The Automobile Association’s Canterbury/West Coast District Council has several concerns over the transport options in the proposed Christchurch City Centre Draft Plan.

Overall, the AA supports the commitment of the plan to create “a vital city where people can move freely and safely by whatever mode of transfer they wish to use, including the motor car” and we want to see a comprehensive transport system developed that caters for public transport users, cyclists, pedestrians and cars.

However, the system must reflect the actual needs of its people now and into the future and we are concerned that the transportation options in the plan need more consideration and fact-based analysis.

Forecasts estimate 80% of trips to the central city will be made using a car yet there are few statements in the plan for catering for these. In contrast there is repetitive emphasis on improving provision for the minor transport modes such as buses and bicycles.

The simple truth now and for the foreseeable future is that most people choose to use cars to travel because of the incredible mobility, independence and freedom they offer and the plan needs to reflect this and create a road network that allows automobiles to move around as easily, quickly and safely as possible.

We surveyed over 4,700 of our Canterbury members to discover their thoughts and have made a submission on the plan that represents their views along with the interests of all motorists.

Some of the major points in our submission are:

The one-way streets should be retained

One of our major areas of concern is the one-way street network. Our survey found 57% of members want the one way streets retained with only 17% opposed to them.

Contrary to the views in the draft plan, the AA considers one-way streets are the best way to provide vehicle circulation around the edge of the city centre and meet the objective ‘to make it easy to get to and to get around the CBD’.

The one-way streets are a proven success and should be kept in the new city plan. They have fewer accidents than two-way streets, help the environment and free up the inner city ‘ways’ and ‘streets’ from unnecessary traffic. Eighty percent of their traffic is going to the city centre and this enables the business district’s retail and more intimate pedestrian related streets to better serve their central city community functions.

There must be adequate car-parking

The lack of information about future car-parking is a major defect of the draft plan.

Now is the time to be selecting parking sites outside the core and in the fringe, and establishing the City Council’s parking policies and plans for the whole central city.

There may be only 6000 kerbside car-parks in future so, with a total parking demand of up to 30,000 spaces, there would need to be about 24,000 off-street car-parks These numbers demonstrate the scale of off-street parking required and why it is vital that the draft plan has a detailed focus on this area to ensure we have a thriving central city that people can easily visit to work, shop or be entertained.

Public transport

The AA firmly supports the city having the best public transport system it can afford, and see enormous opportunity for innovative bus and taxi services to form the heart of this.

Modern environmentally-friendly electric buses will be the most flexible and affordable option in the suburbs while, with technology becoming ever more portable, taxi and mini-bus direct dial services show promise and could greatly improve public transport usage.

However, it must be remembered that the majority of people’s trips to the city centre will continue to be by car and public transport will likely still remain about 20 percent of the total city centre access journeys*.

As for the central city bus exchange and street exchanges, the AA believes that a major central exchange is preferable ahead of the variety of street stations shown in the draft plan.

One much neglected public transport option is the potential for the linking of the city with Canterbury towns by a fast diesel multiple unit (DMU) rail service along the existing tracks to Timaru, Ashburton, Rangiora and Amberley. The DMU rolling stock could be leased, rather than purchased, in order to establish the viability of a long-term service commitment.

The proposed light rail route to the university offers no real benefits at an unknown cost. There are other much more appropriate and economically viable options that must be explored instead. The AA also believes we are unlikely to see an economically viable fixed rail suburban public transport solution or a supporting light rail system developed in Christchurch in the next 30 years.

Opportunity to create something special

AA members are open to the idea of reduced speed limits in the central city and we support the idea of a picturesque, pedestrian-friendly central city with tree-lined boulevards and open spaces. Dedicated cycle lanes must also be part of this to improve safety by separating cyclists and automobiles.

We have the chance to create a new central city environment that everyone can enjoy but for it to thrive both economically and socially we must get the transport plans right and accommodate the future needs of all road users.

For more information contact:

Warren Masters
AA Canterbury/West Coast District Council chairman
New Zealand Automobile Association
T. 03 323 8438
M. 027 4320 975

The New Zealand Automobile Association is an incorporated society with over one million members. It represents the interests of road users who collectively pay over $2 billion in taxes each year through fuels excise, road user charges and GST.