The Wellington region’s transport network faces a number of pressures, notably: severe congestion on key commuter and freight routes; high demand for public transport services; and the need to ensure access to important regional destinations, including Wellington’s central business district (CBD), ports, airports and hospitals.
| Wellington region | New Zealand | Region as % of NZ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 382,400 | 4,268,500 | 9 |
| Land area (km2) | 8100 | 275,400 | 3 |
| Imports (gross tonne)1, 2 | 4.7 million | 79.2 million | 6 |
| Exports (gross tonne)1, 2 | 3.5 million | 73.4 million | 5 |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) ($) | 19,300 million | 155,400 million | 12 |
| Passenger transport - bus - boardings | 22,964,400 | 92,777,200 | 25 |
| Passenger transport - rail - boardings | 11,552,500 | 18,346,600 | 63 |
| Passenger transport - ferry - boardings3 | 177,100 | 4,695,000 | 4 |
| Vehicle kilometres travelled | 3600 million | 40,200 million | 9 |
| Fatalities4 | 21 | 366 | 6 |
| Serious injuries4 | 228 | 2553 | 9 |
| Local roads - urban all (km) | 1849 | 17,298 | 11 |
| Local roads - urban sealed (km) | 1846 | 16,956 | 11 |
| Local roads - rural all (km) | 2059 | 65,601 | 3 |
| Local roads - rural sealed (km) | 1333 | 33,698 | 4 |
| State highways - all (km) | 235 | 10,906 | 2 |
| State highways - sealed (km) | 235 | 10,850 | 2 |
| State highways - motorway (km) | 19 | 172 | 11 |
Notes:
Given the GPS's requirement that the NZTA focus on activities that make the greatest contribution to New Zealand's economic growth and productivity, this NLTP prioritises activities that make the most significant contribution to one or more of:
In all its investments, the NZTA maintains its longstanding focus on activities that make a significant contribution to one or more of:
It's important to note that safety, particularly reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries as a result of road crashes, has always been and remains a core NZTA priority.
For more information on NZTA investment priorities and assessment criteria refer to the national NLTP document.
¹ Model communities aim to reduce congestion by providing user-friendly environments for walking and cycling.
This NLTP includes a new government initiative: a programme for seven roads of national significance (RoNS), including the Wellington Northern Corridor, which extends along SH1 from Levin to Wellington Airport.
The government has asked the NZTA to substantially advance all seven RoNS in the next 10 years to improve New Zealand's productivity and economic growth - and through the GPS, has allocated $10.7 billion to develop state highway infrastructure in support of the RoNS and other projects.
In Wellington, the entire length of SH1 between Levin and Wellington Airport has been identified as a RoNS because of the need to provide a quality link to service Wellington, the Kapiti Coast, Levin, Palmerston North and the wider lower North Island. Currently this route is regularly congested and has a relatively poor safety record, which inhibits the flows of people and freight and restricts economic growth.
The Wellington RoNS development will be scheduled in segments and progressed with different timeframes in the next 10 years. In the 2009-2012 NLTP most of the RoNS improvement programme will focus on detailed investigations into key projects that will improve efficiency and reduce congestion on SH1. This will enable construction phases to be appropriately staged, and ensure most improvements can be completed within 10 years.
To ensure the full benefits of the RoNS are realised, the NZTA will work closely with local authorities and other agencies to integrate the programme with local road improvements and other transport connections.
| Wellington | 2009/12 | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Walking and cycling | 3.5 | 0.6% |
| Transport planning | 6.0 | 1.0% |
| Public transport improvements | 58.1 | 9.4% |
| New & improved infrastructure for state highways | 178.2 | 28.7% |
| New & improved infrastructure for local roads | 51.3 | 8.3% |
| Public transport services | 144.5 | 23.3% |
| Maintenance of state highways | 67.3 | 10.8% |
| Renewal of state highways | 21.3 | 3.4% |
| Maintenance of local roads | 42.5 | 6.8% |
| Renewal of local roads | 42.9 | 6.9% |
| Demand management & community programmes | 5.5 | 0.9% |
| 621.0 | 100% |
Note: includes R funds of $70m, C funds of $78m
Maintenance, operations and renewal activities on the region's state highway network are critical in maintaining its value and enabling the continued movement of people and freight to support economic growth.
The NLTP allocates approximately $88 million in the next three years to state highway maintenance and renewals in the Wellington region. Key activities will include:
This NLTP includes an allocation of approximately $178 million in the next three years for state highway improvement projects in the Wellington region. The programme for SH1 is dominated by detailed investigations to determine the exact timing and scope of necessary improvements on the SH1 RoNS. Regional economic benefits and safety improvements are also anticipated from the scheduled programme of works across the balance of the network.
Key improvement projects on the state highway network are likely to include:
Local road operations, maintenance and renewals continue to be a high priority in the Wellington region. These activities are critical to ensure acceptable service levels and to maintain the value of historic investments in the roading asset. Investment in key urban arterials will also be particularly important to the region's continued economic growth.
The NLTP allocates approximately $85 million in the next three years to local road operations, maintenance and renewal activities in the Wellington region The NZTA expects organisations to manage their operations, maintenance and renewal activities including any changes in costs within their approved allocation. Key activities will include network and asset management, and maintaining pavements, structures and cycle paths.
The NLTP allocates approximately $51 million in the next three years to local road improvement projects in the Wellington region.
It gives priority to local road improvements that enable the full benefits of RoNS to be realised. These include an allocation to the Western Link Road in Kapiti; however, the scope of this project is likely to be influenced by detailed investigation works on the SH1 RoNS (scheduled for completion in the term of this NLTP).
Other key local road improvement projects are likely to include:
The government's decision to fund track-related rail infrastructure and urban rail rolling stock outside the NLTP from 1 July 2009 (it is now in KiwiRail ownership) does not alter the importance of the region's passenger transport networks in relieving congestion and improving journey time reliability across the region.
In the 2009-2012 NLTP major investment in the region's public transport network has been allocated to new rail infrastructure and supporting operational funding. This investment includes additional funding to support the running costs associated with an expanded rail rolling stock fleet and committed funding for a station upgrade programme, including $15 million for improved facilities at Waikanae and Paraparaumu. Provisional funding allocations have also been made for additional bus services in and around Wellington. This is subject to further analysis to determine both the scope of services required and compliance with detailed funding eligibility criteria.
While there has been a significant increase in funding for public transport services nationally in the 2009-12 NLTP, a key challenge is to improve the effectiveness of public transport networks by extracting the maximum value from past and current investments. The NZTA is developing a national framework for a farebox policy that will assist the region as part of this process. The block funding approach to the public transport programme will also provide the region with the flexibility to reassign funding to cover variability in the delivery of programme activities, provided total expenditure stays within the overall allocation.
NLTP funding for New Zealand Police road policing activities in the Wellington region totals approximately $25 million for 2009/10.
This includes:
The detailed 2009/10 Road Policing Programme can be viewed on the New Zealand Police website at www.police.govt.nz/service/road/(external link), and the programmes for 2010/11 and 2011/12 will be published annually on the site once they have been approved by the Minister of Transport.
NLTP allocations for other activity classes include approximately $3.5 million for walking and cycling improvements and approximately $5.5 million for demand management and community programmes. The NZTA Board has requested a review of the demand management and community programmes activity class to provide evidence of the benefits and value for money that its programmes deliver. Accordingly, funding for the programmes is approved for 2009/10 only, with the review expected to establish the funding direction for the subsequent two years.
The NLTP also allocates approximately $6 million for transport planning activities. These activities are likely to include upgrading the Wellington region strategic transport model, which will help in predicting future pressures on the transport network, provide better estimates of scheme impacts and give a better understanding of historic transport trends. It is also likely to include the Wellington to Airport Public Transport Feasibility Study, which will investigate a high-quality public transport spine, including light rail, between Wellington railway station and Wellington Airport via Newtown. The study is one of the results of the approved Ngauranga to Airport Corridor Plan, which will provide a long-term development plan for Wellington city's public transport spine.
Post 2012/13, regionally significant projects in the Wellington region could include:
Last updated: 6 October 2009
