Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The government has announced $30 million for council-led projects that aim to make walking and cycling safer up and down the country.
Money from the 'Streets for People' fund will be allocated to 13 local councils to deliver 21 projects aimed at making streets more people friendly.
It will likely result in less space on the road for cars, but Waka Kotahi does not yet know how many car parks will go as a result.
Minister of Transport Michael Wood announced the 'Streets for People' programme at Newtown School in Wellington.
"We want our people and our kids to be safe when they walk outside the school gate or go down to the diary or the local park yet over the last 10 years 181 of our children have been seriously injured when they go out on our streets," Wood said.
Funded projects also included two trial projects in Auckland, cycleways and better pedestrian crossings at State Highway 35 in Gisborne and a cycleway along part of State Highway 2 in Hawke's Bay.
A full list can be found here.
"That will make a real difference in their communities," Wood said.
Waka Kotahi said, in some cases, the funded projects would result in less room for cars on roads up and down the country.
"Some carparks [will go], some will be the flush median or where there might be additional traffic lanes that aren't needed," Waka Kotahi manager Kathryn King said.
The agency does not yet know how many car parks could go as a result.
"The projects haven't yet gone into the sort of design detail that we would need to be able to understand exactly how many spaces are being reallocated," King said.
Transport Minister Michael Wood announced the 'Streets for People' programme at Newtown School in Wellington. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Wellington's $1.5 million example
In Wellington, funding would go towards fast-tracking an improved connection between Newtown and Island Bay and while the project was yet to be designed, it would likely join up cycleways in both suburbs.
Wellington mayor Andy Foster did not know how much funding his council would get for the project but suspected it would not be enough.
"Undoubtedly, the cost is likely to be higher than the money that is likely to be available to us through this allocation.
"I think it's a first little splash in the bucket," Foster said.
Waka Kotahi later told RNZ the total project cost was $1.72 million with 90 percent of that ($1.54m) provided by Waka Kotahi through the new fund. It said the remaining 10 percent of funding would come from council.
Foster emphasised there would be consultation over the new cycleway, following lengthy public dissatisfaction with the controversial Island Bay cycleway.
"I'm really really keen that we make sure that we engage really really well with the community," he said.
Newtown School principal Nicki Read said parents were concerned about safety when it came to letting their children walk or bike to school, and either accompanied them or drove them to school instead.
"These changes probably will help that," she said.
But Read said there was some hesitation in the community over loss of carparks, with some students living too far away to bike or walk.
"We have some in our Māori immersion class who need to car in so it's a bit like save us some parks, save us some space to come to kura," she said.
Minister confident with funding level
Wood said he was confident the level of funding would make a difference.
"The 30 million dollars, if that was all that we were doing across safe walking and cycling opportunities it would not be enough. But we are investing that alongside a record programme," he said.
