NZ Transport Agency Wellington Regional Office

2 July 2011

NZTA seeking community feedback on Cobham Drive to Buckle Street transport proposals

The NZ Transport Agency is asking Wellingtonians to provide feedback on proposals for transport improvements between Cobham Drive and Buckle Street, released today.

NZTA Regional Director Central Jenny Chetwynd says this will be the first time the full set of proposals has been presented together as an integrated package, and the NZTA is asking Wellingtonians for their views on the proposals over the course of an eight week public engagement period running from today to 26 August.

“These proposals will make it easier, quicker and safer for everyone to travel between the CBD and the eastern suburbs. This will help to grow Wellington’s economy and make the city a better place to live.”

The proposals include:
• Two options for a bridge to the north of the Basin to improve traffic flows and reduce journey times for public transport
• A second Mt Victoria Tunnel
• Widening Ruahine Street and Wellington Road
• A dedicated pedestrian and cycling facility between Cobham Drive and the Basin Reserve.

Ms Chetwynd says the improvements will provide an integrated multi-modal transport solution for the city.

“We’re seeking feedback on a package for Wellington that will reduce congestion, free up the Basin Reserve and other roads for better public transport, and provide a continuous, dedicated and safer link for pedestrians and cyclists between Cobham Drive and Buckle Street.”

“We’re eager to hear the public’s views and we encourage people to closely consider our proposals, visit our Information Centre and Open Days, and make a submission.

“Feedback from the public is crucial to provide a local perspective that will help to guide our decisions as we shape the required approvals we will be seeking under the Resource Management Act.”

Ms Chetwynd says the NZTA is working closely with Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council to ensure the improvements will advance the objectives of the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan.
“These improvements form a key part of the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan, which is a package of measures that will improve transport in the city by improving inner city traffic flows, facilitating the council's existing and future public transport systems and improving walking and cycling facilities in the city.

“We’re aiming to provide an effective transport solution for Wellingtonians while also considering the effects of these improvements on Wellington's environmental, urban amenity and cultural heritage.”

Ms Chetwynd says as part of the Wellington Northern Corridor Road of National Significance, the inner city state highway improvements will also play a crucial role in supporting economic growth, easing congestion and improving safety on highways and local roads by providing a robust, future-proofed link between Wellington and the rest of the North Island.

While the delivery of these projects will be staged over time, the NZTA is providing people with information on all of the proposed improvements at the same time so that it is clear how they will work together to improve transport in the city. The Basin Reserve improvements are the first major improvements scheduled for construction.

“The Basin Reserve is a major bottleneck, where numerous streams of traffic from different directions compete to use a very constrained road space. We’ve proposed a new bridge to separate traffic, which will help to free up road space for public transport priority measures and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists who use this area.”

The proposals also included a new Mount Victoria Tunnel, the widening of Ruahine Street, and a dedicated cycle facility from Cobham Drive to the Basin Reserve. The widening of Ruahine Street and Wellington Road will require some encroachment into the Town Belt, and Ms Chetwynd says the NZTA plans to provide adjoining land to the Town Belt to offset this.

“We understand the value of the Basin Reserve and the Town Belt to Wellingtonians and we are committed to working closely with councils and communities to ensure that we mitigate the impacts of these proposals on Wellington’s environment and heritage”

Ms Chetwynd says the NZTA has personally informed all affected property owners to ensure that they are aware of the proposals and their rights and entitlements under the Public Works Act. A brochure will be sent to all households in Wellington City outlining the proposals, and extensive information is available on the project website www.nzta.govt.nz/witi

A project information centre at the Basin Reserve’s RA Vance Stand on Sussex Street will be open from 10am to 3pm Monday to Friday from 4 July onwards, with the exception of Thursdays, when opening hours will be 3pm to 8pm.
ENDS

FAQs – Cobham Drive to Buckle Street transport improvements

How will this project contribute towards Wellington’s economic growth?

The proposed transport improvements between Cobham Drive and Buckle Street will make Wellington more liveable and easier to get around, enabling smoother and quicker movement of people and freight, less wastage of time and fuel, fewer crashes, better transport choices for everyone and a significant reduction in traffic numbers on key suburban routes.

This will foster economic growth by encouraging people to live, work and do business here, and will support continued planned growth along the City’s growth spine, and in the eastern suburbs (Kilbirnie Town Centre) and the southern suburbs (Adelaide Road urban intensification plans), and the planned expansion of passenger and freight numbers at Wellington Airport. As part of the Wellington Northern Corridor Road of National Significance, it will also play a crucial role in providing a robust, future-proofed link between Wellington and the rest of the North Island.

This project contains a number of specific economic benefits for all transport users:

o Private vehicles: These improvements will make journey times shorter, reduce congestion, reduce vehicle operating costs such as fuel and maintenance, will make travel times more reliable, and will help to prevent crashes.

o Public transport: These improvements will enable public transport to operate more efficiently, making journey times shorter and more reliable, potentially enabling more trips to be taken in a day. It will also reduce vehicle operating costs such as fuel, electricity and maintenance, will help to prevent crashes, will help to reduce emissions, and will accommodate urban intensification, which ultimately means more passengers per bus stop.

o Walking and Cycling: These improvements will help to improve health and fitness, shorten journey times, and make walking and cycling safer. Overall, it will unlock the potential for people in the Eastern Suburbs to cycle to and from the CBD safely and with dedicated facilities the whole way through, and will make commuting by foot or pedal more of a reality.

o Freight: These improvements will improve the efficiency of transport between the Airport and the CBD, freeing up a highly constrained and inefficient freight corridor, which will reduce the cost of transporting goods and unlock efficiency and productivity benefits for the lower North Island. It will also accommodate plans by the Airport to grow its freight business.

How does building new roads help improve public transport?

Routes like Adelaide Road and Constable Street are key public transport routes, and unless additional capacity is provided to SH1, the increased traffic using such alternative routes will hold back the ability of public transport to operate efficiently.

Traffic volumes are also predicted to increase between the eastern and southern suburbs and the CBD. This will increase traffic congestion around the Basin Reserve.

If state highway traffic is separated onto a bridge around the Basin Reserve, this will free up road space for the region’s plans under the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan to provide a light rail or other high quality passenger transport system between the railway station and Newtown.

Alleviating congestion around Adelaide Road and the Basin Reserve will also help to unlock the potential for increased urban development that is planned in this area.

How will these proposals improve walking and cycling?

These improvements will provide a dedicated walking and cycling link from Cobham Drive all the way through to the existing cycleway at the Basin Reserve, including a four metre wide facility through the duplicate Mount Victoria Tunnel to replace the existing 1.5m wide facility.

The provision of this facility will make walking and cycling between the Eastern Suburbs and the CBD safer, easier and therefore more attractive as a transport option, and will help to make commuting on foot or bicycle more of a reality.

This new facility will provide a new alternative to the longer, more exposed route around Evans Bay and will eliminate the need to negotiate the narrow and noisy pathway through the existing Mt Victoria tunnel.

The proposals will also include a new ‘green belt’ recreational link from the Town Belt to Kilbirnie Park for recreational activities such as dog walking, hiking, etc.

At the Basin Reserve, a bridge will make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to get around by separating state highway traffic and therefore reducing the amount of traffic around the Basin at ground level. This will particularly make it safer and easier when events are held at the Basin, as well as for the large numbers of school students who attend schools in the area.

We are also proposing a larger, safer bus stop and drop off point outside St Marks School, wider footpaths with seats and trees, safer crossings, a shared pedestrian and cycle way from Kent terrace to Mt Victoria Tunnel, and a pedestrian plaza at the northern entrance to the Basin.

Why not just improve public transport and walking and cycling facilities, rather than building more roads?

Wellingtonians walk, cycle and take the bus more than people in any other main centre, and so we recognise that it’s critical we provide for all transport choices.

We want to improve people’s transport choices, not limit them. The Cobham Drive to Buckle Street improvements will make getting around Wellington easier and safer for everyone, whether on foot, on a bike, in a bus, or behind the wheel.

These proposals will help to improve public transport, pedestrians and cyclists. But to grow Wellington’s economy, we also need to provide an efficient, safe route for private vehicles – shopping trips, courier and freight deliveries, and journeys to and from the airport are all important to our economy. By improving the efficiency of transport between the Airport and the CBD, these improvements will also freeing up a highly constrained and inefficient freight corridor, which will reduce the cost of transporting goods and unlock efficiency and productivity benefits for the lower North Island.

Public transport in Wellington is not as effective as it could be. Bus travel in particular is constrained by traffic congestion in the city. This lack of capacity is holding back the development of public transport priority measures and dedicated walking and cycling facilities.

These improvements will provide a long-term solution to this capacity problem, relieving congestion for private motor vehicles and at the same time unlocking new capacity for public transport and enabling the provision of better walking and cycling facilities.

Improving the attractiveness of public transport must be a precursor to modal shift, i.e. giving people a reason to get out of their cars and hop on a bus. To make public transport more attractive, it must be seen as an efficient and effective alternative to private vehicles. To do this we need to free up suburban roads to provide road space for public transport to move more efficiently.

These proposed improvements are just part of the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan, which is a broader package of measures that will improve transport in the city by improving inner city traffic flows, facilitating the council's existing and future public transport systems and improving walking and cycling facilities in the city. We are working very closely with WCC and GWRC to progress these measures to ensure all modes of transport are improved across the city.

How does this project fit in with the Ngauranga to Airport Plan?

The proposed improvements to SH1 flow from the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan. This land use and transport development plan was jointly developed by Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington and NZTA. It was extensively consulted on, and after refinement, unanimously adopted by the three partner organisations in 2008.
These public transport, walking, cycling and road improvements are all tied together by the Plan’s key concept of a multi-modal corridor. Instead of trying to optimise each mode in isolation, the Corridor Plan integrates solutions that make the optimal use of each mode within the broader functioning of the City as a whole. Planning for and delivering such fully integrated transport solutions is international best practice in urban and transport planning, and is the approach taken to transport planning by Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington and the NZTA in the Corridor Plan.
The NZ Transport Agency was specifically tasked to develop short and long terms proposals to improve key parts of the Corridor, including around the Basin Reserve, the two SH1 tunnels and the section of road between Mount Victoria Tunnel and Cobham Drive.
These sections were identified as needing improvement because they currently reduce the performance of the entire multi-modal corridor, or are likely to be problem areas in the future.
For example, at the Basin Reserve all four elements of the Ngauranga to Airport corridor flow together and compete for priority. Here our key bus corridor to the south and east of the City crosses SH1, which carries most regional and local traffic to and from the east. Crossing these dense flows of busses and other vehicles are thousands of pedestrians, cyclists and the local traffic from the south accessing the central city. In short, it’s a bit of a mess, which is why unlocking the jam around the Basin by separating competing traffic flows is so critical to the success of the Corridor Plan.
We are also seeking public feedback on the Corridor Plan’s objective of a second Mt Victoria tunnel and the widening of Ruahine and Wellington Streets. These improvements were included in the Corridor Plan to accommodate increased vehicular traffic, improve access for pedestrians and cyclists to the central city, and to reduce the amount of through traffic that passes through Oriental Bay and Newtown during peak hours.
While work on these projects gets underway, the NZTA is also working closely with partners and communities across the lower North Island to progress a wide number of local or regional transport solutions, all of which will contribute to a thriving region. We are a key partner in the upgrade of the Wellington regional commuter rail system, which complements the improvements already made and planned for SH1 and SH2 and key arterial roads.


Does the NZTA invest in Wellington’s public transport network as well as state highways?

The NZ Transport Agency is investing heavily in public transport in Wellington, because it is an essential part of a safe and effective transport system for the city. In the last three years we have invested $200m in public transport services and infrastructure in Wellington. By comparison, these improvements are estimated to cost approximately $500m over the course of around 10 years and will help to future proof Wellington’s transport network for decades to come.

But public transport in Wellington is not as effective as it could be. Bus travel in particular is constrained by traffic congestion in the city. This lack of capacity is holding back the development of public transport priority measures and dedicated walking and cycling facilities.

These improvements will provide a long-term solution to this capacity problem, relieving congestion for private motor vehicles and at the same time unlocking new capacity for public transport.

We’re working very closely with the Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council to progress the multimodal objectives and measures outlined in the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan.

As part of the multi-modal measures outlined in the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan, we’ve invested funding towards the Manners Mall bus priority improvements and $1m towards a public transport spine study to identify future solutions for public transport in Wellington.

How much time will these improvements take off my journey?


Our projections show that despite arterial traffic being concentrated on SH1 and moved off suburban roads, these proposed improvements are expected to reduce journey times from Cobham Drivet to the CBD by around 5 minutes in peak times, based on 2026 projections.

These proposals will make journey times more reliable and consistent between the Eastern Suburbs and the CBD, meaning people taking time-critical journeys to work, school and the airport can enjoy more certainty about arrival times.





When will these proposed improvements be built?


Construction of improvements around the Basin Reserve is scheduled to start in 2014 or 2015, which is consistent with the expectations set out in the Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan. The improvements are likely to take two or three years to complete. The interim improvements to the Inner City Bypass and Ruahine Street may also start at this time.

The second Mt Victoria Tunnel and the main improvements to Ruahine Street and Wellington Road are currently scheduled to follow the completion of the Kapiti Expressway and the Transmission Gully sections of the Wellington Northern Corridor Road of National Significance programme.

Why are you building more capacity for state highways when traffic numbers on SH1 aren’t soaring?

Traffic numbers on Paterson Street and Ruahine Street are continuing to rise by 1% per year. This rise is relatively modest because the route is already at capacity and spillover traffic is increasingly using alternative routes such as Evans Bay Parade and Adelaide Road / Constable Street to avoid the bottleneck. As a result, traffic growth is higher on these roads and travel times are deteriorating. On Oriental and Evans Bay Parades, traffic numbers have doubled in recent years, which could threaten its perception as an idyllic and scenic route that is safe and user friendly for pedestrians and cyclists.

Is the NZTA proposing a motorway?

How can I find out more, and give feedback?

Why hasn’t the NZTA put forward a tunnel option for improvements around the Basin Reserve?

We’ve carried out extensive investigations into other options for the Basin Reserve.

A tunnel was not considered to be feasible as it presented several serious engineering problems due to the steep gradient, the swampy ground conditions, and the difficulty of accommodating a portal near the Basin Reserve without causing severance and disruption for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. A tunnel would also have needed to run all the way from Paterson Street to Taranaki Street to be viable, which also would have cut off access from Tasman and Tory Streets. With all these factors in mind, a tunnel would have been logistically very difficult, offered fewer transport connections, and effectively doubled the cost of the transport improvements around the Basin Reserve. It would cost twice as much and potentially deliver a poor result.

A tunnel under the Basin would also be susceptible to tsunami risk due to its low-lying nature, whereas a bridge can be built to withstand a 1 in 2500 year earthquake,

Why hasn’t the NZTA put forward a street-level option for improvements around the Basin Reserve?

We’ve carried out extensive investigations into other options for the Basin Reserve.

With regard to street-level options, while these were cheaper than a bridge, they did not address the capacity constraints around the Basin. While they performed reasonably well for westbound traffic on SH1, these options were projected to increase congestion for north-south traffic, including existing and any future public transport services between the CBD and Newtown.

To properly address congestion for all transport users around the Basin Reserve, it was necessary to separate east-west traffic from the north-south traffic it competes with, which requires grade separation to be effective.

How will these proposals affect the safety of school students, and people attending events at the Basin?

Separating traffic with a new bridge north of the Basin Reserve will make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to get around by reducing the amount of traffic around the Basin at ground level. This will particularly make it safer and easier when events are held at the Basin, as well as for the large numbers of school students who attend schools in the area.

We are also proposing a larger, safer bus stop and drop off point outside St Marks School, wider footpaths with seats and trees, safer crossings, a shared pedestrian and cycle way from Kent terrace to Mt Victoria Tunnel, and a pedestrian plaza on the Northern entrance to the Basin.

How will these improvements affect access to sporting facilities?

These proposed improvements will improve safety and access to sporting facilities. A new signalised intersection will be created at the junction of Goa Street, Ruahine Street and Hataitai Park. This will mean vehicles will no longer have to cross in front of oncoming traffic traveling at 70km/h when turning in and out of Hataitai Park (as well as Goa Street).

We will also be providing a ‘green belt’ link which will give people a public link between the Town Belt and Kilbirnie Park to facilitate recreational activities such as dog walking, day hiking, etc. This will help to open up Kilbirnie as a recreational space for the public.

These improvements will also improve the ease, travel times and safety of journeys between the CBD and the new Indoor Sports Centre.

Why are more than four lanes required on Ruahine Street?

How will these proposed improvements affect the Town Belt?

We are proposing to encroach into the Town Belt because the alternative would be to remove a large number of residential properties on the eastern side of Ruahine Street. The total amount of land required, on the western side of Ruahine St, would be 1.6 hectares.

We appreciate that the Town Belt has significance for the Wellington region, and we’re committed to minimising our impacts on it and on nearby property owners. However, it’s important to remember that there is an existing 25 metre designation for road expansion which has been in place as part of the WCC District Plan for around 30 years, signaling to the community an intention to widen Ruahine St into the Town Belt.

The Town Belt is governed by a deed of trust and a number of Acts. Town Belt land can be compulsorily acquired under the Public Works Act for roading purposes.

In the meantime, we’re working with the appropriate authorities to ensure that, through freeing up other land next to the Town Belt, the amount of open, green public recreational space in the Town Belt is retained as far as practicable.

We will also be providing a ‘green belt’ link which will give people a public link between the Town Belt and Kilbirnie Park to facilitate recreational activities such as dog walking, day hiking, etc. This will help to open up Kilbirnie as a recreational space for the public.

How will these proposed improvements affect property owners?

There is an existing 25 metre designation for road expansion which has been in place as part of the WCC District Plan for around 30 years. As such, property owners will have been aware of the long-term intention to widen Wellington Road.

Ultimately, it's important that we present to the public the best proposal we can that addresses the transport issues we're facing, and this does require some property impacts beyond the existing designation.

We appreciate that this is an unsettling time for property owners, particularly for those who have learned that more land is required than may have previously been expected, and we want do things the right way. We have dedicated staff working with all affected property owners
to ensure they understand the proposals, how they can give feedback, and what their rights and entitlements are under the Public Works Act.

New Zealand law ensures that property owners receive fair market value for any property acquired under the Public Works Act.

The market value is usually determined from two independent registered valuations of the property's value at the time it is purchased, ignoring the impact of the project on the property's value. In other words, the independent valuations will determine what the property would be worth on the open market if the project in question did not exist.

What are the Roads of National Significance?

The Government has identified seven essential state highways projects that are linked to New Zealand’s economic prosperity. Called the roads of national significance, or RoNS for short, the NZTA is charged with substantially completing this programme of state highway improvements within the next 10 years. The RoNS programme represents one of New Zealand’s biggest ever infrastructure investments.
The seven RoNS projects are based around New Zealand's five largest population centres. The focus is on moving people and freight between and within these centres more safely and efficiently. Other RoNS may be added in future but currently from north to south the seven projects are:
• Puhoi to Wellsford - SH1
• Completing the Western Ring Route, Auckland - SH16, SH18 and SH20
• Victoria Park Tunnel, Auckland - SH1
• Waikato Expressway - SH1
• Tauranga Eastern Link - SH2
• Wellington Northern Corridor - SH1
• Christchurch Motorways.
More information is available at www.nzta.govt.nz/rons