stop immigration

[Lilith7]

They are trying, and have been for decades, but it costs money, a shit load of money. The new harbour crossing, it should've been done 30 or 40 years ago, but nobody wanted to spend the money, and now the money to be spent is eye watering, and when it finally gets built the cost won't be double, it will be a lot more...a lot, lot more. And on and on and on.

The problem as I see it is a lack of spine by the politicians involved. Dove Myer Robinson had great and forward thinking ideas on Auckland's transportation infrastructure but was beaten down by his fellow councillors IIRC.

The other complication now is that climatic factors are also coming into play. The need for reduction of private vehicle use is very much related to emissions and therefore environmental protection measures, and then there's a stormwater drainage system that was never designed to handle tropical intensity rainfall events. Permeable urban development will nibble away at the edges but what is really required are monsoon drains such as those common in tropical countries rather than trying to use underground piping to handle the deluges. The expense, work and land area that implementing that sort of solution entails are huge, and will of course run into the other strategy that councillors are too gutless to undertake, raising rates to sufficient levels to pay for all these projects.

It would make a  huge difference if our govts & politicians could manage to take a long term view rather than focusing on just their term in govt. All our main cities should by now have light rail, with connections to airports etc.

I remember Dove Myer Robinson's ideas at the time & I thought then there'd probably come a time when Auckland regretted not taking his advice.