They're in love with traffic jams

By RENEE KIRIONA


Judith Wang and Tony Wicker's love for the study of traffic congestion is so strong that they decided to trade in the motorway blues of Hong Kong for those of Auckland.

While tens of thousands of Aucklanders struggle to escape the madness on the roads, this couple, both qualified transport planners, just cannot seem to get enough of it.

About three months ago Dr Wang was offered a transport lecturing job at Auckland University, and she admits the region's reputation for having one of the worst transport systems in the world attracted her and Mr Wicker the most.

"The congestion level here is very bad. As I'm talking to you now I can see cars beginning to pile up and its only 1pm. Things like this are appealing to Tony and I."

From her office at the Faculty of Engineering, Dr Wang has a prime view of traffic congestion on Symonds St and on two motorways.

"It's fantastic. I can watch the congestion from here and almost do research without leaving my desk. In Hong Kong we lived on the 25th floor of an apartment block and had a view of the Shatin train station.

"We used to watch the pedestrians to learn about the commuting behaviour. Now I've swapped that for watching traffic jams," she said.

"In Hong Kong the congestion is quite bad but the public transport system is very good and unique. All the services are owned by private companies that make a lot of money."

While Hong Kong had a population of about 7 million squeezed into a comparatively small space, 90 per cent of them travelled to work on public transport. In Auckland it was the total opposite, she said.

She believed Auckland's geography would pose major issues for motorway network design and development.

"The shape of the land is very different, and because of this the corridor is extremely narrow. It's a structural thing that needs to be sorted out."

But before getting into logistics, her first plan was to get to know Aucklanders.

"I'd like to find out about the mentality of Aucklanders, their attitudes to public transport."

She said each morning the couple took a 30-minute walk to work from their home in Parnell and it was faster than catching the bus.

Dr Wang said advanced techniques, such as congestion pricing, could work in Auckland, and she hoped to research alternatives to the status quo.



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