275 Times June 2018
Mangere community news. This month: Support for Ihumatao, new 'regen' zone in Mangere East, rail to the airport - and more!
Mangere community news. This month: Support for Ihumatao, new 'regen' zone in Mangere East, rail to the airport - and more!
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GETTING ABOUT<br />
Light rail to the airport:<br />
Is it best for Māngere?<br />
As heavy rail to the<br />
airport looks likely<br />
to be replaced by<br />
light rail, we asked<br />
Councillor Mike Lee<br />
– a leading advocate<br />
of public transport<br />
for many years – why<br />
he still prefers the<br />
heavy rail option.<br />
By Donna Wynd<br />
<strong>275</strong> <strong>Times</strong>: Public transport<br />
from Māngere to the airport<br />
and Onehunga/Penrose is a<br />
live issue for our community.<br />
You’ve described light rail to the<br />
airport as a ‘folly’. Why is that?<br />
XX<br />
Mike Lee: Trains have superior<br />
speed, capacity and much greater<br />
predictability of journey time.<br />
Most major cities around the world<br />
use heavy rail rather than light<br />
rail for their international airport<br />
connections. This also applies<br />
to cities such as Melbourne and<br />
Sydney which have light rail.<br />
Melbourne has the biggest, most<br />
sophisticated light rail system in the<br />
world, yet Melbourne will be using<br />
trains for its airport connection.<br />
<strong>275</strong> <strong>Times</strong>: Māngere has one of<br />
the highest rates of private motor<br />
vehicle use in Auckland. Local<br />
people are therefore likely to take a<br />
disproportionate financial hit from<br />
the proposed regional fuel tax.<br />
If the light rail option goes<br />
ahead, do you think Māngere<br />
residents will see a benefit to<br />
match their contribution?<br />
XX<br />
ML: Yes. The proposed tramline<br />
with its 20 tram stops will certainly<br />
take them to the city via Dominion<br />
Road and of course to the airport.<br />
But the train service as originally<br />
agreed would have have given<br />
them much greater choices,<br />
including access to the airport,<br />
Papakura and Pukekohe, and to the<br />
east, and – with a simple crossplatform<br />
transfer enabling access<br />
to the central and western line – as<br />
far as Henderson and beyond.<br />
<strong>275</strong> <strong>Times</strong>: There have been<br />
suggestions that a rail link from<br />
Puhinui to the airport would<br />
be an acceptable substitute<br />
to the link via Onehunga.<br />
In your view, is this likely to work?<br />
XX<br />
ML: Ideally, for the airport<br />
travellers, yes. A 30-minute fast<br />
train journey to the CBD from the<br />
airport via Puhinui has recently<br />
been scoped. However – to the<br />
disappointment of many Māngere<br />
4<br />
Manukau South Volleyball (in light green)<br />
with the visiting Utah Valley University<br />
women’s volleyball team (in dark green).<br />
(Picture: Tuataga Hermann Arp Jr)<br />
Volleyball<br />
Visitors<br />
By Tuataga<br />
Hermann Arp Jr<br />
Every four years, the<br />
Utah Valley University<br />
(UVU) women’s volleyball<br />
team tours New Zealand,<br />
and the Manukau South<br />
Volleyball team – made<br />
up of Māngere and<br />
South Auckland locals<br />
– are always there to<br />
give them a challenge.<br />
This year, UVU also<br />
played the New Zealand<br />
Women’s Volleyball team<br />
before heading to Samoa.
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