Posts by Bart Janssen
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Hard News: We can make things better here, in reply to ,
I was never diagnosed with dyslexia when I was at school. Dyslexia was not officially recognized until around ten years in New Zealand. I find that by putting it out there about the dyslexia helps.
What I love about you is that you never use dyslexia as an excuse for not trying - as a result you inevitably succeed.
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Thank you for your recommendations.
We only ever watch movies now on blu-ray at home - the pause button, the big screen, the glass of wine and the absence of that annoying idiot three rows back - has meant our days of going to the cinema are over.
So having your thoughts on movies to buy and your reasons helps a lot. Who knew a movie reviewer could actually give their reasons for an opinion!!!
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Capture: Laneway 2015, in reply to JacksonP,
they asked if I could take their photo
Would've been rude to refuse, right?
Looks like you had a great day, some great shots.
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Hard News: We can make things better here, in reply to Ben Gracewood,
city-bound morning traffic will be a clusterfuck
That is not entirely the point. There is not that much you can do about peak hour traffic without getting people to use mass transit.
But what is more important is that outside peak hours a large amount of traffic will be removed from roads like the suburban arterial routes. In particular, a lot of heavy traffic (trucks and goods vehicles) during the day will choose to use a road actually designed for heavy traffic.
Nobody is expecting Waterview to solve every problem but a lot of groups who are otherwise very critical of roading have stated quite clearly that this connection is worthwhile. Bicycle seat critics notwithstanding, I tend to agree with them.
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Hard News: We can make things better here, in reply to Matthew Poole,
He uses the word “clusterfuck” in the post. Calling that level of furious “unimpressed” is up there with calling Hurricane Katrina “a mild breeze”. Nicely done.
He is justifiably angry with the weaseling going on.
Sadly most of the commenters seem to have forgotten that Western Springs essentially replaces Pt Chev as an access on and off the western motorway once the Waterview interchange is complete. There really will be a lot more traffic at that intersection.
That is still no reason to kill those trees because there quite clearly are several alternatives that do not reduce the ability of that intersection to move the people on and off the motorway.
Sadly some people have refused to acknowledge that their original idea not the best option and have now become stubborn to the extent of ... well ... lying.
It's well past time for someone to step in over their heads and force them to change the plans to protect the trees.
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Hard News: Works in progress, in reply to Sacha,
I guess we’ll hear more about High St when shopkeeper Murray Crane esq’s views are published in Metro soon. In the meantime here’s Transportblog’s take.
It's interesting to compare that historical article with the delight that is O'Connell St now. As near as I can tell O'Connell St is a resounding success - except for the length of time it took to build it.
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After chatting with a retailer (n=1) regarding the O'Connell St upgrade (which is great) the problem they have is not the upgrade - they love it. It really does increase foot traffic and custom. But rather they hated the period during construction when customers were driven away by the construction process.
Apparently some retailers and locals insist that works can only go on for very limited time periods, as a result a building process that in other cities might have taken a couple of months was dragged out over a year. Given High street upgrades are more complex they are viewing the prospect with trepidation.
So it's not fear of loss of parking spaces that is causing issues BUT n=1
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Hard News: Works in progress, in reply to Sacha,
instead spend all the money on the flat side and make it genuinely viable
by purchasing and removing one house to eliminate the silly detour back to Dom Rd, for instance.
Part of me hopes that this is just an interim solution and that as cycle use increases they will improve the route.
Another part of me slams my head into my desk in frustration.
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Hard News: Works in progress, in reply to Sam F,
And in fact – stop press – this is already being considered by Auckland Council, as you can see on page 38 of this report (PDF document).
Nice find.
Interesting to note only the K road path comments on the point that cyclists like flat routes - because K road is on a ridgeline it means cyclists avoid the ups and downs of most other routes. It's a pity this factor isn't considered more - although in Auckland it is difficult to find flat routes.
Second interesting note is they still haven't figured out a way to avoid conflict between buses and bikes, with the images for the K road route showing a cyclist riding along the cycle path over a bus stop - something only possible when buses are not present. It doesn't take much thought to see the inevitable conflict here and the likelyhood of accidents as bikes are forced into the traffic to go around the stopped buses.
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Hard News: Works in progress, in reply to Sam F,
Wow that is such an obvious solution.
How come it was not the default option in the first place?
The only issue I can see is the need to cross Ian McKinnon Drive which is intended to be a fast bybass for the top of Symonds street mess.