Auckland Mayor, Wayne Brown, is calling for greater action to rein in traffic cone use following the release of an independent report into the temporary traffic management (TTM) system in use across the city.
The report, by Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY), found:
- TTM contractors have little incentive to work cheaper and faster;
- Existing rules and regulations incentivise contractors to cause maximum disruption to maximise profits;
- Legislative change is needed to change this behaviour and minimise disruption;
- Virtually every other comparable jurisdiction charges more, enforces more vigorously, and charges for time and disruption.
Mayor Brown says the “nonsensical” use of TTM is “hugely frustrating” for Aucklanders.
“Temporary traffic management has gone beyond necessity, which doesn’t make worksites any safer. The loss in productivity to Auckland businesses and households is taking a massive toll on our city financially, but it also causes undue stress,” he said.
“It’s embarrassing, and not what you’d expect from a world-class city.”
According to EY, current legislation makes it virtually impossible for local councils to charge contractors for time and disruption. Contractors then profit from deploying staff and equipment for as long as possible, the Mayor said.
“It’s not just the loss in productivity, it’s the cost associated with the overuse of TTM over and above what is needed for safety.”
He said Auckland Transport, following direction from the Council, is making significant changes in its approach to temporary traffic management. But legislative change is required to finish the job.
“We’ve reduced the amount spent on temporary traffic management by $1.27 million since February. AT is also making the most out of its current ability to charge contractors for the closure of lanes and footpaths, but this is very limited.”
The Mayor says Auckland Transport has made the following changes:
- Under direction of the Mayor, Auckland Transport has reduced its TTM spend by $1.27 million since February;
- AT has changed one of its road corridor access fees to be based on the market value of the land occupied during works;
- A new Disruption Assessment Tool is set to be implemented by AT.
Under the existing regulatory framework, AT does have very limited powers to charge contractors occupancy fees for any extra space they take up outside of a main worksite, and they have now started doing what they can, says Mayor Brown.
“At my insistence, they now calculate fees based on the market value of the land occupied. Other fees associated with contractors causing too much disruption have gone up by 200% in some cases. This has made contractors think twice about the how much space they take up,”
A new Disruption Assessment Tool to force better consideration of trade-offs between disruption for businesses and road works has also been confirmed by AT. It’s expected to go live by the end of September.
“These changes will make an impact. We’re reducing the cost and mitigating long-term disruption. But that’s about all we can do under the law,” Mayor Brown said.
Under the Local Government Act 2002, local authorities must charge fees and fines on a cost recovery basis. The law restricts AT to recovering ‘reasonable administrative costs’ when charging for road corridor use.
He says it’s a complex web of overlapping legislation and NZTA rules “that have allowed this appalling situation to occur”.
“Legislative change is needed to undo the economic damage unleased by bad policymaking.”
Minister for Transport, Simeon Brown, recently called for quarterly reporting of TTM use from transport agencies.
Mayor Brown said he looks forward to the increased transparency the reporting will bring, but wants to see more action.
“It’s strikingly obvious that NZTA and MOT have a disturbing lack of understanding of commercial drivers for this industry. Give us the power to set fees and fines that reflect the scale of disruption.”
“Only by addressing the commercial drivers can we finally begin to reverse the loss in productivity road cone mania has caused,” he said.
