This page relates to the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.
This is the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) policy on investing in place.
Date of issue: April 2022 | Last updated August 2023 | NZTA may review and amend investment policies at any time, including in response to any changes in the Government Policy Statement on land transport.
The purpose of this policy is to clarify how we (NZTA as investor) consider costs associated with the integration of place into transport solutions for investment from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).
The One Network Framework (ONF) describes the movement and place functions as follows.
Movement function: how people and goods move along and across roads and streets by any mode.
Place function: the extent to which the land use along the side of a road or street is a destination that people want to visit or spend time.
Street: a street is a road within an urban locality. It is the basic unit of urban space through which people experience movement in an urban area. Streets stretch from one property line to another, including the building edges, land uses and setbacks that define each side and the on -street activity. They offer space for movement, access and facilitate a variety of uses and activities.
Corridor: a corridor is:
The Transport Outcomes Framework, developed by the Ministry of Transport, identifies an overarching aim to develop a transport system that improves wellbeing and liveability. Improving the integration of transport infrastructure into the surrounding environment is one means by which place can be improved.
Transport Outcomes Framework(external link)
We (NZTA as investor) invest in the integration of infrastructure into the surrounding environment, either to fulfil resource consent conditions or to address community requirements. This includes investing in project components that are not just functional but address the needs of people. This could include making a corridor appealing to travel through by meeting an aesthetic need. For instance, acoustic barriers that are not simply concrete, but have been designed to reflect the local character built into them.
Investment in place in a street or transport corridor must be appropriate to the context and its place and movement functions, and consistent with: the Ministry of Transport’s Transport Outcomes Framework, Government Policy Statement on land transport (GPS), National Policy Statement on Urban Development, Government Policy Statement on Housing and Urban Development, and internal direction from Arataki, NZTA investment principles, NZTA Board position on compact urban form, Environmental and Social Responsibility Policy and the ONF.
Transport Outcomes Framework (external link)
Government Policy Statement on land transport(external link)
National Policy Statement on Urban Development(external link)
Government Policy Statement on Housing and Urban Development(external link)
Environmental and Social Responsibility Policy [PDF, 129 KB]
Consideration of reasonable or appropriate place costs will include comparison with place costs and treatment of place in other similar projects and context. We expect the applicant to obtain alternative or additional funding for components that exceed what is reasonable or appropriate to request from the NLTF or reduce these components to the level that they can be funded from the NLTF.
All proposals need to take a systems-based approach that considers the impacts on other activities and allows individual activities to be coordinated to achieve:
Our integrated planning strategy
The ONF is a network classification tool. It provides a common language that can assist in linking strategies and policies together to support better, more holistic decision making. The ONF also offers a mechanism to describe movement and place information consistently from a national and local perspective, for aligned investment decision making. It provides a means for classifying ‘place function’ across the network.
Approved organisations and NZTA (for its own activities) need to demonstrate how maintenance, renewal and operating activities and proposed improvements contribute to addressing the identified problems and why it is necessary to include elements that are inconsistent with identified ONF expectations. To assist with assessment for investment, a record should be made of the features or actions that support the outcomes and compare these against those identified, using the ONF classifications tool.
NZTA, as a signatory to the 2005 New Zealand Urban Design Protocol, is committed to planning, developing and promoting quality urban design. The NZTA document Bridging the gap provides policy and guidance for NZTA projects, other projects we have funded, and planning as it relates to the integration of land use and transport.
Place-based investment can include items related to this integration of transport investment into the locality, so it meets statutory approvals, and is fit for the context. This investment can also be directed through partnership agreements and give effect to community engagement. Place-based investment in the transport system can also encourage use, through supporting the quality of the facilities and environment and creating great journeys or a sense of place, as outlined in Bridging the gap.
New Zealand Urban Design Protocol(external link)
Bridging the gap: NZTA urban design guidelines
Planning the road network includes considering how place elements can be incorporated in the short, medium and long term. The optioneering process should clearly identify and explain the different options and how they can be implemented. Further guidance on how to do this can be found be found in the Aotearoa urban street planning and design guide. It is useful to ensure that transport costs and place costs are clearly separated and not mixed in together. The Cost estimation manual (SM014) provides guidance on how to do this.
Aotearoa urban street planning and design guide
Cost estimation manual (SM014)
Urban design and landscape components such as plantings, artistic and cultural features, seating and kerbing can be incorporated as necessary components for new infrastructure and services, renewals and improvements. Additional costs associated with operating and maintaining urban design features may also be eligible if they are consistent with the appropriate street family classification and relevant activity class, and work category eligibility criteria. Tools and guidance on processes for development and assessment are available on the NZTA website.
Any activity that is for commercial use, restricts public use or has only private benefits will be ineligible for funding from the NLTF.
We do not fund ongoing maintenance of place facilities that were not part of the approved improvement project.
