The Northland NLTP seeks to improve connectivity within the Northland region and between Northland and the rest of the country to help stimulate economic growth and productivity. It reflects our commitment to delivering value for money in all activities and across all regions – and to ensuring we get the best return on our investments.
| Northland region | New Zealand | Region as % of NZ |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 184,500 | 4,268,500 | 4 |
| Land area (km2) | 13,900 | 275,400 | 5 |
| Imports (gross tonne)1, 2 | 7.7 million | 79.2 million | 10 |
| Exports (gross tonne)1, 2 | 2.4 million | 73.4 million | 3 |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) ($) | 4200 million | 155,400 million | 3 |
| Passenger transport - bus - boardings | 248,000 | 92,777,200 | less than 1% |
| Passenger transport - rail - boardings | - | 18,346,600 | - |
| Passenger transport - ferry - boardings | - | 4,695,000 | - |
| Vehicle kilometres travelled | 1700 million | 40,200 million | 4 |
| Fatalities3 | 29 | 366 | 8 |
| Serious injuries3 | 137 | 2553 | 5 |
| Local roads - urban all (km) | 569 | 17,298 | 3 |
| Local roads - urban sealed (km) | 538 | 16,956 | 3 |
| Local roads - rural all (km) | 5265 | 65,601 | 8 |
| Local roads - rural sealed (km) | 1753 | 33,698 | 5 |
| State highways - all (km) | 749 | 10,906 | 7 |
| State highways - sealed (km) | 732 | 10,850 | 7 |
| State highways - motorway (km) | - | 172 | - |
Notes:
The GPS specifically identifies seven roads of national significance (RoNS) whose further development 'will have national benefits to the roading network and to national economic development' and that 'require significant development to reduce congestion, improve safety and support economic growth'.
While there are no roads of national significance in Northland, the Puhoi to Wellsford upgrade of SH1 will significantly improve connectivity and journey times for local, industry, freight and tourism traffic.
| Northland | 2009/12 | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Walking and cycling | - | 0.0% |
| Transport planning | 4.0 | 1.3% |
| Public transport improvements | - | 0.0% |
| New & improved infrastructure for state highways | 85.8 | 27.1% |
| New & improved infrastructure for local roads | 34.5 | 10.9% |
| Public transport services | 2.5 | 0.8% |
| Maintenance of state highways | 44.3 | 14.0% |
| Renewal of state highways | 55.1 | 17.4% |
| Maintenance of local roads | 39.4 | 12.4% |
| Renewal of local roads | 49.5 | 15.6% |
| Demand management & community programmes | 2.2 | 0.7% |
| 317.3 | 100% |
Note: includes R funds of $36m
Local road improvements mostly comprise groups of activities, such as bridge replacements, as well as significant individual activities to address safety and efficiency. The programme also includes numerous state highway 'block' projects (whose individual costs are less than $4.5 million).
State highway and local road improvements that may be funded in the next three years include:
The main focus of this programme is on making the most efficient and effective use of Northland's existing state highway infrastructure to ensure safety, route security and resilience.
Maintenance activities make up a large proportion of the forecast expenditure in Northland, with operations, maintenance and renewal accounting for approximately 59 percent of the total spend. In addition to taking care of the state highway network and completing improvements to meet community needs, the NLTP will continue to:
The region's maintenance contract is currently being renegotiated, with the new contract focused on customers' needs and ensuring quality roads where they are most required.
As with state highways, local road projects in the Northland region aim to make the most efficient and effective use of the existing infrastructure to improve safety, route security and resilience along the network. Maintenance work is essential to ensure the safe and efficient movement of freight, tourism and local traffic and prevent deterioration of the asset. The NZTA has approved a threeyear allocation and expects organisations to manage the required maintenance, operations and renewal programmes including any changes in costs within that allocation.
Our objectives are to address deficiencies, improve service standards, revise maintenance patterns and manage flooding issues. The Far North and Whangarei district councils are also planning to address some of their resealing backlogs and carry out improvement work associated with poor drainage and safety.
The Northland region, particularly areas covered by the Far North and Kaipara district councils, has a high proportion of low-volume unsealed roads that still require extensive maintenance at considerable cost. While the importance of extending the sealed network is recognised, this NLTP follows the lead of the GPS in placing greatest emphasis on activities that promote economic development.
There has been a substantial increase in funding for public transport services nationally across 2009-12 with an increase of 30 percent to $630 million compared with the previous three years.
Although there has been a significant increase in funding, there is an expectation that every regional authority will manage their public transport programmes efficiently and effectively within the funding allocations provided to ensure that these are delivering value for money. A 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 fare box policy that will assist regional authorities as part of this process.
The block funding approach to public transport programmes will provide regional authorities with the flexibility to reassign funding to cover variability in the delivery of programme activities, provided the total expenditure stays within the overall allocation.
The Northland NLTP demonstrates the need to make the most efficient and effective use of existing public transport services and infrastructure.
Services are expected to be maintained at levels achieved via a new five-year contract for passenger transport services, established in 2007/08. This has resulted in more buses operating in the region and expanded routes.
Meanwhile, SuperGold card use is increasing, with projections for the current year having been exceeded. As a result, funding has been reviewed accordingly for the three-year NLTP.
Walking and cycling facilities are being implemented in tightly focused areas, such as the on-road facilities in Whangarei, with the aim of reducing congestion and providing the community with alternative transport choices.
Many local and state highway projects include walking and cycling elements, such as the SH1 Kamo bypass stage 2 and Porowini Avenue in Whangarei.
National Land Transport Fund funding for New Zealand Police road policing activities in the Northland region in 2009/10 totals $12.611 million. This includes:
The NLTP and the detailed 2009/10 Road Policing Programme can be viewed on the New Zealand Police website at www.police.govt.nz(external link), and programmes for 2010/11 and 2011/12 will be published annually on the site.
Beyond 2012/13, Northland will continue to pursue strategies and groups of activities that provide value for money, contribute to economic growth and productivity, contribute to safety improvements, and provide more transport choices, particularly for those with limited access to cars.
Major activities in the region planned for the seven years beyond 2012/13 (or where construction will continue into this period) are likely to include:
Last updated: 6 October 2009
