Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
in and integrated with commercial areas, and maximum 3-5-minute waiting times for connecting
services (Auckland Regional Council, 2010). Clearly a much more extensive public transport
network needs to be established that provides the fine grain accessible network of services,
operating on exclusive rights of way, so that it is attractive and affordable to all users.
Active travel modes (walking and cycling) are very under-utilised in Auckland, with cycling
accounting for just 1 per cent of journey to work trips (2.3 per cent nationally) and walking
4.6 per cent (6.5 per cent nationally) (Tin Tin et al., 2009); over recent years their use has
been on the decline. Recent national policy has tried to reverse these trends, with a strategy
to encourage walking and cycling (Ministry of Transport, 2005), including a programme of
long-distance cycle routes, but generally provision for cycling is absent. There is much potential
for greater use of walking in cycling in Auckland, with most trips below 7 km in length. The
Auckland Regional Land Transport Strategy seeks to complete the planned 938 km regional
cycle network by 2026 and to improve active mode share from 16 per cent of all trip legs to
35 per cent (Auckland Regional Council, 2010).
Experience elsewhere, such as in the Netherlands or Denmark, offers much needed lessons
for Auckland. Segregated cycle ways are used along arterials, and high-standard complete
networks are very common in urban areas (Pucher and Buehler, 2008). Some towns experience
very high levels of trips by cycle, around 30-40 per cent of all trips made in Gröningen are
by cycle (Pharoah, 1992; Pharoah and Apel, 1995). Cycle hire schemes, of course, have also
become popular in Europe, with popular schemes in Lyon (Vélo'v), Paris (Vélib') and London.
Some very large cycle hire schemes have been recently developed in China. Much more
extensive cycling and walking facilities, including a fine network of segregated and on-road
facilities, an extensive cycle hire scheme, parking facilities, and supporting ancillary measures
can all be developed. Though there is little current cycling culture (at the mainstream level)
in Auckland, and although the topography of the city is very hilly, the sporting and 'outdoor'
nature of the population is quite similar to Vancouver or the Netherlands, Sweden or Denmark.
Hence cycling can become an important mode for the city. Policy-makers simply need to
become much more adventurous in their cycling and public realm strategy development and
infrastructure investments, intially targeting 10 per cent of trips by cycle and five per cent
walk, with consequent short trip reductions by car.
The sustainable mobility scenario results ( Table 7.4 and Figure 7.24 ) show that CO2
emissions might be reduced by around 70 per cent relative to the BAU in 2041, or 0.6 tCO2
per capita relative to 3.8 tCO2 per capita under BAU, if this type of future could be delivered.
Sustainable transport means rebalancing the over-emphasis on the narrow economic efficiency
associated with faster travel (and more CO2 emissions) with the wider social and environmental
benefits of slower travel over shorter distances by a wider range of modes.
If the spatial pattern of CO2 reduction is considered using INTRA-SIM Auckland, it can
be seen that there are more reductions (relative to the 2041 BAU) in the central urban area
of Auckland as well as the northern and southern hinterland, hence the distribution is more
evenly spread.
A critical part of the future strategy for cities like Auckland is likely to be the implementation
of low-emission vehicles. This will also be the case in many other contexts where there is a
high level of motorisation, the urban structure is dispersed, and the public are supportive of
future private car usage. Sperling and Gordon (2009), for example, tend to emphasise the
importance of the 'technological fix' in the Californian context. These types of vehicles will
be the only way to reduce CO2 emissions in many parts of the dispersed city. They may also
be effectively combined with autonomous vehicle technology (i.e. driverless vehicles). Google
is currently testing a fleet of these in California and the results are impressive insofar as few
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