We can’t just park the congestion problem

Retailers who have battled through tough economic times will be hoping for queues at the checkout as the shopping season kicks off in the lead up to Christmas.

Shoppers, however, will no doubt be battling queues of a different kind if scenes around Auckland malls in the past week are anything to go by — with people spending hours in their cars struggling to get out of carparks.

There will no doubt be an element of schadenfreude at these reports of shopping gridlock; there are people with far greater problems in this country than those stuck at malls after browsing for a new television.

But this carpark congestion speaks to a wider problem across the isthmus — the growing problem with traffic in New Zealand’s biggest city.

With the city still growing at a rapid rate, it’s not unusual to hear Aucklanders complaining of encountering rush-hour level traffic even on the weekends.

Despite a concerted push for years from the likes of Auckland

Transport to get locals into buses or on to bikes, the people of Ta¯maki Makaurau remain wedded to their cars.

Which is why Mayor Wayne Brown and a majority of councillors have pushed to introduce congestion charging in the next few years.

The fees will remain deeply unpopular with those who have no other choice but to commute at peak times.

But as Auckland Council’s lead transport adviser Michael Roth said last week:

“Building our way out of this is nigh on impossible, it is too expensive and it does not really solve the problem, so we need to manage demand.”

“It can’t just all be about carrots, we need some sticks,” he said.

Congestion charging during socalled peak times might not be the only answer required.

But if we don’t do something, expect ugly scenes like that in the Westfield Newmarket carpark to keep plaguing us.