Women’s voices on transport planning urged
‘System does not work for us,’ city councillor tells meeting
Transport planning is a man’s world and it’s time women were at the table, says Auckland councillor Angela Dalton.
In a passionate speech last week, Dalton spoke about the importance of women in decisions about transport at a meeting of male-dominated transport bosses and political colleagues.
Auckland Transport has a male chief executive, Dean Kimpton, with four other men and three women on his executive team. The AT board comprises five men, including councillors Andy Baker and Chris Darby. The only woman on the board is Nicole Rosie, who is there as chief executive of the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi in an oversight role with no voting rights.
The council’s infrastructure and transport committee is chaired by John Watson with Christine Fletcher as deputy.
“The transport system has been designed by men and then women need to fit into it. We need to be working together on it,” the ManurewaPapakura councillor said at the transport committee meeting.
“Women have a different life to men. We are more likely to walk, we are more likely to take public transport, we are more likely not to have access to a car . . . we have to spend so much time in a system that does not work for us.”
She raised the issue of safety, citing a report by transport planners M R Cagney on “Equity in Auckland’s Transport System” which found women are more likely to consider personal security and the risk of harassment or attack when making travel choices.
Women were surveyed for the report on what changes to public transport would most improve their journeys.
Protected cycleways, more frequent and reliable services, longer operating hours, crime prevention measures — such as greater surveillance and street lights — and lower speed limits and more road crossings were raised, Dalton said.
She spoke of one of the first women elected to the Christchurch City Council, who delivered the first public toilets with changing tables and a creche at the city’s cathedral.
“It’s not that they didn’t want it . . . they just didn’t think of it. And that is why women need to be equally represented in the decisions and the plans we are making,” said Dalton during an item on a 30-year transport plan.
Stacey van der Putten, AT’s director of public transport and active modes, agreed with Dalton’s comments in the context of a 30-year plan for Auckland, saying historically a lot of transport design has been done by men and there needs to be a bit more balance on big plans and decisions.
“What Angela said was true, in effect that women do have different perspectives on things, particularly when it comes to the safety aspects of moving about our city. By default we will contemplate certain things that a man wouldn’t necessarily do, particularly when it comes to night safety.”
Night-time, said van der Putten, is a completely different ball game due to women being more vulnerable.
She said AT upgraded lighting in the rail corridor 20 years ago but is now looking at the “first” and “last” leg where people walk up to and walk home from public transport.
“The psychological safety aspects are very complex and it’s very individual to people and is something we need to improve with how we design things,” said van der Putten.
Social behaviour had also fundamentally changed over the past couple of years, and it is essential to bring communities together — leaders, policing and schools — to devise local solutions.
Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson said when it comes to having more women on transport bodies, people want the best person for the job.
“But there is no doubt there is a lot of academic science that a gender balance on a governance board delivers a better outcome,” she said.
Comment is being sought from Mayor Wayne Brown.