We are delighted to say the highly experienced Peter Bailey is joining Resolve Group this month. Coming from 14 years as a General Manager with Porirua City Council, first in Utilities Policy and then Asset Management and Operations, Peter will be working from Wellington, alongside Rick van Barneveld.

In his time at Porirua City he oversaw the reduction of major water main breaks from 52 a year down to just two, the reduction of dry weather sewer overflows from 300 to zero in the last year, the development of a Regional Waste Management and Minimisation Plan, the halving of the road accident rate, a reduction in graffiti in the City and the start of the 1 billion dollar Transmission Gully project.

Prior to Peter’s appointment to Porirua City Council he worked in various roles for Transit New Zealand from its formation in 1989. His final role in Transit was as Highways Engineer for the Wellington Region, which covers the bottom of the North Island and top of the South Island. In this role, Peter was responsible for the operations and maintenance of the highway network, and the planning and development on projects other than SH 1. Notable achievements in this role were the completion of the Thorndon Overbridge strengthening at 22% under the contract price, development of the business case for the construction of the Stoke Bypass and the setting up of the Marlborough Roads.

Peter has extensive experience in management and strategic business planning and won a Business Excellence Award in 2004. He has worked for both national and local government organisations in the areas of asset management, transportation, project management, contract administration and procurement. He has provided both strategic leadership and technical knowledge locally, regionally and nationally.

He is skilled at resolving issues and disputes so that all parties accept solutions. He is strong on innovation and initiative, as his Excellence in Building Professions Innovation Winner Award (1999) shows. He has volunteered as an IPENZ Assessor and sat on the Executive Road Controlling Authority Forum managing research and guidelines development.

Peter and his wife, Margaret, have three adult children, Anna, Tim and Joseph, who all live in Wellington. He is a keen dinghy sailor and competes with Joseph in the Flying Dutchman class.

The number of people choosing to walk or cycle to work, study or for leisure in Auckland has been steadily growing in recent years. That number is set to increase sharply with a huge investment in walking and cycling improvements planned for the city. Cycling is cost-effective, provides certainty of travel time and for many people is the quickest means of transport. Research indicates making the transport network safer for people on bikes is the most effective way of achieving the goal of 30% increase in cycle journeys by 2019. The NZ Transport Agency, Auckland Transport and Auckland Council are working together on a $200 million programme of cycle improvements over the next three years. The focus is improving connections to public transport interchanges, as well as into, and around, the city centre.

A key aspect of Auckland’s walking and cycling network is planning for safe and direct connections to local communities, destinations and cycle routes on the North Shore. A 3km separated walking and cycling path, currently known as SeaPath, is proposed between Esmonde Road in Takapuna through to Northcote Point. This will provide a connection between the Northern Busway and the existing Northcote ferry service, along with existing walking and cycling routes in the area.

Three route options have been investigated, as well as multiple options for connecting with the existing street network and southern and northern ends of the proposed pathway. Following a series of site visits, research, analyses of opportunities and constraints, and stakeholder feedback, the current preferred option is for a landward route between Northcote Point ferry terminal and Esmonde Road, largely on the western side of the Northern motorway.

To date, Resolve Group has assisted this project through:

• peer review of past technical work
• development of cost estimates for the three potential route options
• project risk assessment
• update of economic evaluation for the three potential route options
• assistance through the public consultation process, including development of consultation material and presence at public open days

In the future this path will work in conjunction with other proposed projects to provide a direct walking and cycling connection between the North Shore and Auckland’s central city. Increasing numbers of pedestrians and cyclists are expected following the completion of two other proposed projects; SkyPath, a shared pathway attached to the eastern side of the Auckland Harbour Bridge; and the Additional Waitematā Harbour Crossing.

More detail can be found in the NZTA SeaPath project newsletter.