Editorial

As this issue goes to press the Government is on the verge of outlining specific public infrastructure projects it will establish in the next five to six years. It has already substantially altered the Resource Management Act which looks like the initial move in removing time constraints and appeals in the consent process.

While many contractors will doubtless see this as a good move, I hope we still maintain the belief that there always has to be a balance between the things we build, how we build them, and where we build them. Even though our economy is uncertain at present that shouldn’t mean we throw away the better parts of legislation to create growth in the short term.

However, there is obviously the need for massive spending in the public sector and the economic stimulation that will result. I do hope that projects such as the Waterview tunnel in Auckland are not stalled or altered beyond recognition. More than any other city in New Zealand, Auckland requires that its problems be fixed with imaginative and lasting solutions.

I would love to see Auckland planners employ some creative methods to increase public transport beyond what has already been achieved by the bus lane system on the Northern motorway. Why, for instance, is the opportunity presented by the waterfront so consistently ignored? A city like Vancouver is a great example of what can be done with waterfront space to create cycleways and walkways that increase the leisure potential for citizens and visitors and add to the overall sense of working space in a city. If Auckland integrated the wonderful work already done on Tamaki drive with the container area of the port, then we would have miles and miles of connected space for running, cycling and walking.

One story I have followed with interest since its inception is the Gateway Alliance’s motorway project between Orewa and Puhoi. In scope and achievement it is simply breathtaking and I congratulate everyone involved in it. The staggering figures of travellers who passed through it on its opening day are a solid sign that the toll road will be the road of choice for those travelling between Auckland and Northland.

I hope you enjoy this first issue of New Zealand Construction News for 2009 and I’m excited by the prospects for a very interesting and challenging year.

Steve Best, editor