NLTP - National Land Transport Programme

Northern region | June 2007

Also available in PDF (554 KB)

• National overview
• Northland
• Auckland

National overview

This year’s National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) outlines the funding for New Zealand’s land transport system for 2007/08. A record level of expenditure of $2.40 billion has been allocated for 2007/08, representing a four percent increase from last year. This comprises $2.14 billion funded from the National Land Transport Account (NLTA), with the remaining $259 million funded from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) for NZ Police. This national allocation includes Crown and regionally distributed funds.

The activities funded through the 2007/08 NLTP continue to reflect Land Transport NZ’s intention to align funding with its strategic objective of contributing to an integrated, safe, responsible and sustainable land transport system. Land Transport NZ’s strategy envisages a future where there is:

• increased use of active and shared modes of transport
• reduced number of crashes
• improved safety, environmental and energy performance of vehicles and vehicle use
• reduced need to travel
• more efficient commercial transport
• better connected transport solutions improved reliability, safety and efficiency of networks
• improved value for money in maintenance and development of networks.

We face a number of challenges. As the economy grows, so too will demand for transport from the commercial transport and business services sector, putting pressure on our infrastructure and networks. There will be more traffic congestion if the current preference for travel by motor vehicle, coupled with the development of increasingly sprawling and dispersed communities, continues. As more vehicles travel our roads, vehicle emissions will increase, resulting in negative impacts for the environment and public health. Meeting the government’s goals of reduced greenhouse gas production will be more difficult. As demand for energy outstrips the availability of resources, we can expect more volatility in the price of oil and a corresponding impact on the cost of transport. And, as our country’s population ages, communities can expect to have to deal with increasing accessibility and mobility requirements for the elderly.

We believe that good funding and policy decisions made now will contribute to a transport system where people can make choices that have lasting benefits for public health, the economy and the environment. Choices and actions that support this progress come from people, local government and businesses being well informed about the contributions they can make in their development of transport infrastructure and services, their choice of transport mode, their choice of vehicle, and their driving behaviour.

This year’s NLTP contains information that can be used by local government to inform the development of 2009–19 long-term council community plans. The 10-year forecast published in the NLTP indicates where we believe activity should be directed to better contribute towards achieving an integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable land transport system. The forecast provides for growth in passenger transport services and walking and cycling while maintaining, operating and renewing the existing transport infrastructure.

Allocations for local road maintenance in 2007/08 are at the level negotiated with councils during maintenance negotiations. Allocations over the next nine years will gradually increase to fund extra activity in regions with traffic growth. We do not expect there to be a need for increased activity in areas with little growth and assets in good condition.

The ‘use of the land transport system’ activity class has been included in the NLTP for the first time this year. Within this activity class, allocations have been made for community focused activities as agreed with local councils and for 25 percent more local walking and cycling projects than in 2006/07. The walking and cycling allocation continues to grow over the next nine years, reflecting the priority given to it by Land Transport NZ and councils.

Allocations for passenger transport services have increased markedly from 2006/07 to accommodate recent input cost increases and to allow some growth in services. Future allocations also incorporate an allowance for two percent per annum growth in service levels.

Allocations for local road improvements are at a similar level to those indicated in the 2006/07 NLTP. In most years, these are higher than forecast in 2006/07.

Forecast expenditure from NLTP	2007/08
	$ million	%
Maintenance and renewal local roads	420.2	19.6
Maintenance and renewal state highways	427.2	19.9
Improvement local roads	211.8	9.9
Improvement state highways	664.4	31
Regional development	20	0.9
Use of the transport system	36.2	1.7
Passenger transport	262.8	12.3
Research, education and training	25.7	1.2
Administration	75.9	3.5
TOTAL	2144.2	100
Road policing activities	259.2

Allocations for state highway construction activity have been prepared on the basis of the funding guarantee that the government announced last year.

The Authority’s land transport programme for 2007/08, prepared by Land Transport NZ and approved by the Minister of Transport in accordance with the Land Transport Management Act, provides funding for the New Zealand Police only and is now referred to as the road policing programme (RPP). A package of new initiatives focusing on road safety for 2007/08 targets specific driver behaviours and specific locations which are demonstrating high social cost caused by crashes in comparison with the policing resources available in those areas. The initiatives are aligned with the Road Safety to 2010 Strategy, in particular drink-driving and speed limit enforcement. The initiatives also provide a strong focus on trauma promoting offences and provide for an investment in technology to increase officer productivity and safety. The government’s road safety goals for New Zealand are to reduce the number of road deaths to no more than 300 per year and hospitalisations to no more than 4,500 per year by 2010. Road deaths in 2006 totaled 391 and hospitalisations 7,470. Total funding for the 2007/08 RPP is $259.15 million.

A full research, education and training (RET) programme forms part of the NLTP for the first time. Each year Land Transport NZ commissions research that contributes towards making New Zealand’s land transport system more integrated, safer, more responsive and sustainable. The education and training components of the RET programme are a collection of activities from a range of other programmes, along with some new initiatives to address the wider objectives of the New Zealand Transport Strategy (NZTS). These activities include national advertising on land transport related issues, national promotion of walking and cycling and other nationally managed land transport education and training, including support for land transport related academic programmes. Total funding for all components of the RET programme for 2007/08 is $25.71 million.

Individually and collectively, the activities funded through this programme contribute to the purpose and objectives of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 and to Land Transport NZ’s objective of contributing to a safe, integrated, responsive and sustainable land transport system.

Key features of this NLTP

• A large part of the NLTP represents continued funding for ongoing activities such as road maintenance and passenger transport services and funds committed to projects approved in previous years.
• Maintenance funding for local roads and state highways, which accounts for 40 percent of the NLTP, has increased by $44.5 million to $847.4 million in 2007/08. The increase in maintenance funding is being driven by increased input costs, growth in heavy vehicle traffic, the use of higher quality road surfacing materials and a greater provision for emergency works.
• Funding for state highway construction has increased by $43.6 million from last year’s allocation to $664 million in 2007/08. Funding for local roads construction increases $5.4 million to $211.8 million in 2007/08.
• Community focused activities, which include what was previously known as the Community Road Safety Programme (CRSP), have been integrated into the NLTP for the first time. This brings the planning and funding of community focused activities alongside other behaviour change projects that are delivered through approved organisations and alongside engineering and other NLTP activities. Community focused activities comprise both road safety and sustainability projects and activities (such as travel behaviour change and neighbourhood accessibility plans). Funding for community focused activities totals $17 million for 2007/08.
• Passenger transport will receive $262.8 million in 2007/08. The overall allocation is lower than in 2006/07, due to the near completion of the Northern busway and a change in Wellington’s rail improvement programme. The allocation to passenger transport services increases by $23.7 million to $165 million in 2007/08.

Regional summaries

The estimated amount of expenditure, as shown in each regional section, includes both known allocations from the National Land Transport Account and estimated expenditure on projects for which funding approval has yet to be given. Generally, funding has been approved for road maintenance activities and passenger transport services. Also included are commitments to projects continuing from prior years or approved at the time the 2007/08 NLTP was adopted. A large portion of road construction, walking and cycling and passenger transport infrastructure projects have not been given funding approval at this time. Actual expenditure may differ from the amount shown in the table if either a greater or lesser quantity of projects are developed and brought forward for funding approval than expected.

National, regional and Crown funding

Funding is allocated from three sources – the national (N) fund; the regionally distributed (R) fund and the Crown (C) fund.

• R funding is distributed geographically based on population and is used for a range of transport activities including local road and state highway construction and passenger transport infrastructure projects that have insufficient national priority to be funded from N. Details of the indicative projects can be found in the NLTP book. In general, the same financial assistance rates apply to projects whether they are N, R or C funded.
• C funding comes from the Crown account contributed by government for specific regions’ land transport needs. In 2007/08 C funding has been set aside for:
  • Auckland for local roading projects
  • Waikato for local roading and state highway projects
  • Bay of Plenty to allow the Harbour Link project to proceed without tolling
  • Wellington to advance passenger transport and local roading projects.

Northland

The weather is a major influence on transport in Northland. Tourists and New Zealanders migrating towards warmer temperatures are placing pressure on the region’s transport system, and extreme weather events are increasing demands for resources for restoring networks and infrastructure.

The population of Northland grows by about 60 percent during the summer holiday period. The mix of large buses, campervans, logging trucks and commercial traffic on the roads highlights the need for a consistent standard of highway and frequent passing lanes to avoid driver frustration with slow traffic. Additionally, some tourists’ lack of experience on unsealed roads – such as SH 1 to North Cape – has created safety issues leading to increasing demands for seal extensions.

Land Transport NZ maintains its commitment to the Northland area with the allocation of regional development funds in 2007/08 for the reconstruction of local road networks used by the forestry sector. 2007/08 is programmed to be the last year of regional development spending. Construction will continue this year on the main arterial logging routes in the Far North, Whangarei and Kaipara.

Elsewhere in the region, 2007/08 funding will be used to begin the sealing of SH 1 to Cape Reinga and to investigate stage 2 of the Kamo bypass, which will incorporate an extension of Spedding Drive.

Northland’s Regional Land Transport Strategy (RLTS) was recently published. A new initiative, the development of a Northland Transport Network Study, will take the preferred options identified in the RLTS and establish a coordinated, multi-modal approach to implement these options within identified budgets.

The Road Safety to 2010 Strategy goal for the Northland region is that by 2010 fatalities and hospitalisations will be fewer than 340 per annum. There were 29 fatalities and 444 hospitalisations due to road crashes in Northland during the 2006 calendar year.

Completed improvement activities

Land Transport NZ funding in 2006/07 enabled the successful completion of:

• reconstruction of local arterial routes including lengths of West Coast Road in the Far North district, Poutu Road in the Kaipara district and Mangakahia Road in the Whangarei district, to provide for additional logging traffic (regional development funding $10.05 million)
• seal extensions on rural roads in all three territorial authorities ($5.2 million).

Continuing improvement activities

Continued funding has been committed to projects from 2006/07. In the Northland region this includes:

• ongoing reconstruction of further sections of the principal arterial logging routes on West Coast Road, Mangamuka Road, Otiria Road and Rangiahua Road in the Far North, Mangakahia Road and Pipiwai Road in Whangarei and Pouto Road in Kaipara (funded from the national allocation of $20 million for regional development)
• development and construction of Old Bay Road between Kerikeri/Paihia and Kaikohe in the Far North to provide reduced travel times, maintenance cost savings and safety benefits ($5 million)
• construction of the Kerikeri Heritage bypass to relocate traffic from historic buildings, replace an existing single lane bridge and flood risk and improve route connectivity across Kerikeri ($17 million)
• construction of the SH1 Waitiki Landing to Cape Reinga seal extension for easier tourist access and to improve safety through a culturally and ecologically sensitive area ($13.2 million)
• investigation of stage 2 of the Kamo bypass, including an extension of Spedding Drive ($683,000).

Road maintenance and renewals

A total of $49.61 million has been allocated for the maintenance of the Northland region’s road networks, an increase of $6.8 million over the 2006/07 allocation. Of the total, $25.77 million has been allocated for the maintenance of the region’s local roads and $23.84 million for state highways.

Road improvements

Projects that may be approved over the year, if local authorities or Transit submit applications and the projects continue to meet funding requirements, include:

Local roading projects

• Waipapa road seal widening, including new walking and cycling facilities ($4 million).
• Widening and strengthening of Mangakahia Road in the Whangarei district ($3.5 million).

Forecast expenditure in NLTP	2007/08
	$ million	%
Maintenance and renewal local roads	25.8	24
Maintenance and renewal state highways	23.8	22
Improvement local roads	25.7	24
Improvement state highways	13.2	12
Regional development	15.0	14
Use of the transport system	0.4	-
Passenger transport	0.6	1
Administration	3.6	3
TOTAL	108.1	100
Road policing activities	11.6

Note:
Local maintenance does not include emergency works, and escalation contingency
State highway maintenance does not include property operations
Passenger transport does not include escalation contingency
Actual expenditure in 2007/08 may differ from the estimates, depending on activity levels.

Smaller state highway projects

• Realignment of three substandard curves and the provision of a passing lane at the northern end of Bulls Gorge on SH 10 to address safety issues ($4.1 million).
• Upgrade (stage two) of the One Tree Point intersection to address safety and congestion problems ($3 million).
• Improvement of the intersection at Puketona on SH 10 to address safety and congestion problems ($2 million).
• Safety improvements between Loop Road and Smeatons Hill on SH 1 ($2.5 million).
• Safety improvements between Springfield Road and Oakleigh service station on SH 1 ($1.6 million).
• Realignment of the Wairau river s-bend on SH 1 ($2.2 million).
• Construction of six passing lanes at Hukerenui, Kaiwaka, Old North Road, Callaghan Road, Newton Road and Waiotu north to enhance safety ($6.3 million).

Use of the transport system

Walking and cycling

• The Far North and Whangarei districts have released walking and cycling strategies for public consultation and submission. Included in Whangarei’s requests for 2007/08 is a cycleway on Mangakahia Road ($105,000).

Community focused activities

From 1 July 2007, community focused (formerly CRSP) activities will be funded through the NLTP. Councils will work with their local community groups to plan, develop and deliver local land transport safety and sustainability activities. These activities include:

• Far North, Whangarei and Kaipara districts are committed to ensuring ongoing participation from the wide range of high risk groups already involved in road safety – and potentially sustainable transport - activities. Efforts in the areas of drink-driving projects, driver licence course provision, restraint and child seat projects, road safety information and other areas complement activities undertaken by the districts’ road safety coordinators. In addition, advertising and promotion initiatives will be carried out by the districts and RoadSafe Northland.
• To maintain this momentum but allow time for a move towards possible new arrangements, where the districts take on even more responsibility for integrating community safety and sustainability projects into their land transport programmes, transitional funding for the road safety coordinators and the over-25’s driver licence training project will be allocated directly from Land Transport NZ.

Travel demand management

• Travel demand management is predominantly seen by rural territorial authorities as an urban issue. However emerging work indicates that rural communities also need to address alternatives to private car travel. Possible initiatives include travel plans at three Far North schools, more flexible use of school buses, and ride-sharing. Any initial involvement will be via the road safety coordinators.

Rail and sea freight

• The potential for barging is monitored by Northland Regional Council. Extension of the rail line to the deep water port at Marsden Point, which is under consideration by OnTrack, will facilitate the carriage of goods by rail, improving the competitiveness of rail with road freight.

Passenger transport

A total of $474,000 has been allocated to Northland region for passenger transport operations and total mobility activities.

Since 2000, bus patronage in the Whangarei district has risen from 7,000 per month to a current level of 19,400 per month. This result is because of improved services such as more buses and expanded routes and is expected to increase by a further 8 percent in 2007/08.

Road policing activities

Funding for NZ Police road policing and associated activities in the Northland region totals $11.58 million for the 2007/08 year. This comprises:

• $9.67 million for strategic road policing activities (ie, enforcement of speed limits, alcohol or drug affected driving, restraint wearing and general road safety)
• $477,000 for community engagement on road policing (school road safety education and police community services)
• $1.41 million for road policing incident and emergency management (crash attendance and investigation, and traffic management), and $25,000 for road policing court orders.

The $11.58 million funds all road policing vehicles, communications, equipment, accommodation and 76.9 full time equivalent (FTE) staff, including 7.5 new FTEs for the 2007/08 year: 2.5 of these are for crash attendance and investigation and five are for targeted enforcement on rural roads.

Auckland

Ensuring reliable trip times, especially for buses and commercial vehicles, continues to be a key transport issue for the Auckland region. Congestion in the city is serious by Australasian standards and the dispersed land use patterns encourage private vehicle commuting. Ongoing land development in urban fringe areas is also placing heavy demands on transport infrastructure. One of the key non-state highway packages of projects, known as the Auckland- Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative, will cost more than $1 billion over the next 10 years.

In continuing to address these issues, Land Transport NZ is looking to fund strategic network completion and upgrading, co-fund public transport operations including bus, rail and ferry services, and co-fund travel demand management initiatives including walking, cycling and travel plans together with the Auckland regional council and the seven local authorities.

A significant amount of funding has been allocated for new works in the Auckland region. Projects include the Manukau Harbour Crossing, as part of the SH 20 Western Ring Route, and stage one of improvements to SH 1 through Warkworth in conjunction with the Rodney district.

Progress continues to be made to improve trip reliability and access, including integrated public transport facilities:

• Stages one and two of the Central Motorway Junction project are complete, highlighting the need for additional capacity through Victoria Park/St Mary’s Bay.
• SH 1’s ALPURT B2 extension is expected to be completed in 2008/09.
• The Mt Roskill extension of SH 20 is well underway and on track to be finished in 2008.
• The first stage of the Upper Harbour corridor – the Upper Harbour bridge duplication – is finished and the Greenhithe deviation is expected to be completed in 2007.
• The Waiouru connection to the Southern motorway, together with completion of the Otahuhu interchange, was opened in April 2006.
• Major upgrading of the Esmonde Road interchange (in parallel with the Northern busway) will be finished in 2007.

Passenger transport will receive a major boost with the construction of the Northern busway, which will provide dedicated bus and high occupancy vehicle transit lanes and facilities between the harbour bridge and Albany. When completed late in 2007, the busway will allow the frequent, high quality northern express buses to avoid congestion on the Northern motorway. Three busway stations – Albany, Constellation Drive, and Westlake – will be available to service the busway.

Rail infrastructure - such as stage two of the double-tracking of the Western Line - and services have also been expanded with funding from Land Transport NZ. Government decisions meant that from 1 June 2006 infrastructure funding will come to OnTrack via Treasury.

The Road Safety to 2010 Strategy goal for the Auckland region is that by 2010 fatalities and hospitalisations will be fewer than 1,640 per annum. There were 81 fatalities and 3093 hospitalisations due to road crashes in Auckland during the 2006 calendar year.

Reviews of Auckland’s regional growth and land transport strategies commenced in 2007, under the umbrella of a ‘one plan’ approach that looks ahead to the end of the century.

Completed improvement activities

Land Transport NZ funding in the past year enabled the successful completion of:

• stage 2 of the construction of the Central Motorway Junction, increasing capacity with extra lanes on and off SH 1 between the Auckland central business district and Newmarket ($147 million)
• the Waiouru connection involving arterial roading and a motorway interchange, constructed jointly by Transit and Manukau city ($62 million)
• the Greenlane interchange upgrade including the widening of Greenlane Road and the Greenlane/Great South roads intersection by Transit and Auckland city ($20 million)
• construction of additional bus lanes and traffic capacity on Fanshawe Street in Auckland city, to provide transport infrastructure that integrates walking, cycling, and bus transport with cars and trucks ($7 million)
• Esmonde Road interchange ($44 million) to improve passenger transport services between and boost public transport uptake.

Continuing improvement activities

Continued funding has been committed to ongoing projects. In the Auckland region, this includes funding of:

• the construction of the SH 1 ALPURT B2 extension from Orewa to Puhoi to provide an efficient and safe corridor for traffic ($365 million)
• the Northern busway ($191 million) to improve passenger services between Auckland and North Shore.
• the Mt Roskill extension of SH 20 on the Western Ring Route to cater for traffic heading from the west to the airport and southern destinations ($200 million)
• the Manukau motorway link between SH 20 and SH 1 on the Western Ring Route to ease congestion through Manukau city ($180 million)
• the Greenhithe motorway deviation on SH 17 on the Western Ring Route to remove traffic from Upper Harbour Drive ($95 million)
• ramp signalling on the region’s four motorways to improve traffic flows, reduce congestion and increase the reliability of trip times ($79 million)
• final investigation, option selection and additional design work for the Waterview connection on SH 20 on the Western Ring Route, to a stage where the lodgement of a notice of requirement could be considered ($6.18 million)
• design of the Victoria Park Tunnel project on SH 1 to increase capacity in St Mary’s Bay and maximise the benefits of the related Central Motorway Junction and other projects ($3 million)
• design of the Market Road to Greenlane auxiliary lane on the southern motorway to balance capacity and manage traffic during the replacement of the Victoria Park Viaduct ($20 million)
• additional investigation and design for the replacement of the Newmarket Viaduct on the southern motorway to address structural and safety deficiencies and add capacity ($4.12 million)
• automated traffic management system for the motorways – completion of stage four projects, which include variable message signs and CCTV ($100 million)
• the reconstruction of Glenfield Road, North Shore ($15 million)
• a transport package for Taharoto Road on the North Shore, including intersections with Wairau and Shakespeare roads, access to the Westlake busway station, high occupancy vehicle lanes, and pedestrian and cycle facilities ($26 million)
• construction of the Ormiston West bridge and approaches at the Flat Bush city development in Manukau city, to improve traffic flows and access ($12 million)
• Liverpool-Nesdale arterial road in Manukau city linking the airport to Te Irirangi Drive to provide alternative and improved connectivity for commercial traffic ($9 million)
• Anzac Street corridor widening in North Shore city to provide bus and cycle lanes giving high quality public transport access to the Esmonde Road busway station and the Northern busway ($10 million)
• construction of an auxiliary northbound lane on the Northern motorway between Northcote and Sunnynook roads to improve capacity during afternoon peak traffic and ensure more reliable trip times ($10.2 million).

Road maintenance and renewals

A total of $141.4 million has been allocated for the maintenance of the Auckland region’s road network, an increase of $2.4 million over the 2006/07 allocation. Of the total, $74.13 million has been allocated for the maintenance of the region’s local roads and $67.27 million for state highways.

Road improvements

Projects that may be approved over the year if local authorities or Transit submit applications and the projects continue to meet funding requirements include:

Local road projects

• Design work by on the Auckland-Manukau Eastern Transport Initiative (AMETI) to improve connectivity and passenger transport connections between, and within, Auckland and Manukau ($11 million).
• Design of improvements to Neilson Street in Auckland city to increase capacity and cater for commercial vehicles accessing the Southern and Southwestern motorways ($ 1.5 million).
• Widening of Onewa Road (Lake Road to Sylvan Ave) in North Shore city to provide a bus lane to feed the Northern busway ($5 million).
• Replacement of Beaumont’s bridge on Great South Road in Manukau city to remove a crash blackspot and s-bend on a major arterial road ($6 million).
• Flat Bush to Chapel Road and Flat Bush School Road upgrading in Manukau city to facilitate access to, and within, the new development at Flat Bush ($7 million).
• East Coast Road/Lonely Track Road/Glenvar Road upgrading in North Shore city, to improve a crash blackspot on a rural arterial road ($2 million).
• Clevedon Road five-way intersection in the Papakura district, to simplify a complex and unsafe junction ($1.2 million).
• Sturges Road overbridge replacement in Waitakere city, deferred from last year ($3 million).
• Programme of seal extensions in the Rodney district, including Matakana Valley, Whitehills, Pakiri, Ocean View and Ahuroa roads ($4.4 million).
• Pukekohe East/Belgium Road intersection upgrade in the Franklin district to address safety and capacity issues ($1.4 million).

State highway projects

• Investigation, design and procurement of a replacement moveable median barrier and transfer machines for the Auckland harbour bridge, to ensure continued safety and operational efficiency ($10.3 million).
• Investigation of widening the Northwestern motorway to six lanes between Te Atatu and Royal roads to relieve traffic congestion and improve the reliability of trip times ($824,000).
• Design of a replacement bridge at Punganui on SH 16 to address structural failure ($126,000).
• Investigation of upgrading the Papakura interchange to a fully functional layout incorporating a new northbound on-ramp to cater for the growth area at Hingaia ($1.55 million). Funding will include significant developer contributions.
• Investigation of widening the Northwestern motorway to eight lanes between Rosebank and Te Atatu roads to increase capacity and improve the reliability of trip times ($927,000).
• Construction of the SH 18 Hobsonville deviation, linking the Greenhithe upper harbour bridge duplication to SH 16 at Westgate to remove state highway traffic from an arterial road and enable the development of an area of concentrated growth ($207 million).

Forecast expenditure in NLTP	2007/08
	$ million	%
Maintenance and renewal local roads	74.1	10
Maintenance and renewal state highways	67.3	9
Improvement local roads	98.3	13
Improvement state highways	354.2	46
Use of the transport system	20.1	3
Passenger transport	139.6	18
Administration	26.2	3.4
TOTAL	779.8	100
Road policing activities	67.6

Note:
Local maintenance does not include emergency works, and escalation contingency
State highway maintenance does not include property operations
Passenger transport does not include escalation contingency
Actual expenditure in 2007/08 may differ from the estimates, depending on activity levels.

Use of the transport system

Walking and cycling

• Walking and cycling in the region is coordinated by ARTA’s Sustainable Transport Plan, which includes the regional strategic cycle network. In addition, territorial authorities have either complementary walking and cycling strategies or include these modes in their transport strategies. For 2007/08 the programmes submitted by the territorial authorities and ARTA include a wide range of cycling and walking infrastructure projects totalling $18.37 million.

Community focused activities

From 1 July 2007, community focused (formerly CRSP) activities will be funded through the NLTP. Councils will work with their local community groups to plan, develop and deliver local land transport safety and sustainability activities.

• All seven territorial authorities are committed to ensuring ongoing involvement from the wide range of around 50 groups already involved in road safety, and potentially sustainable transport activities. Efforts in the areas of drink-driving projects, driver licence course provision, restraint and child seat projects, road safety information and other areas complement activities undertaken by the districts’ road safety coordinators. In addition, advertising and promotion initiatives will be carried out by the territorial authorities and ARTA.
• ARTA is committed to supporting councils to implement sustainable transport work (for example the school and work place travel plans), as well as undertaking its own road safety programme.

Travel demand management

• Travel demand management in the region is coordinated via ARTA’s Sustainable Transport Plan. This plan identifies the need for school travel plans and walking school buses, workplace travel plans, tertiary travel plans and neighbourhood accessibility plans, and how these should be implemented once developed. In the next decade, travel plans will be developed for 25 town centres. Projects with a value of $6.72 million have been identified by the territorial authorities and ARTA for 2007/08.

Rail and sea freight

• There are no projects proposed for 2007/08 despite investigation work carried out by consultants for Port of Auckland on rail-freighting containers from the Port of Auckland to the inland container port at Wiri.

Passenger transport

A total of $93.6 million has been allocated to Auckland passenger transport operations and total mobility activities for 2007/08. Passenger transport allocations help implement ARTA’s Passenger Transport Plan, which is based around three tiers of services: The Rapid Transit Network (the passenger rail network and the Northern busway) which provides the core; the Quality Transport Network which provides feeder services that will ultimately service the rail and busway stations; and the Local Transport Network which provides an infrastructure of cross-town and local services.

In addition, subject to Board approval, funding will be provided for the development of the Central Transit corridor, which will upgrade passenger > > transport facilities and, in some places, provide dedicated bus routes from Auckland city centre to Newmarket ($41 million). To encourage passenger transport and connections to the Northern busway, North Shore city passenger transport corridors will be upgraded as noted above.

Road policing activities

Funding for NZ Police road policing and associated activities in the Auckland region totals $67.62 million for the 2007/08 year. This comprises:

• $47.37 million for strategic road policing activities (ie, enforcement of speed limits, alcohol and drug affected driving, restraint wearing and general road safety)
• $3.56 million for community engagement on road policing (school road safety education and police community services)
• $16.28 million for road policing incident and emergency management (crash attendance and investigation, and traffic management), and $412,000 for road policing court orders.

The $67.62 million funds all road policing vehicles, communications, equipment, accommodation and 449 full time equivalent (FTE) staff, including 24.5 additional FTEs for the 2007/08 year. Eleven of these are for crash attendance and investigation, 1.5 are for targeted enforcement on urban roads, two are for Police community services, five are for the enhanced alcohol compulsory breath testing campaigns (CBTs) run by the Traffic Alcohol Group (TAG), and five are for the expanded traffic camera programme.

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The figures in the tables in this newsletter are Land Transport NZ's allocations. Costs in brackets refer to total project or total phase costs.

For further information, please contact: Peter Kippenberger| Partnership Manager Northern | Auckland Regional Office, Private Bag 106-602, Auckland, 1010 | Telephone 09 969 9812 | Fax 09 969 9813 | peter.kippenberger@nzta.govt.nz

 

Page created: 18 June 2007