Skypath, the cycle activist’s wet dream of a bridge just for them attached to the Auckland Harbour Bridge, has been dealt another blow. This time it’s the major public roading construction firm Downers that has pulled out of the deal citing complexity. The cycle activist directors are now saying the Public Private Partnership deal struck with Auckland Council can be re-negotiated. We all know what that means – more ratepayers’ money.
Skypath was sold to financially illiterate Auckland Councillors on the promise that it would be self funding. However, they made the stupid undertaking that if it wasn’t, Auckland ratepayers would pick up the tab.
Comments on the Whaleoil blog are spot on .
Skypath was sold to financially illiterate Auckland Councillors on the promise that it would be self funding. However, they made the stupid undertaking that if it wasn’t, Auckland ratepayers would pick up the tab.
Comments on the Whaleoil blog are spot on .
What that means is that the job is far more complex than planned, and experts like Downer say it can’t work…for them…or anyone else. But note that there are now talks of altering the PPP…in other words the project is now about to get a whole lot more expensive. This always happens with marginal projects like this…and the politicians don’t care, it’s not their money.
Woodward [Skypath Director] said there had been no financial cost for Downer pulling out as the SkyPath construction partner.
“In many respects, it’s been valuable their [Downer’s] involvement, because they’ve checked the feasibility of the design work and reviewed the whole project. They’ve done that at their own cost, so there’s no cost to the SkyPath project itself,” Woodward said.
Bludging off council AND the construction company. Nice one, these road maggots are ever on the bludge.
Auckland councillor for the North Shore ward Chris Darby said…
“This is a showpiece project and whoever’s name is on that come opening day will get a lot of exposure. They know about that, and the incoming contractor will know about that as well.”
What hogwash. Does anyone remember who built the harbour bridge? Or the Sky Tower? Or any other piece of infrastructure? Of course not. No one except politicians builds anything for the bronze plaque on the foundations. Downer and any other construction company build things to make money, and Downer have looked at this dopey project and worked out that the plans and costings are so flawed they can’t make any money out of it.
Another of Len’s hospital passes.
Nobody has caused more waste of money or traffic congestion in Auckland than cycle activists. They control the transport planners who have wasted hundreds of millions on cycle lanes designed solely to narrow roads and increase congestion with the aim of forcing the public to use expensive, subsidised public transport.
The trouble is public transport is very, very expensive, especially when it has to be retrofitted as in Auckland. Expecting ratepayers to pick up the tab for massive transport infrastructure is one of idiocies of the age. All transport is inter-connected, from the road outside your house in Auckland to the highway to Bluff. It should be taken out of the hands of ratepayers and paid for by taxpayers. This would allow rates to be brought under control instead of forever outstripping inflation while money is directed to the most beneficial and cost effective transport solutions for the nation as a whole.
Cycle and pedestrian access across the Waitemata harbour would then be part of the next, long overdue harbour bridge. It would mean the snowflakes of Cycle Auckland would have to wait a while, but better that than create yet another long term burden for Auckland’s hard-pressed ratepayers.
Associated blogs:
How Skypath is fleecing ratepayers
Skypath another Heart of the City debacle in the making?
The trouble is public transport is very, very expensive, especially when it has to be retrofitted as in Auckland. Expecting ratepayers to pick up the tab for massive transport infrastructure is one of idiocies of the age. All transport is inter-connected, from the road outside your house in Auckland to the highway to Bluff. It should be taken out of the hands of ratepayers and paid for by taxpayers. This would allow rates to be brought under control instead of forever outstripping inflation while money is directed to the most beneficial and cost effective transport solutions for the nation as a whole.
Cycle and pedestrian access across the Waitemata harbour would then be part of the next, long overdue harbour bridge. It would mean the snowflakes of Cycle Auckland would have to wait a while, but better that than create yet another long term burden for Auckland’s hard-pressed ratepayers.
Associated blogs:
How Skypath is fleecing ratepayers
Skypath another Heart of the City debacle in the making?
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