In my personal opinion and based on nothing more than anecdotal evidence Wellington needs these 3 things to remain globally competitive and relevant in the next 100 years.
1. A longhaul capable airport
In New Zealand there are only 3 airports capable of landing a 747 and one of them is run by the (RNZ)Air Force, the others being Auckland and Christchurch. Christchurch has benefited greatly by having that infrastructure. Millions of passengers each year visiting the South Island disembark through CHC, their businesses have access to shipping direct to many of our largest trading partners. Those same businesses also have the benefit of being able to ship themselves directly or to have people (customers/colleagues/investors) arrive directly from major Asia Pacific transport hubs.
A proposal has been put forward to lengthen Wellington’s runway to accomodate the new Boeing and AirBus planes that are capable of longhaul on short runways. While this is definitely a step in the right direction, Wellington needs direct access to hubs like Tokyo, Dubai, Los Angeles, not just Singapore and the best way of accomodating this is with the 747-level jets, which is where most airlines have invested millions upon millions in their fleets.
One of the things I absolutely love about Wellington is that it’s airport is a stone’s throw from the city. This is a very real competitive advantage (and limitation). The ideal scenario would be to keep the airport where it is and lengthen the runway into the sea to cater for the longhaul jets. This would cost inordinate sums of money. Can we afford not to do it?
2. Light rail to the airport
Wellington is unique in NZ and most of Australasia in that it has a very good (by southern hemisphere standards) rail network. This network needs to be extended to the airport and in doing so it connects the majority of the CBD to the said rail network. This will increase patronage for commuters who are reluctant to either walk another 10-30 mins to work or to transfer to a bus. This will also make the network a Wellington thing, currently it is more of a satellite city thing. This move would also link up major transport assets in the urban area – needed with this is a review of the service provided (make it effective and efficient, read: cheap-ish and more often).
3. Adequate northern access
Cars, trucks, SUVs. Love ‘em or hate ‘em the reality is that we need to allow for their free and efficient movement. The fact that it takes 2 hours during peak time or that we are heavily reliant on a tiny 2 lane stretch of road is a risk that the city and region shouldn’t have to put up with. Transmission Gully has got the go ahead, but the evidence it will adequately solve this problem is scant (much like the inner-City bypass). Regardless, shame it will be 2020 before it is complete.
Hand in hand with this is a commitment not to allow residential development not inside the corridors of Wellington to Johnsonville to Porirua or Hutt Valley. Our compactness is an asset and will become more important in the future especially if we run out of cheap (sub $100/barrel) oil. We don’t need more SUV-loving sub-divisions.
Note: This post inspired by reading “Back on track: CBD light rail” on WellUrban
