Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has turned down a Selwyn District Council application for funding, meaning the project will not happen until 2027.
The work is planned for Gerald St, between Kildare Tce and West Belt, as part of the Lincoln Town Centre Plan.
District council asset manager transportation Andrew Mazey said the application for funding to the roading authority’s national Streets for People initiative was declined.
He said the roading authority had not given any specific reason, although it had told district councils whose applications it declined that it had evaluated learnings from a previous project.
Based on these learnings, it was now “working with a smaller cohort of councils, to ensure they are well-supported and set-up for success".
The Waka Kotahi funding would have allowed the project to begin in the current 2022/23 financial year.
Failure to secure the funding means it will now revert to its original timing in the current Long Term Plan, where it is scheduled to begin 2027.
“However, the council may wish to review this in the future,” Mazey said.
“The current programme is budgeted to be fully funded by the district council under the Long Term Plan and costings would be confirmed closer to the time,” he said.
The Lincoln Town Centre Plan, released in 2016, outlines safety and intersection improvements, as well as the installation of cycle lanes along both sides, replacing on-street parking.
The on-street parking would shift to off-street parking precincts on West Belt and the side streets of Lyttelton and Maurice Sts. The angle parking area on the south side of Gerald St would be retained.
The plan also includes a recommendation for the speed along Gerald St to be reduced to 30km/h.
Meanwhile, roadworks that started last week on Gerald St, from West Belt to the Vernon Drive area, are for pavement repairs.
