use their cars. Take people in the north-west, east Auckland, and south Auckland for example,” says Ms Crone.

“The immediate focus should be on fixing what we’ve got, delivering projects on time and on budget and making sure we're ahead of technology change.

“Today I’ve announced key projects I’ll progress in Council's 10-year plan. They include accelerating Mill Road and AMETI, along with bringing Penlink, Lake Road, the North Western busway, and electrification of rail to Pukekohe, into the 10-year plan.”

Crone says the announcement will be funded through:

Recycled funds from at least $500m savings in the 10-year plan - part of her fiscal policy;
Working with the government to secure funding options for key projects;
Seeking a Public Private Partnership for the Mill Road and Penlink projects which can then be funded through tolls.

“Finally, technology will play an important part in our transport options. I'll look to promote the use of electric cars and intelligent traffic management systems along with preparing for driverless buses/shuttles. I'll also call for a report into what our public transport will look like in 30 years.”

Ends

© Scoop Media