All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • All Blacks
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

<EM>Phil Chase:</EM> $1.2 billion new road the wrong way to go

1 Jan, 2006 08:47 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Opinion by

The week before Christmas saw Auckland City's Mayor and councillors give approval in principle to construction of the Avondale extension of State Highway 20, after pressure from Transit New Zealand.

With a price tag of $1.2 billion and the potential loss of 300 homes, this motorway will be Auckland's largest single roading project since the building of the harbour bridge. But is it a sensible one?

How valid are the arguments in favour of SH20 motorway - planned from Mt Roskill, through Owairaka, Avondale and Waterview to the Northwestern Motorway at Pt Chevalier?

One key Transit NZ justification for SH20 is that Auckland needs an alternative route to SH1 to relieve congestion on the central motorway network and take pressure off Spaghetti Junction.

Once SH20 is built, north- and southbound vehicles will be able to bypass the city centre and traffic volumes will be eased.

This appears to be logical, but in reality is not. New roading encourages new vehicle journeys. Induced traffic demand and the growth in new vehicle numbers will quickly defeat any advantages gained.

Vehicles switching to a completed SH20 would merely join commuters opting off trains and buses because of a perceived new faster vehicle route. Add in Auckland's predicted vehicle growth - around 100 a day - and an increase in optional trips, and the new arterial route will inevitably become as congested as existing motorways. SH1, perceived as a result of SH20 to be less jammed , will attract new traffic as commuters change route, travel times or travel mode, and quickly return to its former snail's pace in peak hours.

Case studies of new arterial roading projects being defeated by growth in traffic volumes can be found around the globe. In the early 1990s, Washington DC's Interstate 270 was expanded from six to 12 lanes at a cost of US$200 million ($293 million). Yet within eight years the highway was again reduced to a "slow moving carpark", as congested as it had been a decade earlier.

By OECD standards Auckland already has one of the most extensive motorway networks in the world, measured by population size and kilometres of lanes.

We are far ahead of Australian cities in the motorway count and yet our congestion is as bad, if not worse. Brisbane and Perth are similarly sprawling suburban cities, but have fewer motorways. Both cities are enticing increasing numbers of commuters off roads by investing in modern electric trains, co-ordinated with buses, integrated ticketing and realistic destination choices. By comparison Aucklanders lack modern, integrated public transport alternatives.

Another key proposition for SH20 is that it will relieve local traffic congestion and help provide safer streets. Looking at Auckland's motorway expansion over the past few decades there is good evidence that such benefits are barely discernable and temporary at best.

The Northwestern Motorway was built to relieve a congested Great North Rd. Yet today SH16 and Great North Rd are equally congested.

Even with the constant widening of SH16, Great North Rd carries 60,000 vehicles a day along the Waterview straight, making it a hazardous exercise for locals seeking to cross the carriageway or turn right from side roads. What little benefit was gained from the construction of SH16 has been quickly lost.

Would the city's freight and business traffic benefit from SH20? Another route is appealing but if it is congested too, it's hardly a solution. Interestingly London, with its ever increasing population and business traffic, hasn't built a new urban motorway in 25 years.

The answer to goods and service traffic woes lies in reducing vehicle numbers using the roading network. Every commuter who boards public transport leaves the roadway free for freight vehicles. Sweden's capital, Stockholm, has constructed public and alternative transport systems which carry a phenomenal 70 per cent of commuters, freeing up the roading network for business vehicles.

Auckland's Third World public transport attracts less than 8 per cent of commuters out of their cars. The best thing business leaders could do would be to advocate for SH20's billion-plus dollars to be invested in a modern, integrated public transport system.

A completed SH20 is seen as providing an alternative route across the region in case a terrorist attack or an earthquake severs SH1. This proposal seems to discount using the local roading networks should such a disaster strike, but exactly why is not clear.

Evidence suggests that motorways are not effective in dealing with such emergencies. When Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina approached New Orleans last year, thousands sought to escape inland via the Interstate. This quickly jammed, trapping occupants in their near-stationary vehicles for up to eight hours. In emergencies motorways quickly seize up with high vehicle volumes and few entry and exit points, making their use limited.

Worryingly, none of the arguments for SH20 seriously takes account of the likely community, health, environmental and amenity costs of constructing such a project. The proposed route runs through hundreds of city homes, severing existing neighbourhoods and increasing noise and carbon monoxide levels.

The motorway seriously threatens Oakley Stream, the city's longest urban stream and walkway. Regardless of whether SH20 is built on the surface or in a cut-and-cover fashion, up to 60ha of irreplaceable recreation and amenity space will be degraded or destroyed.

Such a loss would be the largest in Auckland City's history and fall hardest on the wards with the lowest ratio of parks to people - Mt Eden, Mt Albert and Avondale. The consequential social and health costs to the city will be determined only in the years to come.

In terms of community liveability, decongesting Auckland's roads and wise use of our public transport dollar, SH20 is the wrong way to go.

* Phil Chase, a former transport planner, is a member of Auckland City's Eden-Albert Community Board.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Load of crap': Chris Bishop's rant during Stan Walker performance

30 May 09:57 AM
New Zealand

'Virtually nothing': Father criticises NZ govt support after son's death

30 May 08:58 AM
New Zealand

Drunk driver allegedly five times over limit arrested in Oamaru

30 May 08:01 AM

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Recommended for you
'Load of crap': Chris Bishop's rant during Stan Walker performance
New Zealand

'Load of crap': Chris Bishop's rant during Stan Walker performance

30 May 09:57 AM
Brumbies v Crusaders: Battle for second seed
Super Rugby

Brumbies v Crusaders: Battle for second seed

30 May 09:30 AM
Chiefs secure top seed with win over Highlanders
Super Rugby

Chiefs secure top seed with win over Highlanders

30 May 09:18 AM
Erin Patterson trial: Mother’s Day text message aired in court
World

Erin Patterson trial: Mother’s Day text message aired in court

30 May 09:06 AM
'Virtually nothing': Father criticises NZ govt support after son's death
New Zealand

'Virtually nothing': Father criticises NZ govt support after son's death

30 May 08:58 AM

Latest from New Zealand

'Load of crap': Chris Bishop's rant during Stan Walker performance

'Load of crap': Chris Bishop's rant during Stan Walker performance

30 May 09:57 AM

The cabinet minister was seen with a bottle and was soon confronted by Don McGlashan.

'Virtually nothing': Father criticises NZ govt support after son's death

'Virtually nothing': Father criticises NZ govt support after son's death

30 May 08:58 AM
Drunk driver allegedly five times over limit arrested in Oamaru

Drunk driver allegedly five times over limit arrested in Oamaru

30 May 08:01 AM
Early prison release for man with 168 convictions and 'high risk' of violence

Early prison release for man with 168 convictions and 'high risk' of violence

30 May 08:00 AM
Explore the hidden gems of NSW
sponsored

Explore the hidden gems of NSW

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
All Access. All in one subscription. From $2 per week
Subscribe now

All Access Weekly

From $2 per week
Pay just
$15.75
$2
per week ongoing
Subscribe now
BEST VALUE

All Access Annual

Pay just
$449
$49
per year ongoing
Subscribe now
Learn more
30
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search