Do you know a Chocolate Teapot?

This is a story about a Strategic Transport Planner who was employed by North Shore City council to develop its Transport Strategy. The story goes back to about 2002 when I was chair of NSCC's Works and Environment Committee. I had become frustrated by the lack of a Transport Strategy when trying to implement changes that supported cycling and public transport, instead of, or ahead of, road widening projects for cars. The General Manager of NSCC's Transport division told me that NSCC needed a transport strategy, before the council could usefully engage with priority changes for transport spending. After about a year's looking, I was advised that there were no Strategic Transport Planners in New Zealand. So NSCC cast the net wider and looked in Australia, and then in South Africa. It was in the course of the South Africa search that we found Pete Clarke - or maybe Pete Clarke found us. Anyway. We snapped him up. But he wasn't a Strategic Transport Planner, and so we kept on looking. Our search extended into the Northern hemisphere, and a few names came up. I remember Geoff Mason was sent over to interview the likely ones. And we recruited Howard. Howard was a Strategic Transport Planner from a city in the north of England. He'd worked in Lancashire and Huddersfield and places like that. (Said in a broad Northern accent of course). The first thing he did when he got here was to buy a house - or try and buy a house - in East Coast Bays. he came out with his wife. The next thing he did was prepare a wonderful colour consultation brochure - I'm sure I could find one in my archives if I looked really hard - but not successful so far. It was circulated throughout North Shore - or maybe a part of North Shore - I can't remember. It asked for feedback about the kind of city people wanted. Was it one with widened roads (picture), or was it one with more of a village feel, with people walking, cycling. You get the picture. The result was predictable. There was massive support for the village feel with good PT, cycling and walking. So he got on with preparing the strategy. At least that's what I though he was doing. Months went past and nothing came onto my committee agenda. I asked the General Manager about it, and got non-committal answers....

Then there was a staff leaving do, and I was in attendance. Howard was there to, so I took him aside and asked him what was happening. He looked pained, and after a pause he said to me, "Joel. I feel like a chocolate teapot around here...". With that Northern accent. I had never heard the phrase before, and had to think what he meant. He expanded on his point... "We have staff meetings in here, where we discuss things and priorities, and when I mention what I think we should be doing on the North Shore they just look at me. I don't get any support..." Basically he was frozen out. The car culture of NSCC's Traffic engineers was overwhelming. The idea that you could manage traffic flows by using road space differently was alien to them. Their university training was all about road building, road speeds, camber, all that sort of thing. Supply management. Not demand management. It was really sad. Because he was saying the right things - I thought - but the culture, the way we do things around here, was very strong. After a few months Howard sold his house, packed his bags and he and his wife went back to North England. I hope he's happy there. I am worried that we risk creating a culture in our new Auckland Council where the spirit of innovation and creativity that we will need to change Auckland's sprawling habits and wasteful ways won't take root. To get the best people, those knowledge workers with ideas, we need to provide a working environment and working culture that feeds them. It's not too late. We don't need talented people made to feel like chocolate teapots in Auckland Council.