Waitaha – Canterbury 2023 update

Investment throughout Canterbury during the 2021–24 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) is focused on creating a safe, more resilient road and rail network that supports the movement of people and goods. This includes maintaining important links to neighbouring regions and the rest of Aotearoa New Zealand, to support export, tourism and domestic travel volumes.

We continue to support our partners to engage in planning to improve the safety and resilience of the transport network. This includes the implementation of a safety programme, to manage the way the network supports everyone who uses the road, and to reduce speeds in places with poor crash histories.

In Greater Christchurch, we’re working with our partners on a spatial plan. The spatial plan will help to manage demand on the network and improve transport integration which supports population and economic growth. This includes integrated land use planning that will support increased use of public transport, and walking and cycling facilities. We’re also ensuring we maintain necessary freight routes to critical transport infrastructure, such as Christchurch International Airport, Lyttelton Port and MidlandPort, at Rolleston.

Greater Christchurch

Without intervention, growth in Christchurch and the wider region will result in continued travel by private vehicles, leading to increased carbon emissions.

The development of safe, separated cycleways throughout the city and cycle paths connecting to Selwyn and Waimakariri districts have already seen an increase in cycling numbers but more needs to be done.

The Greater Christchurch Partnership (GCP) continues to encourage walking and cycling within the city and wider region. The shared development of the Greater Christchurch Regional Mode Shift Plan is now feeding into planning and programming for new cycling, walking and public transport initiatives to change travel behaviour.

The Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan is a blueprint that will guide how population and business growth will be accommodated in Greater Christchurch into the future, through targeted intensification in centres and along public transport corridors. This work includes ensuring the transport system that is developed to support this growth is sustainable and provides easy access to a range of travel options, including connected public transport, walking and cycling. Alongside this, we’re working with the Greater Christchurch partners to investigate a future rapid transit (turn up and go) system.

Walking and cycling

Work continues on the development of Christchurch’s 13 major cycleways, providing 101kms of safe cycling facilities across the city and connecting to shared pathways built to the north and south of Christchurch during the last three years.

Five of the major cycleways are fully open, four are partially open and four are being developed. We are investing at least a further $5.3 million in the development of these cycleways to support travel choice across the region.

The major cycleways support residents on both sides of the Waimakariri River who now have access to 15kms of separated shared path, adjacent to the new Christchurch Northern Corridor motorway, and new cycle links built as part of the Christchurch Southern Motorway (stage 2) project. All these new routes are contributing to an increase in cycling throughout Greater Christchurch.

Improved cycling paths and pedestrian improvements are also a part of the Christchurch Central City Accessible City Programme implementation of which continues. In the city’s central business district, streets such as Hereford, Victoria, St Asaph and Manchester are more accessible for walking and cycling, with wider footpaths and new cycling facilities. Improvements will continue during the next 10 years, with similar programmes of changes scheduled for Colombo, High, Worcester, Lichfield, Kilmore and Salisbury streets in coming years.

Public transport

The final business case, in a series of three integrated business cases known as PT Futures, is looking at the potential for a mass rapid transit system (known as turn up and go) in Greater Christchurch. Two of the business cases have already identified improvements to five existing core bus routes and overall improvements to the network.  The investigation of a mass rapid transit system is being done in conjunction with the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan and is investigating the factors required to support a frequent and high-capacity public transport route, and how Greater Christchurch’s public transport system can evolve to deliver a much greater proportion of travel by public transport. We’re investing more than $3.5 million into the PT Futures portfolio of work this NLTP.

In February and March 2023, we engaged with the Greater Christchurch community on the idea of a turn up and go service and a possible route. The engagement attracted more than 7000 responses with a good proportion of young people interested. Overall, the idea and route were well supported with 72 percent of those living in suburbs along the route supporting it.

The next steps will be to finalise our investigation into the turn up and go public transport service allowing us to move to the next phase of detailed planning. We will engage further with the community as our work progresses.

New Zealand Upgrade Programme

The New Zealand Upgrade Programme (NZUP) includes $300 million for three projects to support significant residential and industrial growth in the southwest sector of Christchurch and neighbouring Selwyn district, as well as three projects focused on improving safety at rural intersections.

Elements within the projects include:

• Rail corridor improvements and intersection upgrades along SH1 in the Rolleston area, as well as a Rolleston overpass for local access.
• Two bus lanes on SH75 Halswell Road, which will connect with the Christchurch City Council bus lanes on Lincoln Road.
• Improvements to Brougham Street, including priority for buses, walking and cycling across the corridor and for vehicles carrying multiple people and/or freight along the corridor. Intersection improvements will make it safer for communities.
• Rural intersection safety improvements in West Melton, Tinwald and Ashburton.

Canterbury

In the wider Canterbury region, we continue to make safety improvements to sections of the state highway network.

During the next three years, we’ll invest to improve safety across six corridors to reduce annual deaths and serious injuries in the region. This work includes a range of safety improvements to:

• SH1 Ashley to Belfast
• SH71 Rangiora to SH1
• SH73 West Melton to Yaldhurst
• SH1 Templeton to Selwyn River
• SH1 Selwyn to Ashburton corridor
• SH1 Timaru to St Andrews corridor.

We’re funding two roundabouts to improve safety at the Shands Road/Trents Road and Shands Road/Hampton Road intersections. These improvements will address safety concerns and accommodate increased traffic volumes following the opening of the Southern Motorway.

NZUP has made it safer for visiting drivers stopping to look at and capture the beauty of the picturesque landscape by investing $5 million for pull-over areas in the Mackenzie Basin on SH8, SH79 and SH80.

Resilience

Under the 2021–24 Rail Network Investment Programme, investment will be targeted at the vital main freight and long-distance passenger lines that connect Canterbury to ports and the other regions. Most of the investment focus is on improving bridge and track quality to reduce derailment risks, improve drainage, stabilise slopes and enhance river and coastal protection.

Keeping the land transport system well maintained and safe is a large part of the annual investment in the Canterbury region and Greater Christchurch area. This money ensures the transport system is safer, more reliable and easier to use, helping to keep communities connected and supporting economic growth.

Completed in the last 12 months

• New safer speed limits on SH73 and SH75 from Christchurch to Akaroa, making travel on this popular tourist route safer and more enjoyable for everyone.
• Significant progress was made on the suite of NZUP projects, which will provide Cantabrians with more travel options and improved safety. Work was completed on two projects, one at Weedons Ross Road in West Melton and other on Walnut Avenue in Ashburton, both aimed at making travel safer, including safer crossing for cyclists and pedestrians including school children.
• Completion of the Puari ki Rapanui cycleway connects residents with recreation, schools and shopping.
• Roadside shoulder widening for sections of SH8 Mackenzie Basin has increased the number of safe spaces for visiting drivers to pull over and appreciate the world-renowned alpine and lake vistas.

Underway or about to start

• Rural intersection safety improvements in Tinwald are scheduled to be completed by May 2024. These will make it safer to get on and off SH1 and to cross between the west and east residential areas.
• SH1/SH71 Tram Road off-ramp signalised intersection will address community concerns and improve safety and will be completed by early 2024.
• SH1 Timaru resilience work at the old showgrounds will start in summer 2023.
• Planning and design work for:
  • shared use path on SH75 Cooptown
  • shared use path SH8 Pleasant Point
  • improved on-road cycle infrastructure on SH74 (linking to Christchurch City Council's major cycle routes)
  • guardrail along parts of the Hilltop on SH75 to Akaroa, with construction scheduled for November 2023.
• Highway safety upgrades between Rolleston Drive North and Dunns Crossing/Walkers Roads (part of the NZUP package of works for Canterbury).  We’re making final changes to the recommended plan following community feedback in 2022. This project will improve safety and the connections between residential communities either side of SH1. Following completion of the of the business case we’ll start work on detailed design and gaining consents. Community feedback was received on revised plans for a multi-modal flyover at Rolleston in July 2022.
• The Ashburton-Tinwald connectivity business case was endorsed by the Ashburton District Council in August 2022. The preferred option includes both a second bridge over the Ashburton River/Hakatere and the supporting road network connections. The funding for the implementation phases will be considered through the prioritisation in the 2024-27 NLTP.

Funding overview

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