Wayne Brown calls for ‘complete change in approach’ from Auckland Transport

Auckland mayor Wayne Brown says he wants a “complete change in approach” from the city’s transport agency, better recognising the current need to “rely on the roading and carparking networks”.

“You appear to have been focused on changing how Aucklanders live, using transport policy and services as a tool,” Brown wrote to Auckland Transport acting chairperson Wayne Donnelly on Wednesday.

“Instead, AT must seek to deeply understand how Aucklanders actually live now, how they want to live in the future and deliver transport services that support those aspirations,” he said.

“Aucklanders do not always have the choice of using an e-bike, a bus or even a train but rely on the roading and car parking networks to make their life functional.”

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It is Brown’s latest letter to the head of a council agency, following a previous letter to the Ports of Auckland.

Brown is underlining his call for more community say in local projects by making his first public appearance on Thursday night at a transport-themed meeting in rural northwest Kumeu.

Brown said he wanted Auckland Transport to “clean up Auckland’s roads, by getting rid of unnecessary road cones and lane closures”.

He called for an end “to the sale of council-owned car-parking buildings, with any such plans referred to the governing body or its committees” – even though the proposed sale of the Downtown Carpark Building is a council decision.

Brown also asked Donnelly to “invest in cycle lanes only where the per-kilometre construction cost is on par with costs in other jurisdictions, nationally and internationally”.

He said local boards needed to be far more closely involved in decisions about smaller-scale projects in their area and the provision of on- and off-street parking.

“Unless there are overwhelming reasons otherwise, you should reflect the priorities of local communities in your approach to such projects and decisions.”

Auckland Transport had been Brown’s first target for change upon election, calling for its board to resign.

Chairperson Adrienne Young-Cooper immediately decided she would go “willingly”.

The rest of the board, under Donnelly, remained so Auckland Transport “can operate legally and constitutionally”, it said in a statement issued the day after Brown’s election.

The boards of property and development arm Eke Panuku and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited have subtly pushed back on similar mayoral calls to go – and indicated they will be happy to work with the mayor and the full council on questions about their futures.

In a statement later, AT’s interim chief executive Mark Lambert said: “We agree with the Mayor that a new approach is needed to better understand the needs and expectations of our communities, and how we, our decisions and the work we do impacts on people’s daily lives”.

“Over coming days our leadership team and Board will be closely reviewing the expectations set out by the Mayor in his letter today,” said Lambert.

On the campaign trail, Brown portrayed Auckland Transport as the council agency people were angriest about but did not give further details about what he wanted to change, apart from wanting to swap out its board of directors.

He favours directors with specific industry experience and all but named people that he knew who would do a good job, including a leading bus operator and someone from a small transport advocacy group.

Brown has not agreed to any media interview requests since speaking to reporters on the Monday morning after his October 8 election.

Instead, he has chosen to issue daily media releases, mostly after writing letters to council agency chairs.

Brown will meet Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at his office on Thursday, with topics likely to include the Government’s Three Waters reforms and its light rail scheme – both of which he opposes.