Auckland mayor Wayne Brown continues to criticise AT over raised crossings.
Video / NZHerald
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has emailed a blunt message to the chief executive of Auckland Transport (AT) offering his opinion on traffic-calming measures, saying “which fools in AT think raised crossings are worth any expenditure”.
The mayor elaborated on his position to the Herald later this week, saying he “never was mad about them [raised crossings] in the first place” before becoming mayor, but his irritation has grown.
“I do acknowledge that they [AT] are listening and they are reducing the spend on them, the numbers they’re doing,” the mayor said.
“The nearer it gets to naught, the happier I’ll be. They’re well aware of it. They are doing something about it and they realise it’s silly. But then again, the last Government was quite keen on that [street scape alterations] and a number of my councillors swallowed the Kool-Aid of safety.”
Brown said he spoke to Kimpton about the issue of traffic calming measures and is confident change in AT strategy is on the way.
“He [Kimpton] is listening and they are definitely reducing them and I’ve told him the nearer that reduction gets to zero the happier I’ll be.”
A raised crossing outside the Auckland Central Fire Station. Photo / Alex Burton
Kimpton wouldn’t comment to the Herald about the mayor’s email to him. But AT general manager of transport safety Teresa Burnett addressed the concerns raised by frontline firefighters and the Fenz organisation around the proliferation of traffic-calming measures.
In a significant development, Burnett said AT estimates there will be a roughly 30 per cent reduction in raised pedestrian crossings required compared to the current pipeline of projects.
“In all cases, alternative safety measures will be considered to achieve the same outcomes and will be monitored closely. Examples of this may include signalised crossings and other speed-calming measures,” Burnett said.
She also cited examples of AT aiding Fenz response times, such as creating a “green wave” of traffic lights throughout the city centre, since 2020, in which teams at AT operations centre give Fenz crews a continuous cycle of green lights where possible during callouts.
Fenz vehicles also now had access to the Northern Busway and other busways, Burnett said.
“Auckland Transport knows how vital the work Fenz does is and we fully support getting them around Auckland as quickly as possible. Through our partnership and engagement work with Fenz, AT has delivered significant time savings for Fenz crews.
“Our recent review of these types of projects found that a one-size-fits-all approach, reinforced by the previous NZTA funding model, tended to recommend a raised pedestrian crossing in every case. In fact, there are a range of solutions available to improve safety, and a raised crossing was not always the most cost-effective or practical approach.
Burnett said more than half the deaths and serious injuries on Auckland roads were of people outside a vehicle.
“That means there is sound rationale for better protecting people who are walking and cycling,” she said.
Auckland Transport chief executive officer Dean Kimpton. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Auckland councillor John Watson, who was also sent the email from the mayor, agreed with firefighters that traffic-calming measures were becoming an excessive impediment for emergency vehicles, and a hassle for the general public.
“Certainly the feedback I’ve been getting from people in town centres that have had a proliferation of them [speed humps] is that they think they’ve been way overdone and that to motorists it can be a real irritation and you just wonder how many of them you require to slow people down,” Watson said.
“If you go round Herne Bay it seems like every 40 to 50 metres, no matter what road you go down, has got speed bumps on them.”
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown leaves the West Harbour Fire Station after the Auckland floods in January. The mayor shares the sympathies of firefighters concerned that traffic-calming measures slow emergency response times. Photo / Dean Purcell
Watson said the council needed to “question the necessity of them [traffic-calming measures] for the number, far less the expense”.
“Where you have emergency vehicles that need to travel at pace and if they’re going, particularly into the built-up areas around town centres then a proliferation of speed tables or speed humps is a real constraint that’s not gonna go away,” he said.
Earlier in the week, the Herald reported on the concerns of frontline firefighters who said traffic-calming measures installed by AT were delaying response times for emergency vehicles, which “can literally mean the difference between life and death”.
John Watson. Photo / Nick Reed
A 66-page report via the Official Information Act (OIA) obtained by the Herald looked into the impact of traffic-calming measures on emergency response times. It found Fenz will likely need to alter its equipment and “work out” how to adapt to changing Kiwi roads.
Auckland Transport concedes it has had discussions with Fenz leadership over the issue and has “modified design of raised speed tables/safety platforms, especially for those installed on primary Fenz response routes”.
The Fenz 2023 annual report highlights traffic-calming measures and urban sprawl among the “factors influencing performance” in meeting the eight-minute target for crews arriving at structure fires.
The 2023 annual report shows Fenz failed to meet that target 80 per cent of the time.
Tom Dillane is an Auckland-based journalist covering local government and crime as well as sports investigations. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is deputy head of news.
