| Bay of Plenty region | New Zealand | Region as % of NZ |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 368,200 | 4,268,500 | 9 |
| Land area (km2) | 12,400 | 275,400 | 5 |
| Imports (gross tonne)1, 2 | 13.4 million | 79.2 million | 17 |
| Exports (gross tonne)1, 2 | 12.2 million | 73.4 million | 17 |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) ($) | 6500 million | 155,400 million | 4 |
| Passenger transport - bus - boardings | 1,534,700 | 92,777,200 | 2 |
| Passenger transport - rail - boardings | - | 18,346,600 | - |
| Passenger transport - ferry - boardings | 22,500 | 4,695,000 | 0 |
| Vehicle kilometres travelled | 2700 million | 40,200 million | 7 |
| Fatalities | 36 | 391 | 9 |
| Serious injuries | 169 | 2232 | 8 |
| Local roads - urban all (km) | 1101 | 17,298 | 6 |
| Local roads - urban sealed (km) | 1098 | 16,956 | 6 |
| Local roads - rural all (km) | 2731 | 65,601 | 4 |
| Local roads - rural sealed (km) | 1884 | 33,698 | 6 |
| State highways - all (km) | 747 | 10,906 | 7 |
| State highways - sealed (km) | 747 | 10,850 | 7 |
| State highways - motorway (km) | - | 172 | - |
Notes:
When comparing statistics for the Bay of Plenty with those for the rest of New Zealand for the purposes of this NLTP, it's important to note that:
The Tauranga Eastern Link (of which the major component is the Tauranga Eastern Link project) is one of seven roads of national significance in New Zealand that the government has identified as requiring significant development to reduce congestion, improve safety and support economic growth.
The Tauranga Eastern Link is a key transport link for the Bay of Plenty region and an important route for trucks servicing the Port of Tauranga. It's part of a comprehensive transport network - the Tauranga Eastern Corridor - that will service existing and future inter-regional traffic in the Bay of Plenty and provide an essential element of planned growth in the Papamoa East area, the largest growth area in the western Bay of Plenty.
This project has been specifically developed to generate economic growth within the Bay of Plenty region. Stretching almost 23 kilometres (km) from Te Maunga junction to the junction of State Highway (SH) 2 and SH33 near Paengaroa, the Tauranga Eastern Link will:
Design funding has already been confirmed for this project and the NZTA is progressing with land acquisition and developing a funding package to bring forward the construction of this road to 2010. The funding package is likely to include a significant government contribution, supplemented by tolls and a combination of regional sources. The estimated construction cost is $475 million.
| Bay of Plenty | 2009/12 | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Walking and cycling | 0.7 | 0.2% |
| Transport planning | 6.4 | 1.3% |
| Public transport improvements | 1.6 | 0.3% |
| New & improved infrastructure for state highways | 248.3 | 50.2% |
| New & improved infrastructure for local roads | 14.9 | 3.0% |
| Public transport services | 16.6 | 3.3% |
| Maintenance of state highways | 69.8 | 14.1% |
| Renewal of state highways | 68.4 | 13.8% |
| Maintenance of local roads | 40.5 | 8.2% |
| Renewal of local roads | 24.3 | 4.9% |
| Demand management & community programmes | 3.6 | 0.7% |
| 495.1 | 100% |
Note: includes R funds of $80m, C funds of $48m
Maintenance activities make up a large proportion of the forecast expenditure on state highways in the Bay of Plenty region. In addition to protecting key routes and networks affected by increasing traffic demand resulting from the region's rapid growth, preserving the highway network and undertaking maintenance and improvements to meet agreed service levels, the NZTA proposes to:
The NLTP's highest priority state highway project is the commencement of the Tauranga Eastern Link Project in the Western Bay of Plenty.
Also a priority is the completion of the Harbour Link project, which will increase access to the port whilst also improving the provision for walking and cycling.
Other state highway improvement activities include:
The NZTA also aims to deliver a number of smaller projects which will improve route security in the eastern Bay of Plenty, along with the delivery of their ongoing minor improvements programme.
Operating and maintaining the existing local road network are key priorities for the Bay of Plenty region and the NZTA. Current priorities are to preserve the existing network, undertake maintenance and improvements to meet future growth requirements, and protect the key routes and networks from the impact of increased traffic demand resulting from the region's rapid growth.
The NLTP allocation for the -subsidised operations and maintenance programme for the three-year period is almost $65 million. This amount contributes a significant part of each local authority's transport programme. The NZTA expects organisations to manage their operations, maintenance and renewal activities including any changes in costs within their approved allocation.
The NLTP has allocated $14.9 million to improvement projects identified as part of the Bay of Plenty RLTP. With a majority of the projects listed as Category 2, a detailed assessment will need to be completed prior to funding being confirmed.
The projects enhance the existing road network, cater for changing demands and renew existing assets.
Significant local road improvement projects included in the NLTP are:
The NLTP has allocated $18.2 million for public transport services and infrastructure in Bay of Plenty for the 2009/12 to 2012/13 period.
There has been a substantial increase in funding for public transport services nationally across 2009-12 with an increase of 30% 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 farebox 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.
As part of the $630 million total allocation for public transport services, a provision of $18 million has been included in the NLTP for new service starts in key areas where it can be demonstrated that further investment in a network is warranted.
In order to obtain funding for any Category 2 new service starts identified as part of the NLTP, the service initiative will be assessed against the IRS. Any proposal will need to meet the necessary criteria in terms of strategic fit, effectiveness and efficiency assigned for public transport service and operational initiatives at the time of funding approval.
Environment Bay of Plenty (EBoP) is responsible for managing the public transport network across the region, in partnership with the respective local authorities that are responsible for on-street facilities such as shelters and signage.
EBoP has a number of initiatives planned for 2009-2012 to enhance the delivery of public transport. These include establishing a new bus network in Tauranga and extending the hours of operation of the existing bus network, and investigating improvements to the Rotorua bus network and rural services. These initiatives will require assessment to ensure a contribution to the GPS.
To complement the growing bus network, both Rotorua District Council and Tauranga City Council have included the construction of new transport centres in the three-year programme. The total cost of this work (design and construction) is approximately $4 million. These initiatives will also require assessment to ensure a contribution to the GPS when they are submitted for funding consideration.
Environment Bay of Plenty has developed a regional walking and cycling strategy, which incorporates the planned construction of a number of walking and cycling projects in Rotorua, Tauranga and Whakatane.
Significant projects include:
Funding for community programmes amounting $3.6 million is allocated in the NLTP for the Bay of Plenty region. Community programmes are delivered by the various road controlling authorises and the regional council. In addition, specific advertising campaigns are delivered in partnership by the NZTA on the state highway network.
Our primary investment focus for 2009/10 is on programmes that deliver on a relevant road safety strategy and achieve a change in travel behaviour that will reduce severe congestion in major urban areas.
In addition, the NZTA received significantly more funding applications for the demand management and community programmes activity class, than in the previous year. This, together with the funding available as specified by the GPS and our targeted investment focus for this year, means a reduction on last year's funding level.
The planned NZTA review of the demand management and community programme activity class will ensure that the government is getting good value for the investment it makes in these programmes. This will include undertaking a full realignment to the Road Safety to 2020 Strategy.
Through the review the NZTA will develop clear guidelines for future funding applications on what demand management and community programmes our funding will be targeted at.
National Land Transport Fund funding for New Zealand Police road policing activities in the Bay of Plenty region totals $16.383 million for 2009/10.
This includes:
Road safety action planning is key to the success of road policing projects. As a coordinated arrangement for analysing, planning, delivering, evaluating and reporting on all local road safety activities (including road policing, community projects and engineering), it enables partners to work together to provide focus, commitment and urgency in addressing and mitigating the region's road safety risks.
More information about the Road Policing Programme and the police full-time equivalents allocated by regional area to local authorities or clusters of local authorities can be found on the NZ Police website: www.police.govt.nz/service/road(external link).
The NLTP has allocated $6.4 million to various transport planning projects for the three-year period. Transport planning has been prioritised to ensure integration between land use and the transport needs and to also ensure a strategic outlook is provided for the longer period.
Projects likely to be funded, but not limited to, include inter and intra-regional freight studies, growth strategies and studies, studies which support the development of the Regional Land Transport Strategy, and activity management plans reviews.
In addition to the land transport programme for the period 2009/10 - 11/12, also developed was a 10-year large project/activity forecast. Significant activities identified in the 10-year period are:
In addition to the road controlling authority's ongoing maintenance, operations and renewal programmes, the NZTA has a comprehensive improvements programme across the wider Bay of Plenty region.
These projects/activities will all contribute to the GPS impact areas and the regional priorities for transport investment.
Last updated: 6 October 2009
