Public input sought on transport projects

In Dunedin, the additions are part of the Connecting Dunedin initiative, and include such things...
In Dunedin, the additions are part of the Connecting Dunedin initiative, and include such things as urban cycleways. Photo: ODT file

Regional transport committees want the public's opinion on $1 billion of projects in Otago and Southland.

The Otago and Southland Regional Councils this week asked for feedback on the addition of 35 projects for the next three years to the Otago Southland regional land transport plan.

The plan was initially created in 2015 and sets project goals up to 2021.

Projects on the plan are those the committees want the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to fund.

Many of them have been already announced by the bodies responsible.

The list includes cycling, walking, public transport, local road and state highway projects.

This adds $321 million in recommended funding for Otago projects and $20 million in Southland.

The total projects in the plan add up to more than $1 billion.

ORC strategic and transport planning manager Jane Turnbull said while state highway projects could not proceed without NZTA funding, it was unclear whether the case was the same for other projects.

NZTA was involved in the creation of the plan and there was an agency member on both councils, she said.

The council was interested to know what transport projects the public thought were needed to ''ensure a safe and sustainable transport system that supports regional development'', she said.

''The public should keep in mind the need to set priorities. Many transport projects are expensive, so it's critical that the public let the committees and NZTA know what they think are the priorities needed in the next few years and whether the committees have got their strategy right.''

In Dunedin, the additions are part of the Connecting Dunedin initiative, and include such things as urban cycleways.

More than half the projects over the next three years will address problems facing the Queenstown area. These include the upgrades in the areas of walking, cycling, buses, water taxis and ferries.

• More details are on the Otago Regional Council website 

jono.edwards@odt.co.nz


 

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