First published in The Spinoff (NOTE: this is the Spinoff’s heading and the image used is of the community-led vision commissioned by the Grey Lynn Residents Association and not the final design which is available on the AT website.)
The Great North Road upgrade is a triumph for AT – whether the mayor likes it or not
A small stretch of road has come to define the struggle for control between Wayne Brown and Auckland Transport. With work on the upgrade project finally under way, former councillor Pippa Coom looks back at the contentious 10-year saga.
A roadside karakia blessing last Monday marked the official start of the long-delayed Great North Road improvement project . For many of us assembled at dawn, the overwhelming emotion was relief that the wrangling was finally over. After years of delay, Aucklanders are getting an exemplary design that delivers multiple upgrades for the price of one. Even better, it tackles head-on the various grumbles floating around regarding transport in Auckland, by leveraging existing budgets to get bang for AT’s buck while delivering a project which is what the community actually wants.
And yet, the mayor wasn’t there at the photo op to wish Great North Road well. Why not? To explain that, we need to zoom out. The mayor ended 2024 on a high note by delivering on his campaign promise of “Auckland taking back control”. Transport minister Simeon Brown confirmed legislative support for ending the statutory independence of AT, and councillors have unanimously backed the mayor to start the structural changes needed to regain control of this council-controlled organisation.
The Great North Road upgrade has long been one of the mayor’s favourite punching bags, Last year he said it was an example of AT’s stubborn refusal to listen to reason on the vexed issue of raised crossings; in 2023, he called the road’s cycleway “the worst waste of money I have ever seen”.
He got it wrong. In fact, the Great North Road upgrade shows AT at its best, responding to community needs and interests while cleverly leveraging a tight budget and planning for a more resilient future – exactly as directed by council. At the same time, the project has been beset by shameful delays due to political meddling and the undue influence of a handful of vocal opponents.
It’s taken 10 years for this project to even make it to the starting line. In 2015, prime minister John Key’s Urban Cycleway Programme funded a redesign of Great North Road as part of a package of Inner West improvements. Work was finally set to commence in late 2022, when the mayor and councillor Mike Lee (backed by Communities & Residents, aka C&R) attempted to bypass lawful council processes. Against the wishes of the community, they directed AT to halt the projects.
Their last-ditch opposition ran roughshod over a decade of planning and repeated supportive public consultations. The mayor appears to have formed his position based on the feedback of cycleway “saboteurs”, along with his preference for riding on the footpath when he doesn’t feel safe on the road.
He’s not wrong to worry about safety. In early 2023, shortly after the mayor was photographed cycling on the footpath past St Joseph’s School on Great North Road, an errant driver crashed into the bus shelter, taking out a section of school fence and two nearby trees.
Everyone who travels this stretch of road deserves to arrive in one piece. So, while it was a relief to attend the dawn karakia marking the start of the improvements at last, it was a shame the mayor didn’t make it, nor the local ward councillor and C&R reps.
Had the mayor been there, he might finally have been convinced to stop beating AT up about this long-awaited project and others like it. The Great North Road upgrade represents great value for money, using a “dig once” approach to leverage the regular maintenance budget. Century-old water pipes have already been replaced as part of the enabling work. Next comes the repair of the crumbling road surface (sections of which are old enough to vote), during which AT’s contractor will take the opportunity to install dynamic bus lanes and add 200 trees.
In an ideal world, transport planning and street design help guide how the surrounding land is developed, who lives there, and how they get around. Unfortunately, this project is playing very belated catch-up – finally creating a smart and efficient boulevard fit for the thousands of people who live on the ridge, and the many more set to join them.
Once the project is completed, the transporter trucks that serve Great North Road’s remaining car yards will finally be able to operate legally, taking advantage of new loading zones rather than parking across bus stops or on the flush median. Children at local schools will gain safer crossings, and dedicated bike lanes will enable more to bike-commute from the Inner West. Everyone, including drivers, will benefit from better street design, with raised tables across side streets boosting visibility and accessibility for all.
It shouldn’t have been so hard to get to this point, given the strong community support. Over 50 organisations, including the Grey Lynn Residents’ Association, three local business associations, seven local schools, and other groups, have begged AT to get on with it – with delegations from the schools pleading the case again and again.
Having made their needs and interests crystal clear, all these Aucklanders deserved enthusiastic political backing that directed AT towards fuss-free delivery. Instead, the Grey Lynn community faced years of exhausting campaigning to keep the project alive – through deliberations by the local board, council, the AT board, and repeated attempts by the mayor to defund the project right up to the 11th hour.
In this context, AT’s board and its CEO Dean Kimpton deserve congratulations for delivering the promised project, and for not allowing political interference to override expert design and community will. They should be applauded for their tenacity. The mayor and the ward councillor should have been at the dawn blessing, with smiles and handshakes all round.
As the AT reforms roll out and Auckland gears up for the local government election this year, let’s keep the saga of Great North Road in mind. More direct political accountability and more local decision-making sounds great. But being “back in local control” of transport must lead to confident, timely delivery of real wins for all Aucklanders – not a hollowed-out organisation that succumbs to the ideological whims and dictates of the mayor and minister of the day