|
Auckland City
Centre Advisory Board
26 June 2019
|
|
Albert
Street bus bays update
File No.: CP2019/10852
Te take mō te
pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To
note the revised layout of planned bus bays on Albert Street.
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
2. City
Rail Link is undertaking reinstatement of Albert Street as part of their works
delivery programme. The work includes the delivery of bus infrastructure along
the length of Albert Street as well as enhanced urban realm upgrades funded by
city centre targeted rate.
3. The
Auckland City Centre Advisory Board raised concerns regarding the impact of
four indented bus bays for both the street environment and pedestrians.
4. A
number of alternative layout options were explored by Auckland Transport,
Auckland Council, City Rail Link Limited as well as a representative from the
Auckland City Centre Advisory Board.
5. A
preferred layout has been identified which retains southbound indented bus
stops but allows for inline (non-indented) bus stops northbound from 2021 to
2024. This allows for additional pedestrian space and (should bus operations
enable this) additional trees in future, once tree pits are installed.
6. From
2024 there may be a requirement to reinstatement of three indented bus
bays on the northbound stops. Work is underway to
forecast bus volumes beyond 2024, but this information will become clearer
closer to the time.
7. There
would be additional cost to council, funded from the City Centre Targeted Rate
of approximately $60,000 for additional trees.
8. This
report is to inform the Auckland City Advisory Board of the revised layout of
the Albert Street bus bays.
|
Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendation/s
That the Auckland City Centre
Advisory Board:
a) note
its support for the revised layout of planned bus bays on Albert Street.
|
Horopaki
Context
9. City
Rail Link Limited is undertaking reinstatement of Albert Street as part of
their contract two (C2) works delivery programme.
10. The reinstatement work includes the delivery of bus infrastructure
along the length of Albert Street as well as enhanced urban realm upgrades
funded by city centre targeted rate.
11. The current layout includes the provision of four indented bus bays
on each side of Albert Street between Wyndham and Custom Streets.
12. Allowance has been made for futureproof tree pits to be constructed
beneath the indented bus stops. If bus service performance measures are met, it
has been agreed to remove the bus bays and plant trees in the tree pits.
Figure 1: Current
proposal for bus bays and trees on Albert Street
13. The
Auckland City Centre Advisory Board raised concerns regarding the impact of
four indented bus bays for both the street environment and pedestrians.
Concerns by the board were raised and included in the letter from the Mayor
dated 10 December 2018. A response from the Chief Executive Auckland Transport
was provided alongside an update report at the board’s 27 February 2019
meeting.
14. Auckland
City Centre Advisory Board resolved to re-escalate the matter to the Chief
Executives, Auckland Council and Auckland Transport and copied to Mayor Goff
(resolution CEN/2019/5). Mr Shane Ellison, Auckland Transport Chief Executive
gave an update on progress on this matter at the board’s 17 April 2019
meeting.
15. The board resolved to request that streetscape plans
associated with the indented bus bays on Albert Street be reported to the board
as soon as available, including criteria for future removal of the bus bays
(resolution CEN/2019/18).
16. An update to the board was provided at its workshop on 22 May, on
the options development process and the preferred option for the reinstated
Albert Street in response to the concerns raised by the board.
Tātaritanga me ngā
tohutohu
Analysis and advice
17. A number of
alternative layout options were explored by Auckland Transport, Auckland
Council and City Rail Link Limited. Feedback was also provided by a
representative from the Auckland City Centre Advisory Board.
18. Changes to
layout options were assessed against implications to bus operations, costs,
programme delays, consent conditions and property access.
19. A preferred
layout and staging has been identified and illustrated in Figure 2:
· From
2021, a full seven to eight metre wide pavement will be provided on the west
side of Albert Street, allowing for two additional trees to be planted. This is
on the assumption that bus volumes will be low enough to not require indented
bays.
· From
2024, City Rail Link works will be complete, Lower Albert Street will be
available purely for Northern Express (NX1) operation, and Auckland Transport
will need to route Onewa Road buses to Albert Street. This will potentially
require the reinstatement of three indented bus bays on the northbound stops.
Figure 2: Preferred solution for 2021-2024, and possible long-term
solution
20. However,
Auckland Transport are exploring possible permanent re-routing options for
Onewa Road bus services, allowing them to be removed from Albert Street
permanently[1].
This would allow for a further three trees to be planted on the western side of
Albert Street, as depicted in Figure 4 below.
Figure3:
Potential long-term solution for Albert Street, subject to permanent diversion
of Onewa Road services.
Ngā whakaaweawe me
ngā tirohanga a te rōpū Kaunihera
Council group impacts and views
21. Auckland
Council are fully supportive of the revised proposals for the revised layout
that meets urban place-making objectives for the street.
22. City Rail
Link Limited are also supportive of the revised layout, on the basis that there
is no change to programme or consenting processes.
Ngā whakaaweawe
ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe
Local impacts and local board views
23. Albert Street
falls within the Waitematā Local Board boundaries. Representatives from
the Waitematā Local Board viewed the proposals at an Auckland City Centre
Advisory Board workshop in May 2019 and indicated its support.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
Māori
Māori impact statement
24. There has
been no recent engagement with iwi beyond previous engagement on the
reinstatement of Albert Street.
Ngā ritenga
ā-pūtea
Financial implications
25. There would
be additional cost to council, funded from the City Centre Targeted Rate of
approximately $60,000 for additional trees.
Ngā raru tūpono me
ngā whakamaurutanga
Risks and mitigations
26. The main risk
around the recommended bus bay layout is that from 2024 the bus volumes
experienced would require that the northbound bus stops be indented. However,
there will be substantial public transport network planning prior to this time,
and the board will be advised of any proposal to change that bus stop closer to
the time.
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
27. Implementation
of revised layout as part the City Rail Link contract two.
Ngā tāpirihanga
Attachments
There are no attachments for
this report.
Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
|
Author
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Pete Moth – Manager Network Development,
Auckland Transport
|
|
Authorisers
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Mark Lambert – Executive General Manager
Integrated Networks, Auckland Transport
John Dunshea - General Manager Development Programmes
Office
|
|
Auckland City
Centre Advisory Board
26 June 2019
|
|
Funding for assertive outreach to rough
sleepers in the city centre
File No.: CP2019/11025
Te take mō te
pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To
seek support in principle for the assertive outreach service proposals from
Lifewise and Auckland City Mission.
2. To
seek support in principle the consideration of the funding request for the
assertive outreach service proposals from the city centre targeted rate
portfolio, in accordance with the funding assessment process.
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
3. Auckland
Council plays an important cross-sectoral coordination role in responding to
homelessness, working alongside central government and non-government services.
The role includes leading development of Kia Whai Kāinga Tātou Katoa,
a regional cross-sectoral homelessness plan and funding a range of initiatives
that support people who are experiencing homelessness.
4. The
council family has supported a range of initiatives including the recent
renovation of James Liston Hostel, the Ira Mata, Ira Tangata –
Auckland’s Homeless Count, and the Housing First Auckland pilot project.
In May 2019, the council also announced a $5 million contribution towards the
development of Auckland City Mission’s new HomeGround housing and social
services project.
5. In
August 2018, the Auckland City Centre Advisory Board asked staff to identify
initiatives to respond to homelessness in the city centre for potential funding
from the city centre targeted rate.
6. The
Auckland City Mission outreach service plays an important role in supporting
people experiencing homelessness and links people to vital services. An
independent evaluation of Auckland outreach services in February 2017
highlighted the value of the service and recommended that Auckland Council
explore opportunities to develop it further.
7. At
the June 2018 Auckland City Centre Advisory Board meeting, Dame Diane
Robertson, Chair of James Liston Hostel, recommended that intensive outreach
would be the most impactful way that the council could support the response to
homelessness in the city centre.
8. An
evaluation of the Auckland City Mission’s outreach services undertaken in
February 2017 identified resource and capacity issues as barriers to improving
the success of the service in ending homelessness in the city centre. An
assertive outreach service model has been used successfully in other cities,
and as such this report recommends funding for a joint assertive outreach
initiative by Auckland City Mission and Lifewise.
9. While
there are a range of initiatives currently in operation in the city centre and
central government has announced increased funding for the Housing First
programme in response to homelessness, there is continued unmet demand for accommodation
and wrap-around support services for people who are homeless in the city
centre.
10. Staff are
seeking the board’s support in principle for the Auckland City Mission
and Lifewise proposals for city centre targeted rate funding for two years, at
a total cost of $600,000.
|
Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendations
That the Auckland City Centre
Advisory Board:
a) support
in principle for the assertive outreach service proposals from Lifewise and
Auckland City Mission
b) support
in principle the consideration of the funding request for the assertive
outreach service proposals from the city centre targeted rate portfolio, in
accordance with the funding assessment process.
|
Horopaki
Context
11. Homelessness
is a complex issue which results from multi-layered social, structural and
individual factors including national policy settings and economic conditions,
immigration, access to health and social services, discrimination, family
violence, employment and poor health. The housing market is also a key driver,
generating high levels of unmet demand for social and affordable housing.
12. Statistics
New Zealand defines homelessness as including those sleeping rough, in
temporary accommodation, sharing temporarily or living in uninhabitable
dwellings. The level of homelessness across Auckland region increased by 26 per
cent between the 2006 and 2013 censuses.
13. In the 2013
census, 20,296 people were homeless in Auckland, and 29 percent of those were
aged between 15 and 24 years. Based on the average increase between censuses,
homelessness could reach more than 26,000 by 2021.
14. At the August
2018 Auckland City Centre Advisory Board meeting, staff provided the board with
an update on Auckland Council’s operational response to homelessness, and
an update on the development of Kia Whai Kāinga Tātou Katoa, a
regional cross-sectoral plan to address homelessness in Tāmaki Makaurau.
At this meeting, the board asked staff to identify initiatives to respond to
homelessness in the city centre for potential funding, for the board’s
consideration.
15. Between March
2017 and March 2019, Housing First Auckland has permanently housed 964 people
experiencing homelessness, including 83 people housed in the city centre.
However, the Ira Mata, Ira Tangata – Auckland’s Homeless Count in
September 2018 estimated a minimum of 3,674 people living without shelter and
in temporary accommodation across the Auckland region. Of this, there were at
least 128 individuals living rough in the Waitematā Local Board area, 8
percent of the regional total of rough sleepers counted.
16. In 2016, the
Auckland City Centre Advisory Board recommended that $2 million of city centre
targeted rate be allocated to the redevelopment of James Liston Hostel, the
city centre’s only emergency hostel. The hostel has since been
redeveloped and re-opened on 5 June 2019.
17. Despite
significant investment from central government for projects like Housing First
Auckland, there is still an unmet need for accommodation and support services
for people experiencing homelessness in Auckland, particularly in the city
centre. Redevelopments currently underway such as Housing New Zealand’s
Greys Avenue redevelopment and Auckland City Mission HomeGround are scheduled
to be completed by 2020/2021.
18. In May 2019,
the government announced $197 million in funding for Housing First nationally.
While a portion of this funding is expected to be applied in Auckland, it will
take time for any benefits from this additional funding to be demonstrated in
central Auckland.
19. Another issue
that has been a growing concern in the city centre is antisocial behaviour. Not
necessarily related to homelessness, some issues include aggressive begging and
an increase in synthetic drug use. In response to this, the council’s
Arts, Community and Events department has appointed a central city safety
project manager to design and lead innovative approaches that take both a
responsive and systemic-change approach to community safety. This new role will
work closely with the Taskforce on City Centre Alcohol and Safety to identify
priorities and collaboratively develop responses to antisocial behaviour.
Tātaritanga me ngā
tohutohu
Analysis and advice
20. Auckland
City Mission and Lifewise have submitted complementary proposals as a package
to support the development of assertive outreach services for the city centre
to be considered for funding through city centre targeted rate (Attachments A
and B).
21. Auckland
City Mission (Attachment A) propose to further develop their outreach service
to a more assertive model that will be comprised of professionals with
specialist competencies in alcohol and drug assessment and treatment, mental
health, allied health and similar, along with knowledge of the issues unique to
homelessness. This would provide more intensive support to homeless than is
currently available.
22. Lifewise
(Attachment B) proposes to develop a peer outreach model that will be staffed
by people with lived experience of homelessness in the city centre who are also
trained in peer support. The peer outreach team will be focused on building
authentic relationships of trust with people who have been long-term rough
sleepers in the city centre and central Auckland, and who are the most
vulnerable. The Lifewise team will also have a specific focus on youth.
23. Assertive
outreach is defined as “a persistent and purposeful street outreach that
aims to end homelessness for people sleeping rough. Building rapport and trust
are the foundation of this approach” (Council to Homeless Persons 2018[2]).
24. In
addition to support for outreach services in other parts of the region,
Auckland Council contributes $50,000 annually to Auckland City Mission to
support their regional homeless outreach service. This service comprises a
small team of outreach workers who engage with the most vulnerable people on
the streets. The team assists individuals without a fixed address to secure
housing, income and other support services. They also assist people who are not
receiving social assistance to apply, secure and maintain income, and to
transition them into housing.
25. Auckland
City Mission currently employs three full time outreach workers and one mental
health nurse. Complementary to this team are the brief intervention team based
at the Mission (one senior practitioner and three key workers) and the Elder
Person Service (one full time social worker and one full time key worker).
Between January and March 2019, the outreach team responded to 44
notifications, including ten new clients not previously known to their services.
26. An
independent evaluation of the outreach services undertaken in February 2017
found that the “outreach services clearly have an important role within
policy and services for homelessness. This is particularly so in the current
situation where housing and homelessness are critical challenges for Auckland.
A key area of potential further development is greater multi-disciplinary
activity”. The Lifewise and Auckland City Mission proposals outlined in
this report will enhance both multidisciplinary and peer support
services.
27. The
evaluation also highlighted that the outreach service provides a referral
pathway for calls received by the council customer call centre and recommended
that “Auckland Council explore opportunities to expand support for
outreach services”.
28. Furthermore,
two key recommendations of the Ira Mata, Ira Tangata report are:
· a
targeted response is provided to support local board areas with the highest
concentrations of people living without shelter, including the Waitematā
Local Board area
· that
people with lived experience of homelessness are represented at all levels of
planning and responses.
29. At
the June 2018 Auckland City Centre Advisory Board meeting, Dame Diane
Robertson, Chair of James Liston Hostel, recommended that intensive outreach
would be the most impactful way council could support the response to
homelessness in the city centre.
30. As
they already do as partners in Housing First Auckland, Auckland City Mission
and Lifewise are proposing to extend their current service offerings to work
collaboratively to provide intensive outreach services to vulnerable
individuals. Each organisation will bring their respective skills and expertise
to deliver a coordinated, systems-focused approach, aligned to the principles
of Housing First, and will feature well-integrated health, social and community
support.
31. In
line with the coordinated access and consistent data approach initiatives led
by Housing First Auckland, these assertive outreach services will apply a new
tool to assess individuals’ strengths, needs and vulnerabilities, with a
focus on health and emotional wellbeing. The Vulnerability Index-Service
Prioritisation Decision Assistance Tool is designed to improve coordinated
access to services. Improved data collection tools like this one are
important in enabling the effective, timely and individualised assessment,
intervention and case management needed by homeless people.
32. The
total cost of this assertive outreach proposal is $300,000 per year, as
detailed in Table 1 below. Further information on each proposal is provided in
Attachments A and B.
Table 1 – Proposed
assertive outreach package.
|
Organisation
|
Cost per year
|
Purpose
|
Approach
|
|
Auckland City Mission
|
$180,000
|
Two full-time equivalent
outreach professionals,
plus a contribution for management and coordination
|
Multidisciplinary,
professional
|
|
Lifewise
|
$120,000
|
Two full-time equivalent
trained peer support workers with lived experience
|
Peer-led
|
|
Total package
|
$300,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
33. Staff
recommend that the combined assertive outreach package is funded from the city
centre targeted rate for two years, at a total cost of $600,000. Funding for
two years will enable monitoring and evaluation of the more intensive approach,
and form a basis for securing long-term sustainable funding from central
government and other partners.
34. These
assertive outreach service proposals are considered a priority for funding
because it aligns closely with the city centre targeted rate purpose and
vision, as shown in Table 2 below:
Table 2 – Evaluation of assertive outreach package
|
Proposal evaluation
criteria
|
Score
|
|
Alignment with city
centre targeted rate purpose and vision
|
High
|
|
Strategic alignment
with other homelessness initiatives
|
High
|
|
Potential impact on
ending city centre homelessness
|
High
|
|
Funding need (no
alternative source of funding)
|
High
|
35. In
addition to being a pilot project, the two-year term of this assertive outreach
package helps to bridge the period until Auckland City Mission’s
HomeGround facility and the upgraded Greys Ave housing development come
on-stream. 2021 is a particular focus for Auckland as the city hosts the Asia
Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) and the 21st America’s Cup.
Ngā whakaaweawe me
ngā tirohanga a te rōpū Kaunihera
Council group impacts and views
36. In
2017, the Environment and Community Committee agreed council’s position
that homelessness should be ‘rare, brief and non-recurring’
(resolution ENV/2017/118). Furthermore, the committee confirmed that the
council’s role should be to strengthen levers to improve, prevent and end
homelessness, to lead and coordinate development of a regional, cross sectoral
homelessness plan, and to fund a range of initiatives that support people who
are experiencing homelessness.
37. Auckland
Council has been working with central government, non-government agencies,
Māori and philanthropic organisations to develop Kia Whai Kāinga
Tātou Katoa – the regional cross-sectoral homelessness plan for
Auckland. A draft strategic framework has been developed and an implementation
plan (roadmap) is being developed. Kia Whai Kāinga Tātou Katoa
focuses on system change and includes a focus on prevention and early
intervention to address homelessness in the medium to long-term as well as
crisis response interventions.
38. In
the preparation of this report, staff have consulted with Auckland
Council’s Community and Social Policy team which is leading and
coordinating the development of Kia Whai Kāinga Tātou Katoa, and this
assertive outreach proposal aligns to the draft regional
framework.
Ngā whakaaweawe
ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe
Local impacts and local board views
39. In
May 2018, the local board also funded a trial of showers for rough sleepers in
partnership with Ellen Melville Centre (WTM/2018/52) and endorsed a pilot
outreach programme by James Liston Hostel held at Outhwaite Hall in Spring
2018. The programme provided eleven weeks of engagement and support daily
between 8.00am and 2.00pm, supervised by James Liston Hostel staff.
40. The
Waitematā Local Board continues to be active in its responsiveness to
emerging needs and issues of Waitematā’s homeless community. In
March 2019, the local board allocated funding $12,000 towards the following
(resolution WTM/2019/34):
· $10,000
grant to Lifewise Auckland to support scoping of an Auckland Housing Help
Centre – the centre will provide an information, advice and navigation
services for people with housing needs in the city centre, co-located with a
youth housing initiative
· $2,000
for a volunteer training and appreciation event hosted by the local board
– this event will acknowledge and thank the volunteers who give their
time to support the homeless community in the area, grown volunteer networks,
and include training from the Auckland City Mission outreach team.
41. The
proposed assertive outreach initiatives will have a significant impact on the
lives of rough sleepers in the city centre, who are among Auckland’s most
vulnerable citizens. This in turn will revitalise and enhance the city centre.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
Māori
Māori impact statement
42. Māori
are disproportionately affected by homelessness and have the second highest
rate of homelessness, after Pacific peoples. In the 2013 census, 32 percent of
the homelessness population identified as Māori and more than 40 percent
of people on the social housing register identify as Māori. The Ira Mata
Ira Tangata – Auckland’s Homeless Count in September 2018 found
that 43 percent of people living without shelter were Māori.
43. Auckland City
Mission and Lifewise have strong links with mana whenua, Ngāti Whātua
Ōrākei and a number of urban marae. More than 60 percent of Auckland
City Mission clients are Māori, and Mission HomeGround will provide an
opportunity to strengthen their programmes for Māori.
44. Each of the
Housing First Auckland Collective providers have their own kaupapa Māori
approaches to service delivery, and one of the providers is Kāhui tū
Kaha, a Ngāti Whātua (mana whenua) organisation. Lifewise, Auckland
City Mission and the other Housing First Auckland providers employ Māori
staff who often have lived experience of homelessness and provide peer support
through their outreach programme, such as the Lifewise ‘Lived Experience
Crew’. Such peer support is the differentiating factor of the Lifewise
portion of this assertive outreach package.
45. Auckland
Council have engaged and consulted with Māori, iwi and mataawaka
organisations on the development of the cross-sectoral homelessness action
plan.
Ngā ritenga
ā-pūtea
Financial implications
46. Further
investment is required to support a response to homelessness in the city
centre. The board’s allocation of financial resources to the initiatives
identified will make a significant contribution towards improving services
provided to rough sleepers in the city centre. As
homelessness has such a high impact on this area, there is strong rationale to
support projects responding to homelessness initiatives from the city centre
targeted rate.
47. In 2016, the
Auckland City Centre Advisory Board endorsed $2 million to support the
redevelopment of emergency housing provider James Liston Hostel through the
city centre targeted rate (CEN/2016/46).
48. This report
seeks the board’s support in principle to consider providing $600,000 of
city centre targeted rate funding towards homelessness initiatives over the
next two years.
49. A
review of the city centre targeted rate programme is underway and the requested
funding of $600,000 over the next two years will be assessed as part of the
portfolio funding assessment process.
50. Staff
have explored alternative sources of funding for this package within the
council and related entities, but no other budget is available for this
purpose.
51. The
Waitematā Local Board allocated $20,000 to support homelessness initiatives
in the 2018/2019 financial year (WTM/2018/77).
52. Auckland
Council’s regional response to homelessness has included:
· $1
million to support delivery of the Housing First Auckland pilot in 2017
· $500,000
per annum in 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 to promote collaboration between agencies
across the sector to address chronic homelessness. Seventy-five percent of this
funding has been allocated to Housing First to support the initiative,
including funding for Ira Mata, Ira Tangata – Auckland’s Homeless
Count and initiatives to develop better systems across agencies to improve data
collection and management
· $475,000
in 2018/2019 towards the Auckland City Mission HomeGround project to cover
consenting charges and contributions associated with the redevelopment of the
site
· $5
million to support the development of Mission HomeGround through the 2019/2020
annual budget.
Ngā raru tūpono me
ngā whakamaurutanga
Risks and mitigations
53. Despite
significant investment from central government for projects like Housing First
Auckland and Mission HomeGround, there is still an unmet need for support
services for people experiencing homelessness in the city centre.
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
54. If the
Auckland City Centre Advisory Board supports the proposals, the funding request
will be submitted for consideration as part of the city centre targeted rate
portfolio funding.
55. Auckland City
Mission and Lifewise will provide a progress report to the Auckland City Centre
Advisory Board after the first year, and an evaluation of the package at the
end of the two-year period.
Ngā tāpirihanga
Attachments
|
No.
|
Title
|
Page
|
|
a⇩ 
|
Auckland City Mission assertive outreach proposal
|
21
|
|
b⇩
|
Lifewise outreach proposal
|
25
|
Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
|
Author
|
Natalie Hansby – Practice Manager, Community
Empowerment
|
|
Authorisers
|
Graham Bodman – General Manager, Arts, Community
and Events
John Dunshea - General Manager Development Programmes
Office
|
