Election campaign

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I'm all for public transport too but I think best practice is to improve what we've got first before committing to the underground link to Mt Eden or Kingsland, which will be inordinately expensive. Money, right now, that would be better spent elsewhere.

First I'd like to see a second harbour crossing because we are horribly exposed to any lack of redundancy if harbour bridge fails. That ideally would have light rail and bikes/ pedestrians catered to as well. Perhaps a loop via airport to southern line at Manukau from Onehunga. Double tracked of course. A line out to New Lynn from Onhunga too, connecting to that loop.

Then we can consider the link through city to Mt Eden, which is ultimately important, I agree, but very expensive by comparison on a cost benefit scale compared to those others I have mentioned.

Like it or not road connections will remain the most important means of public conveyance in this city. Our geography dictates it as much as anything. We are not those other cities mentioned in that forum posted above.

So you want to save money on the expensive $2.4b CRL and spend it on....a $5b harbour crossing? Even though traffic volume across the bridge is decreasing?

And you want to extend rail in other places.....without realising that NONE of those rail projects can happen without the CRL happening first, because the system just doesn't have the capacity?

We ARE improving the existing rail network first. Over a billion has been spent already double tracking and electrifying etc. The CRL is the next logical step because it opens up capacity ACROSS THE WHOLE NETWORK, it's not just a little wee loop to let people nip from Britomart to Mt Eden easily. The rail network that currently, is going to run out of capacity in the next year before the electric trains arrive. Even once they arrive, the service frequency can't be increased, because there's simply nowhere for the trains to go.

You are completely wrong.

O rly?

umm maybe that's 'cos they're using buses that y'know have ta use the bridge or 'a harbour crossing' or maybe they're working more from home which kinda proves one of my points



east west or airport via onehunga, west east or airport and south via same route do NOT require CRL at all and central to airport via newmarket as at present doesn't either or just about every other start point and capacity does not rely on CRL at all (but it would be nice I agree )



Capacity would be extended far more if it were opened up to the north shore via light rail as planned for