Lets Get Wellly Moving Tender says Light Rail will make our traffic worse with no service improvement
I have attached a copy of the Lets Get Welly Moving Tender released on 13 November.
In brief, this document states:
- WCC has chosen light rail along the water front.
- The result of MRT competing for road space will be to push traffic to less suitable routes such as around the bays.
- It only aims to be better than driving a car (not better than our current bus service)
- The tender says nothing about the impact of blockages resulting from vehicle crashes or building incidents such as the Kilbirnie Crescent Dairy fire
- There is nothing the safety risk to pedestrians and cyclists along the route
Here are page references and excerpts for the above statements:
MRT competing for road space:
a. “traffic diversion is expected to less suitable routes such as around the bays or through Newtown. This issue is expected to become more critical as other modes compete for road space on these routes (i.e. mass transit through Newtown)” (pg 145)
b. The consultant “needs to understand the impacts of displaced traffic from the MRT route, and work with the City Streets team to understand mitigation options that could be considered” and “needs to assess the impact on the wider network of traffic displaced from the MRT route, and work closely with the Analytics Unit and the City Streets team to understand what options could be considered to help manage and mitigate the impacts of displaced traffic” (pg 104)
“Beyond the CBD/central city, engineering solutions are likely to be more expensive and potentially lower patronage potential (due to more dispersed development patterns south and east of Newtown) could be challenging.” (pg 96)
Page 96 states that MRT in Wellington should have the following characteristic:
“fast and reliable and a genuinely attractive alternative to the car . It should explicitly have said:
a. fast and reliable and a genuinely attractive alternative to the current bus network; or
b. “doesn’t impact on the current bus system/timetables encouraging people to use cars”.
This is important because MRT should result in a better service for passengers than the current bus service for people travelling on the MRT route and should not impact other bus users e.g. if the bus service is reduced.
It is a major concern that the list of factors that need to be taken into consideration for the business case (pg 102) omits to explicitly include
a. A safety assessment for impact on pedestrians and cyclists along the route. There is a significant risk of deaths and injuries as evidenced with overseas LRT given the proposed route passes through the National War Memorial Park and Newtown shops.
b. The impact of blockages resulting from vehicle crashes or building incidents such as the Kilbirnie Crescent Dairy fire
It appears someone in the WCC has signed Wellington up to LRT and a route via the waterfront. See excerpts below (pg 94) .
a. "WCC proposes to adopt the baseline route and Light Rail Transit (LRT) as the recommended route and mode as the basis of engagement given the conclusions of the PBC"
b. The LGWM MRT project does not have a preferred position on the modal technology to be used, aside from being a street-running mass transit mode (e.g. LRT, trackless tram or bus-based systems).
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
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Update to Neighbourly members on data breach 06/01/2025 8am
Yesterday in the High Court at Auckland, Neighbourly was successful in being granted an injunction against any unauthorised use of the data taken in a recent breach.
As we alerted you on January 1 and confirmed on January 3, our systems were accessed illegally and members’ information, including names, email addresses, GPS coordinates from the address you provided to us, forum posts and direct member communications were among the data that was accessed.
We acted immediately upon hearing of a potential breach: we temporarily disabled the site, notified members and authorities and worked with our external security consultants to understand if and how it had occurred. We then confirmed the breach with members, safely restored the site to service and began the process of seeking the injunction. Yesterday’s decision by Justice Johnstone prohibits the use of the data by any unauthorised person, and requires them to permanently delete it, or any information obtained from it.
This does not mean that vigilance against scammers is not still required: there is a large industry globally that seeks to use stolen information for identity fraud or to dupe people into providing details of their financial affairs for theft. Again, to keep yourself safe from scammers it is critical that you:
- Don’t click links in emails. Instead, type the web address directly into your browser. This helps ensure you’re visiting a real site, not a fake one
- Enable two-factor authentication where available as this adds an extra layer of security to your data
- Stay alert for phishing emails. Be cautious of unexpected emails asking for personal information, especially ones that create a sense of urgency.
Again, we want to apologise to you for this illegal access to the Neighbourly database and to assure you that we have carefully worked through how this occurred. We have safely secured the site and its services for use and ensured we have robust processes in place so this cannot happen again.
We are continuing to work with the relevant authorities, including the National Cyber Security Centre, on any further steps we need to take.
If you have any further questions please contact us via our customer support team at helpdesk@neighbourly.co.nz.
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