By Claire Edmondson, Chief Executive, Infrastructure New Zealand
New Zealand is entering a new era – the largest transport construction projects and the biggest investment in transport infrastructure ever seen in this country ARE currently underway. while That is exciting for many, it is worrying for some, as there is no avoiding the fact that New Zealand has a track record of doing projects ‘on the cheap’ and delivering them with an economic hit to the people affected by construction.
Communities should not have to bear the disruption of transport projects run in ways that severely impact on town centres, businesses and commuters. The City Rail Link (CRL) is a prime example of that kind of disruption.
The CRL scope included the requirement to ‘cause the least practicable disruption to the public and businesses during construction’; however, business owners, particularly in Albert Street, have publicly shared their experiences of trying to stay afloat in an environment that some have compared to a ‘war zone’, with increased crime and delinquency. The area has also been described as ‘a dark, dismal, dusty and graffiti-disfigured construction zone, threaded by narrow alleyways and hoardings’. Despite a government relief fund, a number of businesses have folded, with owners reporting that banks will no longer extend overdrafts as Albert Street is currently considered ‘unsustainable’.
The Office of the Auditor-General’s (OAG’s) recent report into CRL found governance was generally effective, but also made a number of recommendations. These included the need for sustained reporting in improvements to sponsors to promote accountability, improve governance and to gain the confidence of stakeholders.
Looking briefly at some of the work that lies ahead in terms of transport infrastructure, construction has recently got underway on the first part of the Takitimu North Link, Tauranga to Ōmokoroa; meanwhile, planning approval has been granted and the construction contract awarded for the Penlink project, which will create an alternative access route to the Whangaparāoa Peninsula to connect to State Highway 1.
Fast-tracked planning permission has been granted for two of three planned stations for KiwiRail’s southern Auckland train stations project, and engagement has closed on preliminary designs for the Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway.
The government has announced its preferred option for Let’s Get Wellington Moving; and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s request for tender for the provision of operations and maintenance advisory services for Auckland Light Rail closed at the end of July.
These are transformational infrastructure programs that will deliver benefits for New Zealand’s communities and its economy for many generations to come, but it is imperative that key learnings are taken from previous construction projects – in New Zealand and further afield – to prevent repeats of such levels of disruption, and ease the burden of disruption to communities and businesses along the way. Hardship and extreme disruption should not be seen as a ‘necessary evil’ to achieve transformation. We need projects to succeed while they are being built, just as much as when they are completed and operational.
To cite one example, residents in the Auckland suburb of Māngere already face significant adversity – cut off from good public transport options, and with difficult commutes to and from the city centre. It will be critical to ensure they are not further adversely impacted by light rail construction.
Recent and existing city centre projects have been poorly coordinated with one another. We can and must do better moving forward. Alongside the OAG recommendations, New Zealand should also be looking to overseas best practice and learning from mistakes in terms of supporting and managing affected communities through major construction programs.
Sydney’s CBD and South East Light Rail was completed in 2021, significantly over time and budget. The state government is now facing a class action lawsuit by more than 60 businesses for mismanagement of its construction.
Auckland city centre business association Heart of the City has called on both the government and Auckland Council to heed the Sydney experience, and focus strongly on cost and management for the light rail project, including how business disruption will be managed and funded. Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck points out that business owners continue to suffer major distress due to the CRL construction, and that the government and council ‘cannot say, hand on heart, that they have done everything possible to settle those issues before announcing another major project’.
New Zealand can learn from the Sydney project’s challenges and can also learn from its successes. For instance, Transport for NSW established its Travel Choices programs to support individuals, businesses, and organisations to prepare for and adapt to the changes to Sydney’s transport network, including the light rail construction.
In this example, travel demand management approaches, which had been used on the Gold Coast during the 2018 Commonwealth Games, were applied for the first time to a large Australian infrastructure project.
Based on four principles, ‘re-route, re-time, re-mode and reduce’, the project began two years ahead of light rail construction getting underway.
Around 100,000 commuters per day use Sydney’s CBD, and modelling had shown that driving and road capacity was going to be altered by 60–70 per cent. Along with commuters, it was critical to ensure capacity for essential use, such as freight movements.
Travel Choices used transport data modelling to encourage people to start thinking early about the different ways they could address the four principles. This included taking different routes, travelling at different times, using different modes of transport or by working from home – and this was pre-pandemic, so working from home was not the familiar option it is today.
The Travel Choices team engaged closely with employers to help them to prepare their people for travelling and working in different ways. That ranged from providing tool kits to support work-from-home policies, to templates for travel and education, and information to support people to adapt. The goal was to achieve a 10 per cent shift in modes of travel before construction began, a milestone that was exceeded, with an 11 per cent shift over two years.
A coordination office was established in the CBD and, ahead of construction starting, Marg Prendergast was appointed to the newly created role of Coordinator General of CBD Transport, charged with bringing together all the agencies working together to keep Sydney moving. Prendergast’s extensive experience included a lead role in managing the city’s roads for the 2000 Olympic Roads and Transport Authority, and several years as head of the NSW Centre for Road Safety.
To quote Prendergast on her appointment, ‘We know there will be disruption, but what my team and I will be working hard to ensure is that disruption doesn’t become chaos.’
New Zealand is in a very good position to learn from such examples. According to a McKinsey report, there are currently light rail projects worth more than US$1.4 trillion at various planning and execution phases globally. The Global Light Rail Projects Report and Database 2020–2035 is tracking 280 new and upcoming light rail projects in 55 countries.
Those learnings need to begin now, to develop approaches that closely consider and work with the communities in which future similar projects will be constructed, and for whom they’re ultimately designed to benefit. This is how we can ensure that disruption does not become chaos, and communities do not once again bear the strain of transport projects run in ways that severely impact on town centres, businesses and commuters.