Ōtautahi – Forty-six councils across Aotearoa Zealand, from large metro centres to small provincial towns, will receive funding to implement more transport options for communities, government says. This includes:
• 397 new or upgraded bus stops to improve kiwi’s access to public transport
• 242kms of cycleways to encourage uptake of cycling
• 119 schools improvements to keep children safe
• 29 more walkable neighbourhoods
• 11 new bus prioritisation lanes will make public transport faster
The upgrading of New Zealand’s transport infrastructure system is to make it safer, greener, and more efficient for now and future generations to come.
The $350 million package aims to provide people in communities across Aotearoa with a wider range of efficient, cost effective and sustainable transport options.
The country’s commitment to infrastructure investment continues to play a critical part in securing New Zealand’s economy and supporting communities to thrive.
The package will help make our towns and cities more people-friendly places to live, work and visit. It will support more people to choose different ways of getting to where they need to go safely and enable more kids to get around under their own steam.
It will fund additional bus stops, bus prioritisation lanes, new cycleways, improvements to transport infrastructure around schools and improved walking access for neighbourhoods.
Producing projects such as these helps address the current infrastructure deficit while meeting future needs caused by population growth and climate change.
They will help people in communities across the country get to where they need to go more safely and efficiently, and help to reduce emissions, supporting us to meet emission reduction targets as set out in the government’s emissions reduction plan released in May.
It’s just one initiative within the decarbonisation plan that will enable people across the country to directly help fight climate change. Emissions are not just an urban issue; all Kiwis will have to work together to create a better future.
Addressing climate change is a core part of ensuring a thriving, productive, and secure future for Aotearoa and better transport choices is a huge part of the solution.
Waka Kotahi ministry of transport will work with successful councils in a two-stage process. The first stage is to further refine and scope their project proposals, with construction beginning on some projects by June 2023.
