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John MacDonald: Transport Minister's huffing and puffing won't fix roads

Author
John MacDonald,
Publish Date
Mon, 6 Mar 2023, 1:08PM
Michael Wood. Photo / Dean Purcell
Michael Wood. Photo / Dean Purcell

John MacDonald: Transport Minister's huffing and puffing won't fix roads

Author
John MacDonald,
Publish Date
Mon, 6 Mar 2023, 1:08PM

I could be imagining this, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that long ago that Transport Minister Michael Wood was thumping the desk in Wellington demanding answers over the state of our roads.

He was making all the right noises. Then we had another summer when a lot of us were travelling all over the place and seeing with our own eyes how bad things are out there.

But at least we thought the message might have finally got through and perhaps 2023 might have been our year. The year that the powers-that-be would finally wake up and acknowledge that we have let our roads get into a complete state of disrepair and something has to be done about it.

I think, though, we can pretty much say those hopes have been dashed with the news that the Government is proposing to take $2 billion away from its road maintenance fund to spend instead on building new bus lanes and cycleways.

This is part of a new transport strategy the Government is putting together, which it will put out for public consultation in a few months.

The number one objective of this new strategy is to base all transport decisions on climate change, and how we can have a transport system that supports the Government’s commitment to reduce emissions.

So what that means, is any decision about transport funding - anything at all - would be looked at through what’s described as “the climate change lens”.

Example: that road between Christchurch and Ashburton. It’s been obvious for years that something needs to be done about it because who would think it was part of the main highway through New Zealand?

Mmmmm. Good point. Maybe we should replace it with a multi-lane highway. That would make sense because of all the vehicles that use it and because it’s a key piece of infrastructure in the South Island.

Yes, but hold on a minute. If we build them a nice new road in Canterbury, that’s not going to get them out of cars and onto public transport is it?

Good point. We won’t do that.

See what I mean? That’s the sort of thing Michael Wood is talking about. The climate change lens.

And part of looking at things through the climate change lens, is this idea to take $2 billion out of the road maintenance fund and spend the money instead on new bus lanes and cycleways.

When you’re looking through the old climate change lens, bus lanes and cycleways get the big tick because (theoretically, anyway) the more bus lanes and cycleways we have, the less likely people are to use cars. That’s the theory.

The reality, though, is quite different.

And the reality in the here and now, is that we are driving on broken roads that the Government is proposing to spend less on fixing. $2 billion less.

Remembering too that it’s just motorists who are impacted by all the potholes and subsidence that is so common on our roads these days.

All the cyclists who look absolutely beautiful through the climate change lens, they’ll be the losers too if the Government goes ahead with this proposal. Because the Government’s road repair money doesn’t just go on state highways out in the wops. The Government puts money into roads in cities and towns too.

But irrespective of which roads the money is spent on fixing, what about electric vehicles? The last time I checked, EVs use roads just as much as the petrol and diesel guzzlers. So how does spending less on road maintenance stack up there? It doesn’t.

And how does spending less on road maintenance stack up with the Government’s other big idea - the “Road to Zero” strategy? Yes, we all know that driver behaviour is a big part of that, but so too is the quality of our roads.

Which is not just about fixing potholes. It’s also about doing sensible things like putting median barriers on as many roads as possible. I’m a big fan of that.

But under this proposal from the Government, that won’t be a priority. Because median barriers won’t put people off using their cars and jumping on a bus or a bike, will they? So no money for that either, sorry.

Other ways the Government is looking to discourage us from using motor vehicles is increasing fuel taxes and increasing road user charges. But, for me, it’s this idea of taking $2 billion away from road maintenance and building more bus lanes and cycleways that tells me that all the huffing and puffing from the Transport Minister a few months ago about the state of our roads, was just that - huffing and puffing.

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