Reducing our emissions from road transport
Making it easier for everyone to move around in our growing city
Opening up our streets for people of all ages and abilities
Connecting the places where people want to go
Big changes are planned across the city for a low carbon future and to make sure there is enough good quality housing available for our growing population and generations to come.
These include a new draft District Plan, Let’s Get Wellington Moving’s proposals to build mass rapid transit between the city and Island Bay, and the development of Paneke Pōneke – our plan to develop a citywide network of safe biking and scooting routes over the next 10 years for all ages and abilities. This includes the important link between the south coast and city via The Parade, and through Berhampore and Newtown.
In November 2021, Councillors agreed in principle that they would like to make safety improvements on The Parade, subject to consultation, to complete the Island Bay section of the southern connection from the city to the south coast as part of the citywide bike network.
On 10 March 2022, following consultation on the traffic resolutions (specific parking and other traffic changes) that were required to make the safety improvements, Pūroro Āmua, the Council's Planning and Environment Committee, agreed to proceed with the improvements.
The expectation is that these changes will be in place until mass rapid transit facilities and stations are built, which could be 10 years away. Back in November, the alternative option Councillors considered was to build the agreed 2017 design at a cost of up to $14m, knowing it could be replaced by mass rapid transit (light rail or bendy buses).
You can read the 10 March Committee report, which includes a consultation summary, and the meeting minutes.
You can also watch a recording of the Committee meeting.
From late March 2022, work will be under way along The Parade to reseal parts of the street and make safety improvements. Work south and then north of the main shopping centre will happen in 2022. Changes in the shopping centre are planned to start in 2023.
The Committee signalled its support for the planned safety changes in the main shopping centre but held off making a decision on the traffic resolutions till later in the year when the local area-based parking plan has been completed.
Separated bike lanes through the shops (where there are none) to provide a protected route along the whole Parade will go in in 2023. The design, which includes replacing angle parking with parallel parking, is not expected to change. But there will be discussions with businesses as part of completing the local area-based parking plan and there could be some changes made to, for example, change time-restrictions on parking spaces or designate more for mobility parking permit holders.
In addition to the proposed safety improvements, the Council has agreed to fund some other improvements in the main shopping area. Our public space team will be in touch with businesses and others from April to explore the possibilities.
We’ve made a start on the city to Newtown section of the southern route and will be rolling out a adaptable new street layout on part of Riddiford Street, Adelaide Road, and Cambridge and Kent terraces beginning in April 2022. This will have new bus and bike lanes. The improvements we’re going to be making on The Parade will complete the Island Bay section of the southern route.
In February 2022 we asked for feedback on proposed safety improvements.
Thank you to everyone who gave us feedback. Councillors made decisions on 10 March 2022. After considering the feedback, and a range of other factors including the need to address identified safety issues, they agreed to proceed with the planned changes.
As part of decisions made in June 2020 on the city’s Long-term Plan 2021-2031, Councillors voted to invest $226m in a safe, connected citywide bike network.
They requested a new bike network plan (Paneke Pōneke) to get changes made more quickly – to make things safer and easier for more people of all ages and abilities to bike (or scoot), and to reduce transport carbon emissions as part of meeting the city’s climate action goals.
Let’s Get Wellington Moving has confirmed there are four options for future mass rapid transit routes, all of which include The Parade. This will bring significant changes in future years.
In November 2021, Councillors agreed in principle that they would like to make safety improvements on The Parade, subject to consultation, to complete the Island Bay section of the southern connection from the city to the south coast as part of the citywide bike network.
In March 2022, following consultation on the specific parking and traffic changes (resolutions) required to make the safety improvements, Pūroro Āmua, the Council's Planning and Environment Committee, agreed to proceed with the changes, starting in March/April 2022.
The expectation is that these changes will be in place until mass rapid transit facilities and stations are built, which could be 10 years away. The alternative option before Councillors was to build the agreed 2017 design at a cost of up to $14m, knowing it could be replaced by mass rapid transit (light rail or bendy buses).
The bike lanes on The Parade were installed in 2015 following community engagement and consultation.
Options for improving the bike lanes and street layout were developed with the community in 2016-2017 (Love the Bay) and a substantial redesign was agreed to by Councillors in 2017. During the design work that followed, detailed topographic information showed that rebuilding the bike paths at footpath level along the length of The Parade, which was a key feature of the 2017 design, was going to be challenging and exceed the available budget.
The improvements being proposed now will help achieve the Love the Bay objectives, which were developed in collaboration with the community to shape the 2017 design brief for The Parade. These changes will improve safety, make the layout cohesive and intuitive for all users, and contribute to a pleasant and welcoming environment.
The project was put on hold due to the funding shortfall. It did not qualify for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency funding unless it was planned and built as part of the whole southern connection between the city and Island Bay.
In 2018 and 2019, we engaged with people in Mt Cook, Newtown and Berhampore on options for this section of the city to south coast route. This work was also put on hold due to uncertainties over funding and possible mass rapid transit routes (work that was happening as part of Let’s Get Wellington Moving).
Transforming this route is part of:
It’s also a step towards better walking, biking and public transport networks.
Transport is Aotearoa’s fastest growing source of carbon emissions and 34% of Wellington City’s carbon footprint – so changing the way we move is by far the most effective way we can personally take action.
Read detailed documents about this project including traffic resolutions and plans
Read moreRead about work that happened on this project in the past
Read moreView image sliders that compare the current layout with the proposed changes
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