Job Done - William Street work fits the bill

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Improved safety coming to a street near you

There are lots of improvements about to happen on numerous streets across Tasman during the next 12 months or so. But what’s it all about?

We have two major government-funded programmes underway in Richmond, one in Māpua and another in Motueka, under the umbrellas of Streets for People and Transport Choices.

The projects are designed to do different things, but with similar outputs. Transport Choices is about building climate-friendly infrastructure quickly, while Streets for People is trialling a new way of delivering projects focused on testing and adapting based on community feedback.

The work we’re doing aligns with the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan and Road to Zero, Aotearoa’s road safety strategy where we’re working to make it safer, easier, and more attractive to walk, ride bikes or scooters and take public transport.

For example, our Streets for People programme on Salisbury Road has made trial changes so you can experience the options before we work through longer-term solutions.

We are going to be rolling out similar projects on Queen and Hill Streets, plus Champion and Wensley Roads ... and the same is happening on Aranui Road in Māpua.

For our Transport Choices projects in Richmond and Motueka, we want to work with you before we make any changes to the street to ensure what’s proposed suits your needs and that of the wider community.

In Richmond, we’re starting by focusing on the William Street neighbourhood while in Motueka we’re evaluating community feedback before deciding where we will start work.

What will Transport Choices funding mean for Tasman District?

We are planning numerous projects aimed at making Tasman a better place to live.

We want to provide our community with better and safer choices about how they and their families live and move around in these areas.

Just a few examples of work likely to be included are;

• Modified intersection layouts and improved crossings for pedestrians and cyclists at numerous intersections, particularly near schools, in Richmond and Motueka. Such as the Wensley/Oxford roundabout and Hill St/William St intersections
• On-street cycle lanes in Motueka
• Bus shelters, seats, and bike racks in Richmond and Motueka.

How is the programme different to Streets for People?

Work is underway in Richmond on two programmes that will help New Zealand achieve its emissions reduction goals faster, while creating vibrant, people-friendly places for thriving communities.

1. Streets for People

The Streets for People programme 2021-24 aims to make it easier and faster to create more people friendly streets in our towns and cities. The programme is investing $30m to enable councils to partner with local communities by test street changes that better meet community needs. In early September, Waka Kotahi announced that 13 councils across the country will receive funding to test street changes as part of Waka Kotahi Streets for People programme 2021-24.

2. Transport Choices

The Transport Choices Fund is part of the Government’s Climate Emergency Response Fund, $350m has been allocated to rapidly reallocate existing street space for walking, cycling and public transport. The Expression of Interest for funds was released to councils in the first week of August and Waka Kotahi was then involved in many conversations to refine the final programme to be presented to the Minister for approval in October.

Transport Choices is an investment package that local councils can use to begin immediate work for reduction of emissions, as part of the emissions reduction plan released in May 2022. Its purpose is to build momentum, capability, and public support ahead of more detailed VKT reduction planning and investment programmes that will happen over the next few years.

Investment will be targeted in four key areas:

Combined, these two programmes will mean a significant number of projects that will make safer, more liveable places for people across New Zealand.