Surprise! Auckland really is the city of snails

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Aucklanders creeping their way to work by car can now hear the news officially - they face a slower grind through competing traffic than commuters elsewhere.

Figures issued yesterday by Transit NZ show Wellington motorists can expect to travel about 10km/h faster than their Auckland cousins through morning traffic peaks.

Those in Tauranga, where civic leaders complain about congestion around the harbour bridge, are still mostly whizzing to work by Auckland standards - at almost 60km/h.

The average speed logged by 10 Transit survey vehicles over 300km of Auckland motorways and arterial roads during five week-day mornings in March was just 36km/h, compared with 47km/h in Wellington and 59km/h in Tauranga.

One Herald reporter took 31 minutes to drive 9.3km to work in central Auckland yesterday morning from Mt Roskill, at an average speed of 18km/h, although another fared better in a 15.9km cross-town trip to Mt Wellington in 30 minutes - average speed, 32km/h.

Christchurch motorists were not much better off in March, with a morning peak average of 39km/h.

The Transit findings follow the publication on Wednesday of a report for the Automobile Association which showed that vehicles on Auckland roads travelled slower than those in most Australian cities.

Australian-based Allen Consulting used the comparison to support a claim that investment in several new roading packages could provide economic returns of $2.60c to $6.50c for every dollar invested, with the greatest benefit likely to be in Tauranga.

The report was challenged in Parliament yesterday by Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons for failing to measure social and environmental benefits of public transport and "travel demand management" such as road charges to battle congestion.

But New Zealand First MP Peter Brown pointed to the environmental problems caused by exhaust emissions from slow or idling vehicles.

Aucklanders drove home slightly faster in the March survey, which found an average speed of 40km/h.

This compared with an average of 58km/h between the peak periods.

Transit strategic policy manager Mike Curran said this reflected the fact that about 70 per cent of traffic on Auckland's strategic roading network travelled on motorways, where vehicles flowed quite freely between peaks.

But Mr Curran said the variability in Auckland meant bigger headaches for motorists trying to predict travel times.

AA spokesman Stephen Selwood said the findings highlighted yet again the need to complete the motorway system in Auckland, where 250 extra vehicles were registered each week.

He said the Auckland Regional Council estimated that only 242 cars had been removed from the roads by extra rail patronage since the Britomart centre opened in July last year.

Rush-hour traffic speeds in main centres:

Auckland 36km/h

Christchurch 39km/h

Wellington 47km/h

Tauranga 59km/h