Local Government Transport Forum

About

Transport infrastructure funding, management and planning are key priorities for Local Governments. An efficient local and regional transport network has great implications for productivity and can be a determining factor in attracting new ratepayers and businesses to an area. Councils work hard to implement new transport initiatives based on strategies such as Smart Growth, integrating land use and transport, and travel demand management. With increasing populations, urban sprawl affecting our cities, and a larger proportion of older people coming to rely on public transport, there are plenty of challenges ahead.

The Local Government Transport Forum – Focusing on Local Government’s role in influencing NZ’s transport strategy and providing plans for the future will provide a forum for discussion, networking and knowledge sharing through a range of presentations and panel discussions.  Presentations will be delivered from Local Government stakeholders as well as experts in the area of transport.

Auckland City Council, North Shore City Council, Hamilton City Council, Ruapehu District Council, Environment Canterbury and Canterbury Regional Council will be sharing their experiences and thoughts on transport.  Learn about issues surrounding integrating land use and transport, urban design, smart growth, performance measurement and future transport solutions.  Discuss public transport, the impact of free parking and ensuring best practice in procurement.

It doesn’t matter where in local government you work; the issue of transport is an important one.  By attending the Local Government Transport Forum you will be able to gain a deeper insight into Local Government transport and will have the opportunity to network and discuss key transport issues with others from across the country.

There is no excuse to miss out on this event with our special Two for One Deal; if you register two people from your organisation at the same time, the second person attends free!

SPECIAL TWO FOR ONE OFFER:
Register and pay for two people from your organisation at the same time and the second attends FREE.

Agenda

Agenda: Day 1

8.30

Registration and coffee

9.00

Opening remarks from the Chair

Gordon Shaw, Programme Manager – Transport Integration, Auckland City Council

9.10

Ministerial Address: What is the Government’s new long term direction for transport in New Zealand?

Hon Nathan Guy will speak about changing government policy, what this means for Local Government transport and how Central Government plans to improve transport planning across New Zealand.

Hon Nathan Guy, Associate Minister of Transport

9.40

Integration of transport and land use planning in the Waikato region

Smart growth aims to concentrate growth to the centre of a city to minimise urban sprawl and focuses on long term outcomes of sustainability over short term considerations.
• The importance of transportation in smart growth – the structure of a transportation network is the skeleton which supports smart growth and constrains sprawl
• Improving transport infrastructure and land use planning for a better future
• An insight into smart growth initiatives in New Zealand and across the world

James Bevan, Director, Latitude Planning Services Ltd
Urlwyn Trebilco, Programme Manager, Policy Group

10.25

Morning tea

10.45

Case Study: Meeting the changing travel demands now and in the future (Case Study)

Access Hamilton is one of eight strategies in place to assist the Council to achieve strategic objectives and help guide transport infrastructure and the city’s development over the next 30 years.
• What is Access Hamilton and what does it aim to do?
• What is the strategic vision and strategic approach for this project?
• Understanding the impact of growth on transport use and demand
• Working to identify major issues and focus on project delivery

Philip King, Access Hamilton Co-ordinator
Hamilton City Council

11.30

The latest thinking on integrating land use and transport

The nature as well as the location of land use is a key factor in influencing a region’s transport needs. Transport systems are able to both strengthen and facilitate the pattern of development as well as helping to provide quality places to live. This session will look at the latest thinking in relation to integrating land use and transport in New Zealand.
• Creating better integration between transport modes and using existing infrastructure more effectively
• Using transport projects to determine the land use outcomes which we want to achieve
• Considering future growth – will there continue to be a proliferation in low density housing and urban sprawl due to our past transportation decisions?

Steve Abley, Managing Director, Abley Transportation Consultants

12.15

Current and future issues facing our current public transport systems

There are a number of issues which plague New Zealand’s public transport systems and will continue to cause problems in the future if they are not addressed now. This session will focus on what the Canterbury region is currently facing and how they aim to prevent issues from occurring in the future.
• Increased growth – populations will increase and there will be increased urban sprawl
• An ageing population – people over the age of 65 will be a much higher proportion of our population in 20 years creating problems for transport planning
• Public transport capacity – this must increase to meet increasing demand and usage
• What solutions are available now and into the future?

Robert Woods, Programme Manager Transport, Canterbury Regional Council

1.00

Lunch

2.00

Case Study: Initiating behaviour change programmes as an effective and efficient method of managing our transport network (Case Study)

A long term change is needed in the attitude, behaviour and use of all transport options in order to increase the uptake of public and active transport modes. This session will use a North Shore City case study to examine what will it take to actually make a difference.
• Utilising research to develop integrated solutions – it is more than just counting cars
• What are peoples’ attitudes to congestion – what do people think is causing the problem and are people prepared to consider other travel options?
• How can integrating behaviour change programmes and good communication with transport infrastructure projects make them work more effectively?
• What is working so far and what are our options for the future?

Adi James, Team Leader - Travel Behaviour Change, North Shore City Council

2.45

Case Study: Others can do it, why can’t we? Creating an effective public transport network (Case Study)

New Zealand has a relatively poor public transport system compared to other developed countries around the world. This session will compare the public transport network of Timaru with Swiss town Schaffhausen, cities with similar populations, and outline their differences and similarities.
• Why population density does not always impact on the ability to provide public transport to your local community
• Do New Zealander’s love having their own car too much?
• Why weather and heavy congestion don’t have to be the only reasons to get on a bus or hop on a train

Shannon Boorer, Strategic Planner Passenger Transport, Environment Canterbury

3.30

Afternoon tea

3.45

Case Study: Can the success of the Northern Busway be modelled elsewhere? (Case Study)

The Northern Busway is a purpose built road dedicated to bus passenger transport on Auckland’s North Shore. The busway helps to improve the speed of journeys, as well as improving reliability and comfort and encouraging an alternative to private vehicle use, ultimately reducing the demand for more roading.
Overview of the performance of the Northern Busway
• Where to next? Will the busway be extended further North and what impact will the Victoria Tunnel have?
• Where else could a similar busway project be launched?

Anthony Blom, Northern Busway Station – Team Leader
North Shore City Council

4.30

The real cost of parking – Impacts on transportation and land use

Parking has become the single largest land use in our urban areas, stimulating high private car use and stagnating economic development. This session will discuss how a new approach to parking management can create huge opportunities for increased economic activity, support intensification around sustainable transport nodes and improve urban design.
• The impact of planning for ‘free’ parking – people are encouraged to use their cars more frequently, there is less space available for everything else
• Parking demand and supply – when and how to use paid parking to manage demand
• Winning hearts and minds – the importance of a communications strategy to support parking reform

Julie Anne Genter, Transportation Planner
McCormick Rankin Cagney

5.15

Local Government Transport Networking Forum

A chance to network with others involved in local government transport in a casual setting over complimentary drinks

Agenda: Day 2

9.00

Opening remarks from the Chair

Gordon Shaw, Programme Manager – Transport Integration, Auckland City Council

9.05

The future of transport is electrifying! NZ’s most likely future energy source for transport

This session will discuss the prognosis for liquid petroleum fuels, upon which we depend for nearly 100% of our transport fuel today, the potential impact this has on transport planning and provisions and the choices which local governments must therefore make.
• What is the suite of alternative fuels and vehicle types available?
• What is the potential for electrification and how could this change personal vehicles and passenger transport?
• The electrification of trains and other modes of transport

Archer Davis, Group Manager - Transport, Strategy & Planning

9.55

Panel Discussion: Discussing funding and investment decisions in local government transport (Panel)

• What are the risks of bad decision making when it comes to transport investment?
• How can we improve our funding decision making?
• How can we become more effective at streamlining our investment decisions?
• Understanding the real cost when a project is delayed
• How can we fund the gap between NZ transportation needs and traditional revenue sources?

Matt Ensor, GM – Transportation, Beca
Archer Davis, Group Manager - Transport, Strategy & Planning
Philip King, Access Hamilton Co-ordinator, Hamilton City Council

10.40

Morning tea

11.00

Performance measurement to enable better transport outcomes for Local Government

• What’s changed recently so that we can now measure operational performance of corridors
• Using performance measurement to get better productivity of the network
• Measuring the performance of road controlling authorities and virtual customer feedback
• Enhanced intervention and more robust transport investment funding applications
• How Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) technology will be relevant to local roads

Matt Ensor, GM – Transportation, Beca

11.45

Lunch

12.45

Panel Discussion: Creating the right balance between national and regional transport strategies and funding (Panel)

It is important for national priorities, funding allocations and regional transport strategies to complement and align with each other. This panel will discuss some of the key issues in creating alignment and how a balance may be found.
• Understanding how national and regional strategies can interlink with each other
• Are national priorities overshadowing local projects? Which should take precedence?
• How can funding be allocated in a more equitable and sustainable way?
• Challenges faced when deciding how to prioritise and implement projects

Robert Woods, Programme Manager Transport
Canterbury Regional Council
Gordon Shaw, Programme Manager – Transport Integration, Auckland City Council
Chris Olsen, Chief Executive, Roading NZ

1.30

Case Study: How to achieve value for money from rural road investment (Case Study)

This case study will look at how Ruapehu District Council has managed to achieve value for money from investment in their rural roads and how they have worked with other stakeholders throughout the investment process.
• The reasoning behind increased investment – maintenance needed due to increased rural activity and forest harvesting
• User pay systems – the benefits and costs involved
• Working together – Ruapehu District Council working with Whanganui Federated Farmers

Warren Furner, Team Leader – Land Transport
Ruapehu District Council

1.45

Afternoon tea

2.30

Ensuring best practice in the procurement of professional services and road maintenance services

It is essential to ensure best practice when involved in a project which requires the procurement of various professional and road maintenance services from a multitude of providers.
• How to ensure contract performance and measurement – issues involved in a “buyer’s market” where low prices may prove unsustainable and lead to performance issues
• Making the most of current economic conditions – improve value for money for ratepayers and stimulate local and national growth through employment
• Ensuring strategic procurement planning is in place and that there is effective value chain management
• Analysis of different procurement strategies – early contractor involvement versus alliance contracting; which is the best option and when should it be used?

Neill Forgie, Specialist in Contract Procurement and Contractor Governance

3.15

Putting all the pieces together – Connecting road, rail and sea

New Zealand relies heavily on its ability to export a wide range of products which means that there needs to be effective connections between roads and rail to port facilities in order for export supply chains to operate most effectively.
• How well are roads, rail and ports connected and how can we better connect transport infrastructure in the future?
• How can local government work to create better linkages with ports?
• What does the future of rail in New Zealand look like?

Richard Paling, Director, Richard Paling Consulting

4.00

Closing remarks from the Chair and end of conference

Sponsors

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