Southerly: That CERA Rumour
166 Responses
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Sacha, in reply to
I believe that her problem is that she's going from one side of Wellington to the other
I did suggest moving house..
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Sacha, in reply to
I can't imagine why anyone would mess with it now
Brownlee's anointed architectural consultant (but non-transport planner) Ian Athfield needs telling to pull his head in.
The central Christchurch Bus Exchange should be replaced by two terminals on the edge of a reduced central business district, Wellington architect Ian Athfield says.
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Lilith __, in reply to
Non-transport planner Ian Athfield needs telling to pull his head in.
I couldn't agree more! When he said we shouldn't "be dictated to" by traffic engineers (as opposed to, by him!) I think my blood actually boiled.
Similarly, for his thoughts on the one-way system. Does he actually want gridlock, or what?
I'm keen to hear his thoughts about public spaces and buildings , which is his area of expertise.
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Emma Hart, in reply to
"get rid of those buses that don’t need to run through town, get rid of the underground bus station and we allow people to come back into town,”
Dear Ian. The buses run TO town. They bring people back into the town. PS Just stop talking now.
The current "two terminals on the edge of the CBD" system is appalling, and means that if I want to do anything but go directly east-west, it's just not worth the extra hour or so cocking about.
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At the share-an-idea thingie there seemed to be a lot of suggestions for keeping buses out of the CBD with or without connecting shuttle arrangements. I'm fairly sure they all came from people who have never used a bus for anything other than novelty value.
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Sacha, in reply to
I'm fairly sure they all came from people who have never used a bus for anything other than novelty value.
and for whom buses are things that get in the way of cars
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Isabel Hitchings, in reply to
and for whom buses are things that get in the way of cars
To be fair I am sure some of them are people who habitually walk or cycle (and are childless, ablebodied and of middle years or younger).
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Lilith __, in reply to
The buses run TO town. They bring people back into the town.
I've heard the suggestion that ONLY buses should be allowed in the CBD, along with pedestrians and cyclists. There'd be parking facilities on the edge of the city centre and loads of free buses/trams shuttling all around the CBD, taking people anywhere they wanted to go. And free loan bikes for those who wanted to cycle around instead, based on the Parisian model.
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I really like Christchurch's Bus Exchange. It's easy to find where to catch buses from, the real-time signs mean you can always pick the best route (if there's an option), it's a pleasant place to wait, and those automatic doors for boarding the bus are so cool.
The Bus Exchange works because it's shelter for waiting for a bus indoors on a cold winter's evening, but it's still connected enough with the streets outside that it's not a detached underground bunker (Brisbane) or a remote bus depot (Hamilton).
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Is Athfield still involved? I thought he'd said he was walking away unless his conditions were met in advance.
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Ever since I started reading PA, I've had fun working out the acronyms but IIRC has remained beyond me. I knew as soon as I found what it was, it would be really obvious and tonight I succumbed and looked it up - and now I know! I also know that puts me in a certain demographic.
As a Christchurch resident for my first 25 years and a frequent visitor, I read everything I can about the future of a city that is part and parcel of who I am and my history. My grandmother lived on Avonside Drive near the Gayhurst Road bridge and when I stayed with her, we would walk along the river, past the old family villa, Willownook, and on towards Kerrs Reach.
When we visited Adelaide a few years ago we stayed with a friend who lives In Fullarton about 30 minutes walk from the city centre which can be reached along grassy paths crisscrossing urban streets. Her very modest flat is in a group of apartments of various sizes in two storey and three storey blocks with trees scattered between them. There is no room for gardens but she took us to her community allotment garden about ten minutes walk away which had been developed over two sections with communal hens, composts, fruit and nut trees as well as the garden spaces. Also within walking distance are the library, local shops, a few cafes and a small shopping mall. What really struck me was that basically she lives in a village, surrounded by her community and the type of amenties that suit her, albeit with the resources of a large city close by. I'm sure there are parts of Adelaide that are like new subdivisions anywhere, with not much of this "village" quality.
As Christchurch residents face more uncertainty in the months ahead, I hope that redevelopment retains or regains the human scale that we can relate to.
And thank you all for yet another fascinating thread.
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I heard everyone was going to get a pony.
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Steve Barnes, in reply to
And free loan bikes for those who wanted to cycle around instead, based on the Parisian model.
See above.
;-) -
Pre-earthquake, I used buses a lot. And if I was changing buses in town I'd do a whole bunch of errands/shopping in the central city that I could have done elsewhere, but it was convenient to do them between buses.
And what Athfield seems not to understand is that buses are a service, you can't only run them when they will be full. If buses don't run frequently or are inconvenient to use, people don't. The difference between a service that runs every 15 mins versus every half hour is HUGE. And particularly if you are switching from one service to another.
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Lilith __, in reply to
Thank you Steve, I would *love* a pony! And it means I don't have to mow the lawn, right? Win-win!
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I liked the Chch buses - I live near Colombo so it was easy to get to town on one bus. But I also cycled a lot and they aren't so great from the two-wheeled perspective - the diesel fumes, the drivers who don't see you and cut you off. Probably buses better than even more cars, but then I did get a sadistic pleasure from riding past all the cars waiting in a queue.
Youth use(d) the buses a lot, to access a lot of stuff they moght not otherwise have - health services, welfare, work etc. Our kids love(d) them a lot and buses were more or less the only way the elderly neighbour across the road went further than the end of the street independently, but faffing around changing buses to get to the other side of town would stop us/her using them.
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Isabel Hitchings, in reply to
Youth use(d) the buses a lot, to access a lot of stuff they moght not otherwise have – health services, welfare, work etc. Our kids love(d) them a lot and buses were more or less the only way the elderly neighbour across the road went further than the end of the street independently, but faffing around changing buses to get to the other side of town would stop us/her using them.
My 9yr old was, for the last year, able to get to and from school alone on the bus when required. The sense independence and achievement this gave him and the freedom it afforded all of us was wonderful. It would have been impossible if he'd had to change buses or use shuttles.
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Lea Barker, in reply to
Re Paul Campbell's post about boat-like foundations... "when the big one hits it's 'avast me hearties!' and you're off, for a metre or two."
That's such a great image, especially if Jack Sparrow is at the helm.
Considering that most of the original landfill in SF's Marina District was scuppered boats that the 49ers arrived on and which were then abandoned in the harbour by their crews as they, too, went looking for gold in them thar hills, it's also very circular.
Do you happen to know if the idea ever gained ground, so to speak?
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The other good thing about Christchurch buses (and I say this as a Christchurch Refugee now working in Wellington) is the 2 hour tickets all over the city for $1.90 ish. And that after the second trip, every further one that day was free, and after the 10th trip in a week, the rest of the bus trips that week were free.
I often hopped on the first bus that approached, stopped off to pop into a shop, back on another and caught the right one home. And my Metrocard charged me $1.90 for the privilege – whether I stopped once or 4 times from The Cup cafe up Dyer’s Pass road to home in St Albans.
In Wellington, if I want to catch the bus after work from Lambton Quay, stop off in Willis Street for groceries, hop off at Cuba street to pick something up, and then in Courtney Place before heading home to Balaena Bay I pay an extra $1.50 every time I get on and off the bus – even covering exactly the same route. It’s small, but it’s enough of a disincentive that I don’t, say, stop off at Whitcoulls in Courtney Place just for a browse, or nip into New World Willis Street to grab something for dinner.
And there isn’t a 2 zone monthly pass either – it’s $135 a month whether you live Mirimar or Manners Street , whereas if I bus to and from work 10 times a week it’s $116 ish.
That said, I do love paying for taxis and using it at the dairy - the stored value function is useful!
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God help us if Christchurch gets kitset houses. In another hundred years time they might become historical and then (suburban) caveats will be put on them and even earthquakes won't be able to pull them down.
I lived in Moera (Lower Hutt) for a few years in one of these wonderful old houses. They were fascinating. The walls were able to be shuffled about with different designs and all kept within the same footprint. Some streets of them are becoming very desirable as well now.
And then we come to the State House. Which it appears are fast becoming the new Ponsonbys. And these villas which folk so glowingly tell us about. They all look the bloody same as well.
Oh well. Time moves one piece of shit into a desirable garden compost eventually.
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Steve Barnes, in reply to
And that after the second trip, every further one that day was free, and after the 10th trip in a week, the rest of the bus trips that week were free.
Those kind of systems maybe more expensive to implement but they work, It costs the bus company nothing , other than if they stop for just you but that should not incur a penalty for the traveller, it is more than made up for in increased patronage. The Oyster Card in London works the same, in terms of travelling costs.
I do wonder about the implications of tying the card to retail though, I suppose it could work. How long before we all have a chip fitted and get told where we have to work that day...
Scary. -
Japan also grappling with whether to rebuild or move.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
There is a heap of money available, it would be nice to get it right
But knowing Christchurch and the way it dealt with Ecan it will be squabble, squabble and very little progressI'd hate for a rebuilt ChCh to become like Houston.
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JackElder, in reply to
I’d hate for a rebuilt ChCh to become like Houston.
I'd love for Christchurch to become the hub of a space program.
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Lilith __, in reply to
I’d love for Christchurch to become the hub of a space program.
+1
Or...Torchwood!
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