There are several projects out for consultation at the moment that could have a resonable impact on transport in various parts of Canterbury. This post is a very quick round-up of the ones that stood out to me.
Firstly, Christchurch City Council is consulting on the Linwood Public Transport Hub. Linwood is the third busiest bus hub in the city with 480 buses per day stopping and 1,400 passengers per day boarding at the Eastgate bus stops. I think it’s great they are making this stop easier and more pleasant. I switched buses here on my daily commute for about a year, often with my pre-schooler, and it was certainly a pretty hostile environment then. Attempting to dodge between 4 lanes of speeding cars to get across Buckleys Road to catch my approaching bus with a toddler in a pram is not a safe experience – putting in a signalised crossing seems way overdue.
Secondly, they are currently in the midst of a hearing on an application from Foodstuffs to build a new Pac’n’Save supermarket in Papanui. This isn’t a transport project but is interesting as concerns around the transportation impacts is a key part of it.
Ecan are currently consulting on several park and ride facilities throughout Waimakariri.
Direct commuter buses from Rangiora and Kaiapoi to central Christchurch are being considered for when the Northern Motorway extension opens mid-2020.
The new carpool lanes, at the Tram Road on-ramp and on the Christchurch Northern Corridor, will allow direct buses to skip congestion, particularly across the Waimakariri Bridge.
They are seeking feedback on three areas:
- The express bus services;
- Locations for park and ride facilities; and
- Funding arrangements.
Lastly, Ecan are also consulting on a trial for on-demand public transport in Timaru. Via are providing the technology and Ritchies are providing the vehicles and drivers. Via are a US firm that now operates in a fair few cities across the globe.
Via are the same company that powered the failed rideshare scheme branded as “Savy” in Queenstown, and are also running a rideshare trial in Auckland, that has copped a bit of flak for generally delivering lower benefits and higher costs than fixed-route public transport. Having said that, I’m certainly no expert with on-demand public transport so may have to do a trip down to Timaru to check it out – would love to hear from anyone down there as to what they think of it.
As always, if you want to make your voice heard then get in and spend a minute submitting.
TALKING TRANSPORT 