Do you live and travel in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland? If so, how do you want to cross Te Waitematā in the future? If you could imagine and build your own connections across the harbour, what might that look like?

Year 5 – 8 students from across Tāmaki Makaurau will be asking themselves these questions tomorrow at the New Zealand Maritime Museum Hui Te Ananui a Tangaroa as part of an interactive learning session on Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest city-shaping transport project, Waitematā Harbour Connections.

Leichelle Tanoa, the museum’s Learning Team Manager, says students from every corner of the city will converge at the cultural institution and will be asked to think creatively about the evolution of Auckland’s transport.

“This project isn’t just relevant to students travelling to and from the North Shore,” she says. “It’s an opportunity for students from South Auckland, West Auckland and other parts of Tāmaki Makaurau to have a say in their city’s development. After all, they are the ones who will be travelling around our city in the future. We want them to look back and feel like they were able to provide input.”

The Waitematā Harbour Connections team reached out to Tanoa in October last year, proposing that the museum was a natural fit to host the workshop.

“This kaupapa sits quite strongly with some of the museum’s existing education programmes, particularly with regards to our Transport and Auckland: A Changing Landscape modules,” she says.

Students will have four hours to conceptualise and present transport solutions, with the winning design being rendered in Tinkercad.

They will be asked to consider all transport modes crossing the harbour, including pedestrians, cyclers, drivers and public transport users. What new infrastructure is needed to cater for these modes, where it will go, and how we make the best use of what we already have?

Project background
The Waitematā Harbour Connections project will provide for a fully multi-modal solution for people wanting to walk, cycle, take the bus, travel by light rail, drive, or transport freight across the Waitematā Harbour, connecting people to transport options across the region and beyond.

Between November 2022 and January 2023, the Waitemata Harbour Connections team asked the public to give feedback on the project. The survey asked questions on how people want to travel in future across the harbour and to understand what is important to communities along the route.

Prior research in 2022 already established strong support for the project, with 85% of Aucklanders agreeing that additional harbour connection options are needed within the next 25 years.

This survey showed the same strong support. While 30% of people currently cross the harbour using public transport, 88% said they would catch a bus or train if they could, while 66% said they would walk or cycle.

After a successful programme in primary schools at the end of 2022, this year the Waitematā Harbour Connections student outreach programmes includes working with older students and linking to the NCEA curriculum, as well as inviting more primary school students to participate in interactive learning opportunities led by the project team, such as the event at the Maritime Museum.

All this information helps inform the project’s development. Full public consultation on scenarios is coming up in late March. To find out more about the project and sign up for updates see nzta.govt.nz/awhc

The project is being delivered by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and partners, Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and Ngā Iwi Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau.
A recommended way forward for this transformative project will be delivered mid-2023.

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