Jamie Hosking and Alistair Woodward, School of Population Health, Waipapa Taumata Rau/University of Auckland.

We’ve all noticed that some parts of some cities are particularly enjoyable and stimulating. These tend to be places where you can easily walk around and there’s plenty to look at and do. You see other people out on the streets, talking to each other, shopping and visiting local places to eat. You can walk through parks and other attractive public spaces, enjoying the shade of trees and listening to birdsong. Neighbours know each other well, and it’s safe and fun for kids to get around the community freely and independently. These things all happen more often when there’s less traffic.

Communities like this are also healthier and more sustainable. Neighbourhoods where streets are mainly designed for people rather than traffic are easier, safer, and more enjoyable to get around by walking and cycling, and they are more likely to have good-quality public transport. This makes for less traffic danger and plenty of exercise from walking and biking. People in these neighbourhoods don’t need to get in their cars as often, because they can do more things locally, which is better for the climate. Less traffic also means cleaner air in these neighbourhoods, which is one of the most important ways we can improve health.

The Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS) allows the government to create better neighbourhoods and cities. The GPS describes the current government’s plans and priorities for the transport system. If we want neighbourhoods and cities that are vibrant and enjoyable to spend time in, with people on our streets and access to nature, we need transport options that help make this happen. That means making it easy to get around by walking and cycling, providing rapid public transport options, and making sure not too much of our scarce public space is taken up by traffic.

So how does the government’s draft GPS, released in March for consultation, measure up? Will it help make our neighbourhoods and cities better places?

Unfortunately, the draft GPS doesn’t look good at all. It proposes to cut funding for the infrastructure we need to make walking and cycling enjoyable, convenient and safe. It would also cut funding for public transport compared with pre-existing plans, making it increasingly hard to get around by any way other than car. The draft GPS proposes to reduce traffic calming measures such as speed bumps and increase maximum speeds for traffic. Billions more would be spent on roads, encouraging more car trips and more traffic. This would make our streets more dangerous for everyone, since more car travel and higher speeds are two of the things that have the strongest effects on increasing road crash deaths and injuries.

These changes would make our neighbourhoods and cities worse places to live in. And people who want to do their bit for the climate by walking and cycling instead of driving would find it harder to do so. Reducing the need to travel by car, especially for short trips, is one of the most important ways to reduce carbon emissions.

The changes would also increase negative health impacts from the transport system in Aotearoa, which are substantial, and which are not just from car crashes. Physical activity from walking, cycling and public transport use is important, and can help prevent leading causes of death such as diabetes and heart disease. Air pollution in our cities is largely caused by motor vehicles, and increases lung and heart disease. Combined, the physical inactivity, air pollution and road injuries associated with our current transport system create health system costs valued at over $7 billion across the lifetime of the NZ population.

Given these expected consequences, we don’t think the draft GPS represents responsible management of our transport system or our environment.

The draft GPS includes a statement of expectations from the Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown. He asks Waka Kotahi/New Zealand Transport Agency to focus on building and maintaining the state highway roading network. Central to the Minister’s vision is increasing spending on big roads, referred to as ‘roads of national significance’. If you’re interested in getting around using other travel modes, that’s not seen as ‘core business’ by the Minister. This is not good news for the one in eight adults – and everyone aged under 15, which is one in five Kiwis – who have no driver’s licence. The negative impacts of traffic on our communities and our climate are also not considered ‘core business’.

In our view, the focus should be on making our neighbourhoods and cities better places, which means places where it’s easier to get around in healthy and sustainable ways. Our streets should be places for everyone to enjoy and move around, not through-routes for traffic. This means reducing the number of vehicles in residential areas, calming traffic so our streets are safe for everyone, and redirecting funding away from expensive new roads and towards infrastructure that supports walking, cycling and public transport. This will also reduce the climate impact of our transport system, so people can travel more sustainably, more of the time.

We already have some exciting government programmes moving us in this direction, such as Innovating Streets for People. The Minister should support these programmes, and change the draft GPS, to create cities that are better to live in for all of us.

This article is informed by two submissions on the draft GPS: one by 22 researchers, and the other by the coalition Healthy Auckland Together.