Make Wellington an even more attractive and sustainable city
Create places and neighbourhoods where people want to spend time
Move more people with fewer vehicles as the city's population grows
Provide safer and easier ways to go places on foot and by bike
Detailed planning to develop a proposed package of bike routes and street changes in Berhampore, Newtown and Mt Cook is under way. We’re working through the checklist of things that need to be done before we seek feedback.
Consultation for Newtown Connections will now happen in mid-2020. We were expecting to consult on a proposed package in late 2019 however it is important to wait for the consultation on a new city-wide Parking Policy to happen first, in early 2020. We know there will be less on-street parking in some of these streets in the future and the Parking Policy will show how the remaining parking can be managed.
See our progress on the checklist or read more about parking management.
This project is part of our programme to develop a connected citywide cycle network so people of all ages and abilities can safely choose to make more trips by bike.
We’re looking at ways to make it easier and safer for more people to ride bikes in Berhampore, Newtown and Mt Cook. This involves taking a fresh look at how to improve neighbourhood connections and develop safer links to the city.
As well as the people who already cycle, we want families, children learning skills on school bike tracks, and anyone else who would like to be able to go by bike sometimes, to have routes where they feel comfortable riding.
This can only happen by making changes on some streets, so we hope you will continue to work with us to help develop the best possible plan for your wider neighbourhood.
Work is under way to develop a proposed package of bike routes and street changes in Berhampore, Newtown and Mt Cook. The package is likely to be a blend of the three options in response to what we have heard to date.
We’ve heard what you’ve told us in the earlier engagements, on the community objectives and the three package options; now we’re working through a list of other things that also need to be considered before we seek feedback from you in 2020 about a package of potential changes in the Newtown Connections area.
There’s a lot that needs to be considered to complete the puzzle. This will involve discussions about specific areas, including Berhampore village, and opportunities to look more closely at parking issues and coming up with better ways to manage parking. The diagram shows where we’re at, what still has to be done, and where we will be talking with groups or organisations about particular areas, or seeking wider public feedback.
We’re working with the community to come up with a vision for how Berhampore village could be improved in the future. The plan will include a safe biking route through the area.
As part of this process, we’ll develop some concept design options for the community to provide feedback on. There is no funding set aside to make improvements at this stage however the project could be added to the Council’s Long-term Plan in future. Read more
There are several big city-wide projects that will influence the types of changes we make in the Newtown Connections area.
Te Atakura - First to Zero — a plan for Wellington’s future as a zero carbon capital by 2050 that includes reducing the city’s carbon emissions from transport. Read more
Let’s Get Wellington Moving — a plan to develop a transport system for Wellington that moves more people with fewer vehicles. Read more
Planning for Growth — the city’s District Plan (planning rules) will soon be up for review. In the next 30 years we will have 50,000 to 80,000 more people living in Wellington and this will have a big impact on all of us. Read more
On-street parking is a finite resource, and we know over time, space for car parking in the wider Newtown area will increasingly be in short supply. Planned public transport and other changes will mean less on-street parking in the main streets than there is now, and fewer spaces in some residential streets.
Parking is already under pressure from commuters and residents. This will get worse as our population grows.
Discussions with people, groups and organisations with a special interest in these suburbs or specific parts of the area will help us more clearly define the proposed routes and changes, and what order the work might happen in.
Cost/benefit route analysis — we’ll be doing a cost/benefit analysis on potential routes. This will help us determine some different options and approaches for the phasing of possible changes, and when they could happen.
In late 2018, we sought feedback on three options - different packages of routes and street changes. Four public drop-in sessions were held, and we also met with a range of groups and organisations. The proposed package of routes and street changes that we will seek feedback on in mid-2020 is likely to be a combination of the three options. The proposal will take into account feedback to date, as well as other things we must do and carefully consider.
We heard from more than 770 people during the first phase of community discussion (5 June–17 July 2018) on the Newtown Connections project. Of those, 85% thought it was important or very important to make it easier and safer for more people to ride bikes in and around the wider Newtown area. This information was used to develop a community brief which includes a set of community objectives that were used to help guide the development of the three proposed packages of routes and street changes that we sought feedback on in late 2018 (13 November–11 December). More than 1000 people gave feedback on these three packages. You can read more in the feedback analysis report.
There are many potential cycling routes between Wakefield Park and the central city, through Berhampore, Newtown and Mt Cook to Pukeahu National War Memorial Park or the Basin Reserve. Previous investigations and discussions over the last few years have shown a huge number of possibilities, each with advantages and disadvantages. In 2014, a Citizens’ Advisory Panel, and others, began assessing potential cycling facilities in Berhampore and Newtown. In 2017, the Our Town Newtown project also sought feedback on the future of Newtown. You can read more about the Citizens’ Advisory Panel and other historic work in the issues report.
Keep up to date with how the project is going and understand the process so far. New events will be added as the project progresses.
Read moreView supporting documents for the project.
Read moreView the package options that we consulted the community on in November 2018.
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