Latest news with #SafeSpeeds
Scoop
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Road Safety Week: Will Auckland Transport Be Heroes Or Villains??
In the same week that Auckland Transport has quietly moved ahead with plans to strip safe speed zones from over 150 schools from 14 May, Auckland Transport is asking Aucklanders to shout out to their road safety heroes for Road Safety Week 2025. 'In the same week they announce higher speeds around 150 schools across the city, it is disturbing to see AT highlight how the burden of safety falls on parents and kids,' says Jon Turner, Puketāpapa Local Board member and City Vision ward councillor candidate for Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward. 'It is outright hypocrisy for AT to say one thing on socials to launch Road Safety Week, when at the same time behind the scenes they're making Aucklanders less safe and refusing to listen to multiple voices calling for a re-assessment of the huge scale of the reversals about to go ahead. Right when we most need AT to stand by the evidence, stand up for Aucklanders, and push for a common-sense approach to a harmful and badly written speed rule, they've crumbled,' says Mr Turner. 'Other cities have found a way to do the right thing and retain their safe speed zones where there is public support. The new Minister of Transport is open to discussion. We know safe speeds work, and dozens of Albert-Eden residents have told me what safe speeds mean to them,' says Albert-Eden Local Board member Christina Robertson. 'AT has argued that the speed rule forces them to undertake a blanket reversal of over 1500 safe speeds, but we know this isn't the case. Hamilton and Dunedin took a very similar approach when setting safe speeds, so why isn't AT taking their lead in defending Auckland streets? I've examined AT's assessments of all the safer speeds implemented in my local board area since 2020, and found over 60 streets that clearly do not meet the criteria of the speed rule, but are still losing safe speeds. Aucklanders deserve answers–why is AT going further than the speed rule requires?' says Dr Robertson. 'AT reported last week that Auckland is 'seeing a return to higher levels of deaths and serious injuries (DSI)'. I have repeatedly asked AT, including at the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee last week, to make safety a priority and to reassess their approach to the Speed Rule to avoid unnecessary harm,' says Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa ward councillor Julie Fairey. 'We know bringing down speeds makes a big contribution to increasing road safety. Putting speeds up, especially when other councils have shown there are options available under the Speed Rule that AT could use to reduce this harm, is not heroic; it's villainous,' says Ms Fairey. City Vision calls on Auckland Transport and the Minister of Transport to find a common-sense solution to avoid the huge cost to strip safe speeds from the communities that asked for them. Notes: Evaluation of AT's Safe Speeds programme shows significant reductions in deaths and serious injuries (DSIs) compared to the expected numbers if safe speeds had not been implemented. Public support for safe speeds is wide- ranging for example: January-March 2024, a Verian survey for NZTA Waka Kotahi showed that 7/10 New Zealanders support lowering speeds around schools to improve road safety. June 2024, a Verian survey for AT showed more people support speed reductions than oppose them across Auckland, and support had increased since 2023. After being informed about the decrease in deaths and serious injuries on roads where speed limits have been reduced, support for the speed limit reductions rose to 61% and opposition fell. There is strong support across the Albert-Eden Local Board Area for the Phase 2 consultations on safe speeds ranged from 70% in Mt Eden/ Sandringham/ Balmoral to 93% in Mt Albert, with 76% support in Point Chevalier near Pasadena Intermediate and 83% support in Waterview. 78% of school leaders in Auckland support permanent safe speed zones around schools. About City Vision: City Vision is an alliance of Labour, Greens and community independents working together for progressive change in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Since 1998, City Vision has championed policies that support a liveable, safe, connected, healthy, economically and environmentally sustainable city for all Aucklanders. City Vision stands local board candidates in the Waitematā, Puketāpapa and Albert-Eden Local Board areas.
Scoop
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Auckland Transport Ends Award-winning Road Safety Programme Ahead Of Road Safety Week
Key points: Auckland Transport's latest Statement of Intent (SOI) abandons safety as a key focus area. AT's Safe Speeds programme is on the chopping block under the new Speed Rule, affecting around 1,400 streets across the region. It was awarded a prestigious international award for the programme in December. The gaps in the SOI fly in the face of both Auckland Transport and Auckland Council's obligations and commitments, including the Auckland Plan, Vision Zero, Auckland's C40 city status, Auckland Transport's statutory requirements, and Auckland's Climate Plan, including the TERP. The draft SOI comes ahead of Road Safety Week (12-18 May 2025). The theme is 'Be a Road Safety Hero'. This week Bike Auckland's Chief Biking Officer Fiáin d'Leafy quizzed members of Auckland Council about the latest Auckland Transport Statement of Intent (SOI) at the Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee Meeting. Speaking on behalf of many concerned Aucklanders, d'Leafy asked how the Mayor and Councillors will meet their obligations, in particular around safety. 'You have a responsibility as a Council to make sure that Auckland Transport has a plan to achieve your commitments. It is not enough to water down next year's targets. There needs to be a plan to ensure you meet your long term targets and safety improvements.' Those obligations are significant, both locally and internationally. Auckland Transport has a statutory requirement to make our land transport system effective, efficient and safe. The Auckland Plan 2050 vision includes a safe transport network free from death and serious injury. Moreover, internationally, Auckland Transport stands to lose credibility if it reneges on its commitments as a Vision Zero organisation. First implemented in Sweden in the 1990s, Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, widely and effectively used across Europe. Vision Zero is not mentioned in Auckland Transport's latest draft SOI, suggesting that they have quietly abandoned this programme without informing the public. As recently as December 2024, Auckland Transport was awarded a prestigious Prince Michael International Road Safety Award, recognising the outstanding achievements of its Safe Speeds Programme. D'Leafy says it's vital for Auckland to hold onto these achievements. Speaking after the committee meeting they referenced the theme of this year's Road Safety Week, which is 'Be a Road Safety Hero': 'In recent years Auckland Transport has been a road safety hero, showing leadership in reducing our high road harm numbers. Is it now choosing to become a road safety villain?' This abandonment of safety forms the backdrop to the hot-potato issue of imminent speed limit increases across vast tracts of suburban Auckland. Other city councils have succeeded in maintaining the majority of their potentially affected 30 km/h zones, via a markedly different application of the Speed Rule. By compulsorily raising speed limits whether or not communities agree, the Speed Rule is estimated to cause an additional 55 deaths and serious injuries in Auckland over the next two years, a toll that road safety experts are calling unconscionable, and unnecessary. D'Leafy believes Auckland Council and Auckland Transport are failing to achieve the outcome that Aucklanders want and deserve: 'Auckland Council needs to be bolder in directing Auckland Transport to find a common-sense solution to the Speed Rule. Like other cities across Aotearoa New Zealand, Auckland must be allowed to retain its highly supported safe speed streets. Other cities have shown us that leadership is about doing what is right, not what is easy. Now it's time for our Auckland leaders to show their backbone.' In their presentation to the Mayor and Councillors, d'Leafy also elaborated how the SOI misses the mark on Auckland's climate obligations. Since 2015, Auckland has been a member of the C40 alliance: a 'global network of mayors of the world's leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis.' There are just under 100 cities in C40, and with this SOI, Auckland isn't on track to meet its membership obligations. These include having zero emissions from city centre streets by 2030. The Auckland Climate Plan sets a target of a 64% reduction in transport emissions by 2030. The Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway, unanimously adopted by Auckland Councillors in 2022, lays out the steps needed to meet this target. A key strategy is to 'supercharge walking and cycling'. As well as reducing emissions, walking and cycling contribute to Auckland's goals by reducing noise and waterway pollution, improving independence for those who can't or don't want to drive, including disabled people, and improved health outcomes for Aucklanders. 'This SOI has two massive holes: road safety and emissions reduction,' says d'Leafy. 'These are obviously key roles for Auckland Transport. To fix the SOI, the TERP and Vision Zero need to be back in the plan.' At the same time, d'Leafy urges Auckland Council and Auckland Transport to take advantage of cycling and micro-mobility as an affordable, fast way of achieving its aims. 'Cycling and micro-mobility projects can be fast and affordable to deliver, aligned with roading renewals to minimise disruption. They extend the value of the public transport network by providing first and last mile connectivity. 'There are many cycling infrastructure projects ready to go - but they require funding from Auckland Council. Walking and cycling is vastly underfunded at less than 1% of the transport budget. Even with this minimal investment, one in twenty trips into the city centre is by bike. Imagine how our cycling rates would leap up if Auckland Council invested the 20% of the transport budget that the UN's Environment Programme recommends.' Auckland needs urgent action on emissions reduction. Aucklanders need a safe transport system that offers people choice for how they get around. To ensure Auckland meets its commitments these must be reflected in high level documents like the SOI. Bike Auckland urges Auckland Council to be a Road Safety Hero and provide the leadership we so urgently need.
