Rick van Barneveld: Toll roading will relieve traffic woes

COMMENT

I often hear the comment that we're not moving fast enough to address transport problems. There is certainly a growing sense of urgency around transport issues.

In recent years, we've begun to feel the pinch of a growing economy and population, with traffic congestion increasing in Auckland, and regional roading projects competing more intensively for funding.

However, strong progress is being made on a framework that will deliver workable and sustainable solutions for our transport infrastructure.

Last year's Land Transport Management Act has fundamentally changed the way Transit NZ and other agencies approach transport issues.

It provides for a fresh approach by recognising that new roads alone won't deliver sustainable transport solutions, and by providing the opportunity for agencies across the transport sector to work together to develop big-picture solutions.

New Zealand clearly needs more reliable planning for its transport network. Growth strategies in key centres must be matched by affordable and sustainable transport systems, including public transport, walking and cycling and, importantly, roads.

My key challenges for Transit over the next five years include tackling pressing problems in cities by making the most of the more collaborative approach under the new legislation, as well as accelerating a number of road projects through tolling.

An important feature of the new act is that it allows for tolling as a way of advancing projects that might otherwise be delayed because of funding and other constraints.

Tolling can be used to fund new roads, provided there is community support for the project and alternative non-tolled routes are available.

Transit has identified a number of state highway projects that could be advanced by tolling, including the State Highway 1 Northern Motorway extension.

We are considering options for this as a toll road, and other road-controlling authorities are exploring the potential for toll roads to advance important projects in their regions.

As well as providing a means of advancing new roading projects, funding new roads through tolling provides the opportunity for enhanced environmental mitigation, the cost of which can be built into the construction of the new road.

For example, an enhancement planned for the Northern Motorway extension is the construction of an "eco-viaduct" that passes over native forest to protect an important wetland habitat below.

New Zealand has a unique opportunity to create a world-class tolling system that contributes to a more sustainable transport infrastructure. And there are lessons we can learn from overseas experience that will ensure we get it right first time.

One of the key lessons is that the mechanisms used to collect and administer toll systems need to be compatible with each other from the outset to ensure that road-users are not inconvenienced by different methods of payment and administration between different toll roads.

Transit will begin consultation next month on the national tolls administration project, which aims to develop a common system for all toll roads. The purpose of the project is to ensure a consistent and safe approach to the collection of tolls wherever a toll road is established.

An integrated national toll system would make electronically tolled roads collectively more efficient. The alternative is small-scale operations applicable only to each particular toll road project developed on an ad hoc basis when required. This approach would be inefficient and could lead to compatibility issues.

The system being proposed is electronic toll collection, a technology that enables free-flow traffic on all toll roads without the need for drivers to slow down or stop to pay a toll.

In an electronic toll system, vehicles carry a transponder that transmits a signal to toll gantries on the roadside when their vehicles pass a toll point, identifying the vehicle and automatically debiting the relevant charge from an established account. For those with concerns about privacy, pre-paid anonymous choices are available.

Transit's toll road projects will be in addition to its ongoing responsibility for annual management of about $700 million of public funds for land transport priorities identified in the national land transport programme.

The debate about transport is part of the wider issue of investment in infrastructure development and its relationship to economic and population growth. The approach required under the new act provides a fresh opportunity to look at the whole transport sector for the best outcome, and a chance to be more innovative in tackling transport issues.

* Rick van Barneveld is the new chief executive of Transit New Zealand, which is responsible for the country's state highways.