The Waikato Regional Council has approved an $11.8 billion transport plan for the next 3-6 years. The Waikato Regional Land Transport Plan 2024–2054 sets out the region’s transport needs for the next 10-30 years and will be used to request funding from the central government.
The plan’s main goals include implementing the Metro Spatial Plan Business Case, improving regional resilience, reducing transport emissions, and reshaping urban areas to encourage active transportation and provide more options.
Efforts to improve resilience will focus on the Coromandel Peninsula and Te Pōporo/Bulli Point on the southeast of Lake Taupō. The plan also includes increased maintenance on local roads and state highways across the region.
The plan addresses road safety issues, focusing on speed and infrastructure, problems faced by high-risk and vulnerable users, and initiatives for enforcement, education, and behavior change.
Two significant road projects, the Hamilton Southern Links and the Cambridge to Piarere extension of the Waikato Expressway, are also included in the plan.
The Waikato Regional Transport Committee, which unanimously approved the plan at its June 21 meeting, has been developing it for the past 18 months. During this time, the government changed and a new policy statement on land transport was issued.
The committee received 89 submissions from local authorities, stakeholders, advocacy groups, and individuals. The feedback helped shape the plan, according to Waikato Regional Councillor and Chair of the Regional Transport Committee Mich’eal Downard.
The plan will now be sent to the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi for review.
