Phil Goff
Auckland, April 30, 2021
But some unavoidable disruption needs understanding
The refurbished Central Post Office between Te Komititanga Square and Britomart Station
I have lived nearly all my life in Auckland but I cannot remember a time when the pace and scale of construction has been as great as it is today.
Inevitable inconvenience
The City is changing rapidly. It needs to, so that we can ensure that we have the infrastructure and the housing to keep pace with our growing population and meet New Zealand’s need for a strong and vibrant international City.
Inevitably, this causes some disruption and inconvenience.
There is, for example, a huge and noisy construction site right outside my office as we build the underground tunnel for the City Rail Link and the Aotea Rail Station, which will be the biggest and busiest in New Zealand. However, as my grandmother used to say, “You can’t make omelettes without breaking eggs.”
The City Rail Link
We need the CRL so that we can avoid the gridlock which will otherwise disrupt lives if new rapid transit systems are not in place as our population approaches two million people in just over a decade’s time.
Over the last 10 days, I have been involved in marking a number of milestones that show the big progress being made.
An artist’s impression of the Aotea Train Station
The CPO and the Square
First, there was the opening of the refurbished Chief Post Office, which is now a beautiful entrance to Britomart Station. It is a heritage building and it looks fantastic inside. With the outside now being restored, it will be the landmark building that was the central focus of the City when it was built 100 years ago.
Outside the station is the new Te Komititanga Square, with its impressive Maori design on its tiling. It is a gathering place for people coming into the City, with the ultra-modern and smart Commercial Bay buildings on one side and the historic ferry building and view over the Waitemata Harbour on the other side.
Aotea Square and Highway 20B
At Aotea Square, we launched the excavation of the underground CRL station, which will also be a great design with a 19-storey residential and commercial building over the top of it.
Earlier last week, we opened the new State Highway 20B from Papatoetoe to the Airport, with its busway and walk and cycleways and safety median barriers.
And then at the end of the week, we launched a new 12-bus fleet on the City Link route, which is electric and will reduce the pollution, black carbon and climate warming gases, so that the Queen Street valley is cleaner and less noisy.
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff (centre) with Councillor Pippa Coom and City Rail Link Chief Executive Sean Sweeney at the start of excavation for the Aotea City Rail Link Station (Picture Supplied).
After that, I went to Eden Park to turn off the mains water supply and open a new bore that will save the City 10 million litres of water a year needed to irrigate the main field.
We live in challenging times, but it is heartening to see real progress being made in Auckland as we strive to create a world-class City in which it would be great to live.
Phil Goff is Mayor of Auckland. He writes a regular Column in Indian Newslink. The above story has been sponsored by
