23 December, 2003
Greens welcome new thinking on roads
The Green Party has welcomed today's Transfund review of projects, which signals that not all roads lead to a
sustainable future.
"It was always obvious that some projects would be more compatible than others with the criteria in the new Land
Transport Management Act," said Green Co-leader, Jeanette Fitzsimons. "I am encouraged that Transfund's preliminary look
at transport funding has analysed critically what already complies and what needs to change.
"The review shows the Act is starting to work effectively," "Transfund is now charged with taking a balanced, long-term
overview of land transport, rather than just rubber-stamping road funding. With this review, Transfund is off to a
useful start in asserting its new role.
"In particular, all but one project came out negative or neutral against the environmental sustainability and public
health objectives. This needs to change - there is no point to a land transport system that wrecks the environment and
people's health."
She said that State Highway 20 and Wellington's proposed inner-city bypass clearly emerge as marginal projects that do
little to ease congestion and score a negative or zero on all but one objective. The other four projects however all
score positive overall and have less to change to qualify for funding.
Ms Fitzsimons said the review was a hopeful sign the new Auckland package would develop sustainable solutions rather
than promote an orgy of road building.
" Congestion is crippling Auckland, but the sequence must be: first provide alternatives to the car, then look at
pricing measures, and then see what smart roading initiatives are needed, based on the new traffic patterns.
"What is needed is 'smart roading', projects that are sustainable and that genuinely work to solve the city's existing
transport problems, rather than exacerbate them. What we don't want is roads that will encourage more driving and choke
up with traffic as soon as they are built; roads that merely move the congestion to somewhere else; roads that ride
roughshod over the natural environment without taking proper care; or roads that make life impossible for pedestrians
and cyclists.
I'm sure Mayor Banks would share our desire for a solution to his city's transport problems. While we might differ over
how to achieve that, I would be more than happy to debate it with him in a public forum."
Ms Fitzsimons said the onus was now on Transit to show it could work in the spirit of the new Act. "Transit has new
objectives and new responsibilities - including social and environmental responsibilities. The challenge is for them to
look at these projects in that light.
ENDS