Transport plan unveiled

Waterfront boulevard, new traffic lights in Future Access proposal

‘‘We need to ensure the region’s economy continues to thrive and that we reduce CO2 .’’

Emma Speight, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

Nelson’s long-awaited transport blueprint has been unveiled, with a five-metre wide walking and cycling boulevard along the waterfront among its centrepieces.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency released its preferred programme for the city’s major routes yesterday. It will go to the Nelson City Council for endorsement tomorrow.

This is the latest development in the Nelson Future Access project.

Previously, Waka Kotahi has gone to the public to find out the preferred long-term option for transport in the city, and once priority lanes were selected went out again for consultation on shortterm transport fixes.

The long-term programme has a varied timeline, with some ‘‘near-term’’ measures to be taken within the next three years, some short-term measures between four and 10 years away, and medium- to long-term measures expected to take between 11 and 30 years to come to fruition.

Waka Kotahi highlighted a shift away from private vehicles of between 6 per cent and 8 per cent, supported by infrastructure development. Modelling shows the full programme could, by 2048, reduce CO emissions by 16 per 2 cent.

Emma Speight, director of regional relationships for Waka Kotahi, said this would be achieved by improving Nelson’s ability to apply for funding to increase the availability of active transport infrastructure like walking and cycling paths, as well as improved public transport services.

Speight said Nelson city was forecast to experience a high level of residential growth, with freight also forecast to grow significantly over the next 15 years.

‘‘This preferred transport programme responds to this pressure by managing freight and other traffic growth safely. We need to ensure the region’s economy continues to thrive and that we reduce CO , but this can only be 2 done if people choose to travel in different ways.’’

In the next three years the programme proposes improvements including traffic lights at Parkers Rd-Tāhunanui Drive and at Waimea Rd-Franklyn St, cycling facilities along Washington Rd and cycling facilities between the Railway Reserve and Waimea Rd.

In years four to 10, a fivemetre-wide walking and cycling facility is proposed along State Highway 6/Rocks Rd to improve ‘‘the connectivity and amenity of the waterfront’’, a proposal which was probed at a previous council meeting.

A Waka Kotahi representative said that the proposed boulevard would not necessarily be five metres wide for the entire stretch of Rocks Rd.

In the medium to long term, years 11-30, the focus is on improving the efficiency of public transport journeys across the network, including the provision of priority lanes, and continued investment to provide for walking and cycling.

Nelson MP Rachel Boyack welcomed the latest development.

‘‘This has been a long time coming for Nelson,’’ she said. ‘‘Transport issues in Nelson have been building over decades ... This gives me the opportunity to fight for funding for some significant projects.’’

She said funding could be secured only once a plan was in place, and if the programme was endorsed by the council tomorrow it would give her something to present to the Government.

‘‘I’m really encouraging them to solidify transport plans, because you can’t get funding without a plan.’’

She said there was one area which she had some reservations about: the proposed permanent southbound merger lane at the intersection of Tāhunanui Drive and Bisley Ave in the four to 10-year timeframe.

This proposal has not been supported by the Tāhunanui community or by local businesses, and Boyack said while she shared their concerns, that shouldn’t prevent other parts of the plan from going ahead.

‘‘We just need to be working with Waka Kotahi to get a better resolution for that area.’’

Nelson mayor Rachel Reese agreed that that particular proposal would likely be a sticking point for the council, and said this had been highlighted to Waka Kotahi. She added she was expecting the agency to bring more information to the upcoming council meeting.

She said it wasn’t necessarily the only controversial piece of the plan.

‘‘If I reflect over the history of transport upgrades in the region . . . we’ve always had a range of views about whether the waterfront should stay the state highway.

‘‘In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have built a state highway on a constrained waterfront, but . . . we’re doing the best with what we’ve got.’’

She said the consultation and planning process so far had been ‘‘robust’’.

‘‘What we’ve got, if we’re able to endorse this, then we have something to start with.’’

Though the proposal put to the council for endorsement included some proposed funding splits which would see the city council footing just under half the bill for most of the work, Reese said this funding split would not be set in stone at this stage – it still has to go through the council’s regional land transport plan and other stages of confirmation.