Let’s Get Wellington Moving is a joint initiative between Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and the NZ Transport Agency.

The programme focuses on the area from Ngauranga Gorge to the airport, encompassing the Wellington Urban Motorway and connections to the central city, hospital, and the eastern and southern suburbs.

The Minister of Transport, with support from the Mayor of Wellington and Wellington Regional Council Chair announced the LGWM indicative package on 16 May 2019. This is made up of a number of components to improve walking, cycling, public transport and liveability in Wellington.

Journey to the indicative package:

Let’s Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) consulted with Wellingtonians on four options in 2017.

Following this, LGWM developed a Recommended Programme of Investment, which they pitched to Ministers, along with a proposal for how to split the funding between central and local government. This included asking for central government funding (the offer was for Wellington to fund more of the package than would be required under standard funding arrangements in recognition of the local benefits from opening up development opportunities).

Ministers then tested how the Recommended Programme of Investment could be funded, seeking more information from LGWM about projects and their benefits and costs, and examining how the different elements fit with the Government direction for land transport as set out in the Government Policy Statement on land transport 2018.

Ministers also sought advice from the Ministry of Transport and the Treasury on how to fund and finance the components of the Recommended Programme of Investment, including the anticipated demands on the National Land Transport Fund and the ability to commit funding and financing over 30-50 years

This process took time, and significant input from all the parties involved, as Ministers worked hard to balance the ambitions of the Recommended Programme of Investment with what was affordable within the broader context of committed and predicted transport funding.

This process resulted in an ‘indicative package’ made up of the majority of the projects in the Recommended Programme of Investment. The final indicative package endorsed by the Government attempts to balance delivering a step-change in transport in Wellington, while not neglecting the rest of the Wellington region, and remaining achievable within funding constraints.

Since the announcement, the Indicative Package has received unanimous support by councillors from Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council. This means that the programme can begin delivering some early small improvements and investigating details of the bigger projects.

The NZ Transport Agency has now approved funding for the next phase of the programme

The relevant parties are now working together to shift into the delivery phase of LGWM and ensure that projects are rolled out effectively.

What’s in the indicative package?

Component Description Objectives Estimated capital cost ($m) A walkable city Accessibility and amenity improvements, setting safer speeds for vehicles, and walking improvements. A city that is safe and attractive to walk around. 95 Connected cycleways Cycleways on Featherston Street, Thorndon Quay, Courtenay Place, Dixon Street, Taranaki Street, Willis Street, Victoria Street, Kent and Cambridge Terraces and Bowen Street. A connected and safe central city cycleway network integrated with the wider cycleway network. 40 Public transport (city and north) Dual public transport spine through the central city on the Golden Mile and Waterfront Quays, rail network improvements and bus priority on Thorndon Quay and Hutt Road. A reliable public transport system that enables Wellington to grow and encourages public transport mode shift, better public transport choices to the north and enables a 30 percent increase in rail peak patronage. 360 Smarter transport network Full integrated ticketing, transition to integrated transport network operating systems, travel demand management measures including Mobility as a Service, parking policy improvements and education and engagement. A well-managed transport system that makes best use of infrastructure and helps smooth transition through implementation of the indicative package. 80 Rapid transit Provide rapid transit as part of the wider public transport network from the railway station to Newtown, and Newtown to the airport. Improves travel choice through the city with an attractive public transport option to the hospital and airport and creates an opportunity to share a more compact and sustainable Wellington city. 2,200 Unblocking the Basin Reserve Package of minor at-grade changes to improve reliable access for all modes, Basin Reserve grade separation between north-south movements, east-west movements and any rapid transit corridors. Reduces conflict between different movements and modes creating more reliable access for all modes. 190 Extra Mount Victoria Tunnel and widening of Ruahine Street Extra Mount Victoria Tunnel and widening of Ruahine Street/Wellington Road to improve access for buses and dedicated walking and cycling facilities. Improves access reliability and travel choice from the east for all modes, relocates through traffic away from Evans Bay route and Constable Street, onto the state highway, and ensures network function while rapid transit is constructed in Newtown. 700 Total 3,665

Let’s Get Wellington Moving Cabinet paper:

You can read the Cabinet paper and supporting documentation seeking Government agreement to funding the Central Government share of Let’s Get Wellington Moving

View the Questions and Answers here (external link)

Key documents relating to the policy development

Below are the key documents developed by the Ministry of Transport relating to the policy development of the Let’s Get Wellington Moving indicative package endorsed by Cabinet. Outlined in chronological order, the documents include briefing papers and Aide Memoires provided to the Minister of Transport. Advice was also provided to the Minister of Transport from NZTA and the Treasury. They will also release documents on their respective websites.

LGWM has been the subject of significant analysis over the past year. Ministry of Transport officials have responded to the many questions and various iterations of the package as negotiated by the three parties. This appears as a series of papers

Over the time that the Ministry of Transport has been involved in LGWM, we have focussed on the funding arrangements and wider policy implications, and taken a coordination role for information and advice from the LGWM partners around the package elements, programme and financial modelling.