The word for
Christchurch has to be 'evolutionary'. It will evolve, just as it evolved to become what we liked about it (and there were lots to not like too) and it will evolve into what our kids will make it. Athfieild and some of the others I have seen discuss this fail to understand that it is not his or his design committee's city. It is not Parker's or Council's. You can wish for what you want but if Bankers, Insurers and Investors are not lined up around 'risk' of both financial and physical (read: natural forces) nothing will come of these grandiose plans.
The place to start is not in the central CBD of the city at all, rather it is to rethink what it is that creates a city around its people.
I would begin by scrapping the tram and relegating it to beachside tourism or better still, turn it into a cable car for Lyttleton. It is a USELESS piece of non-essential (and expensive crap) that no longer is fit for purpose dominating a new cityscape...
Never before have we had the potential to redesign urban transport and create a public people (and stuff) mover across the fabric of the city like we have now. Put people on the move cheaply (and this will never be cheaper to implement than now) and commerce will follow the networks.
Image via WikipediaAs a mayoral aspirant I spoke of the merits of
guided bus ways evolving into light rail. As events unfolded with Sept and Feb I have seen and critical observed how bus ways would have been durable, efficient movers of people as well as priority corridors for ambulance, fire and police 'around and bypassing' the traffic. That alone gives the idea merit.... get over this talk of rebuilding what is broken...
when in all honesty, it wasn't working very well before. The Commercial developers ie: Ballantine et al vision for the city is a shopping experience..... in a world where people want to buy less and less.
Get over it, the old school is deadwood. The focus for the city 'ratepayers' should be on what benefits the ratepayer... and to do that we have to rapidly increase the rate base across the city... high value commercial property with high social values. I would progressively ring the city with high-speed guiderail bus routes feeding into the four avenues from hub stations at the existing mall developments, university airport, hospitals, etc I would open the idea of hubbing light freight by autonomous 'carriers' and as this network enhances the city hotels and service centers etc could grow peripheral too the CBD.
Integrated use of land available (under emergency provisions and townplanning etc) creates a tourism and service centre on hte south side of Hagley integrating the heavy rail networks... (yep, the saleyards! take em back... they used to service 52 regional railway stations...100 years ago).
The only way to Green this city is to tackle the hard stuff now... get the networks right and the added value to the city will come....
Be vigilant and carefully scrutinize the burgeoning political and civic epithets...they are covers for 'I used to be relevant'.
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Blair Anderson
ph nz (643) 389 4065 nz cell 027 265 7219
Image via WikipediaIf I was a city councilor I would be very very concerned that such decisions are being called for before all submitters on this subject were fully explored. If I was media, I would be digging very very deep into this and asking why is this 'study' being rushed and at these levels of expenditure if it is not to ensure the decision parameters suit some options over others. If we are to internalise the benefits of any form of light rail/steel wheel decision we had better begin from first principles and evolve a needs based rather than an aspirational 'build it and they will come' design. Such a needs based "City Tram" proposal was submitted. Indeed, a rates neutral approach should be one of the design, build and expand criteria. The Christchurch City Council's hasty decision smacks of grift and electoral self interest.
Image via Wikipedia
