Transport Choices $$ for HB

Will around $15 million in funding from the Government’s Transport Choices Programme really benefit active transport networks across Hawke’s Bay towns and cities?  

That’s the question local cycling and active transport advocates are asking in the wake of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s announcement this week of a $350 million package of investments drawn down from the Climate Emergency Response Fund to support active transport projects across 44 NZ Councils.  

To win Transport Choices Funding, Councils had to meet specific strategic criteria such as show they were building cycling/micro mobility networks; creating walkable neighbourhoods; supporting healthy school travel; making public transport easier to use.

“The aim is to open up streets so everyone can get where they need to go in ways that are good for their health and the planet,” says Waka Kotahi Urban Mobility Manager, Kathryn King.

Although there will be some fine tuning of planned infrastructure and exact funding amounts set in 2023, so far … 

• Napier Council has won just under $2.7 million for two proposed projects, a cycle lane conversion programme, and the Western Gateway – Tennyson Street CBD connection; 

• Hastings District Council get more than $6 million to progress the Heretaunga Arakura or Hastings Pathways to School programme and help with school travel plans, traffic calming, school frontage enhancements and more, for other schools in its urban and rural districts;

• Central Hawke’s Bay will get up to $4 million for nearly four kilometres of footpaths and safe crossings in the centre of Otāne, and 250m of footpaths along the main road to the local school in Pōrangahau;  

• Wairoa District Council won $1.9 million to educate future bike riders and provide improved cycleway access in streets near its schools; and,

• Hawke’s Bay Regional Council also received Transport Choices funding to develop ‘smart’ bus stops at key locations across our public transport network. 

Labour MP Tukituki, Anna Lorck says the Transport Choices funding is the result of a very strong local pitch to Government and “is an excellent example of how working together from the grassroots up, we can be successful.

“This is all part of our work to upgrade New Zealand’s transport infrastructure system to make it safer, greener, and more efficient for now and future generations to come.”

But Hawke’s Bay Regional Councillor and member of the HB Regional Transport Committee Jerf Van Beek says the Transport Choices funding announcements for HB, worry him.

“There’s a lot of money being spent but I am not sure it is going to go where it’s needed. I haven’t seen any consultation with the community and a strategy developed to really change our modes of travel, add value to our urban areas and make our cities more live-able.

“We can make cycling to schools safer but are we really creating cities for cycling and walking, or are we just making piecemeal changes?” 

Maggie Brown, a member of advocacy group Bike Hawke’s Bay and the Sustainability Officer at  Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand Te Matau a Maui, agrees with Jerf.

“My daughter goes to Mayfair,  which was one of the first schools to be part of the Heretaunga Arakura/Pathways to Schools programme and the traffic calming there has led to improved safety directly outside the school. I commend the council’s work and am very pleased that more schools will be getting improvements thanks to the Transport Choices fund. 

“But we need to go beyond school zones,” Maggie says. “To enable more children to walk and bike to school, we also have to create safe routes for them to get there. For instance, my family’s trip to Mayfair school includes crossing two busy roads/roundabouts (Grove/Willowpark less than 100m from the school entrance, and St Aubyn/Willowpark), and these remain significant obstacles for us.”  

Maggie hopes Hastings’s Akina to Mayfair Cycleway project will address these particular obstacles eventually, but ultimately she says, “ it comes back to having a comprehensive network of safe and comfortable bike infrastructure, if we really want to have a bikeable town.

Graeme Taylor, who holds the Sport and Recreation Portfolio on Napier Council says the funding for Napier is positive, particularly where it focuses on traffic pinch points, making them safer for commuters, but he also agrees that creating real transport choices requires developing  new avenues and infrastructure for commuters across the whole network.

Transport Choices funding details

Napier

Napier City won $2.7 million for two proposed projects, a cycle lane conversion programme, and the Western Gateway – Tennyson Street CBD connection.

The Western Gateway project will create a dedicated, separated cycle lane from the Tennyson Street and Wellesley Road intersection through to Milton Road. It is likely to include cyclist only signals, cycle lane barriers and at least one roundabout. (See BayBuzz’s  January/February forthcoming feature on biking in Hawke’s Bay which highlight’s problems with the current Tennyson Street/ Wellesley Road intersection.)

Cycle lane improvements will also be made to sections of Lee Road, and Kennedy Road for the section adjacent to Anderson Park.  

These projects complement the safer commuter connections that Council is trying to achieve through its Carlyle Street transportation project, funded by Waka Kotahi’s Streets for People programme.

Hastings

Hastings District Council will receive more than $6 million to progress the Heretaunga Arakura or Hastings Pathways to School programme.

Heretaunga Arakura aims to get more students walking, biking and scooting to school to encourage healthy, active habits, cut the volume of emissions created by school runs, and reduce congestion at the school gate. It will see Council working to improve the safety of school zones across Hastings through a combination of urban design, traffic calming and lower speeds, while also equipping students with the skills and confidence to walk or ride to school.

The Heretaunga Arakura programme complements Council’s work in Mahora and Camberley, where the Walkable Neighbourhood project is creating an environment conducive to walking as safe, healthy, and desirable way to travel. This project also received a boost from the Transport Choices programme, with approximately $3.1 million in funding announced.

Havelock North and Tukituki

The $6 million on active transport funding for Hastings includes a focus on helping road safety and travel flow around a  cluster of schools down the Te Mata Rd end of Havelock North.

Tukituki MP Anna Lorck says parents with children attending the cluster of Havelock North schools often ask her what can be done to help improve growing traffic congestion in the area – “and now we have a real opportunity to invest and get something done”.

Central Hawke’s Bay

Central Hawke’s Bay will get up to $4 million for nearly four kilometres of footpaths and safe crossings in the centre of Otāne, and 250m of footpaths along the main road to the local school in Pōrangahau.  

“In a small district like ours, funding constraints mean that footpaths are often characterised as ‘nice-to-have’ rather than a necessity,” says Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Alex Walker. “This new funding is truly transformational for people living in Otāne and Pōrangahau, who have been asking for these improvements for many years. 

Waipawa has already received $1.5 million of funding for the Waka Kotahi Streets for People programme for safety enhancements along the main street. 

Wairoa District Council

Wairoa received a $1.9 million to educate future bike riders and provide improved cycleway access. The project supports a partnership approach with Tiaho Primary School and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngati Kahungunu o Te Wairoa to develop streets near the schools and link up with the Mountain bike park and river walkway.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council received Transport Choices funding to develop bus stops at key locations across our public transport network. A spokesperson for HBRC says this will be delivered in the lead up to the new network, due to be in place by 2025.  

The new bus stops will be purpose-built for the needs and requirements of particular locations and could include features such as solar panels, secure bike storage to support people to bike and bus, and accessibility infrastructure. All the new bus stops will feature real time bus information so travellers can plan their journey . 

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air