Resolve Group has been helping Auckland Transport with the Transport Network for Growth since August. This programme of projects, previously known as Transport for Future Urban Growth (TFUG) is about creating the new transport networks needed for people living in new growth areas surrounding Auckland’s existing built up area.

By 2043, Auckland is projected to have grown by more than one million people. While the majority of this growth is planned to occur within the existing urban area, 11,000 hectares of greenfields land (including 1400 hectares for new business) has been zoned as “Future Urban” in the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan. These areas are:

• North – Warkworth, Wainui and Silverdale-Dairy Flat
• North-west — Whenuapai, Redhills, Kumeu-Huapai and Riverhead
• South — Takanini, Opaheke-Drury, Drury-West, Paerata and Pukekohe

The cost of constructing the infrastructure associated with the new growth areas is expected to be over eight billion dollars. However, the initial proposal is to ‘route protect’ the corridors from being built over by developers. To do so will require indicative and detailed business cases, which will include feasibility plans and investigation of solutions. Once the engineering and transport planning has been agreed on, the project moves toward resource and land use planners to produce Notice of Requirements and Designations through the RMA process.

At present, Resolve Group is helping Auckland Transport to produce a procurement strategy, request for proposal and contract documentation for professional services to deliver route protection for the transport corridors within the programme. The value of the professional services to be procured is $75m and the timeframe to produce the required outputs is extremely challenging, consequently it is important that we get the best possible procurement encouraging innovation and added value.

Resolve Group has been closely involved with the Intelligent Transport System trial of real-time messaging to visitor drivers through Bluetooth, the first time such a technology has been implemented for transport.

The trial is taking place from the end of June through to December on the Christchurch to Queenstown route (SH8). The initial stages of the project will see roadside technology from trial partner HMI Technologies push safety messaging, via Bluetooth, to units placed in rental cars from trial partner Go Rentals. In the future, with later model vehicles, the messages could be pushed directly to the car’s media centre.

It is hoped the trial will demonstrate the potential of technology to improve safety outcomes in remote locations. Although this will not eliminate driver error completely, it has the potential to be a part of the on-going suite of safety offerings delivered by the Transport Agency.

Sixty-three roadside transmitters have been installed on the main highway between Christchurch and Queenstown. Installing the same number of signs would have taken more than a year (roughly one week/sign), but it took only 21 days to install the entire Bluetooth system on the ground. Unlike traditional VMS, all these beacons are solar powered and produce zero emissions.

The route was selected because of the high number of rental vehicles using the popular tourist road and involves rental vehicle customers volunteering to take part.