Community engagement

Public engagement in April – May 2017

On 26 April we begin engaging with the public on the Wellington to Hutt Valley Walking and Cycling Link (W2HV). The W2HV is divided into three sections. We are seeking feedback on the Petone to Melling section and providing an update on the Ngauranga to Petone section. The Wellington CBD to Ngauranga section is a Wellington City Council project. More information about this section can be found at the Wellington City website at www.transportprojects.org.nz

Information about our proposals will be available on this website. Our public engagement guides will also be available at Hutt City and Wellington City libraries and council service centres. We invite you to attend one of our public information days in April and May 2017 to talk to a member of the project team in person and learn more about our proposals.

You can provide feedback from 26 April to 31 May 2017

Community engagement is an important part of developing these proposals so we encourage you to give us your feedback. You can do this by filling out a submission form at an information day, by completing the submission form on our webpage or by emailing us your comments to the project email address at w2hvlink@nzta.govt.nz

Join us at one of the following public open days:

Once we’ve analysed all the feedback, we’ll prepare a summary report and make it available on our webpage later this year.

Next steps for the Petone to Melling section

The project team aims to complete the design of the Petone to Melling section following community feedback. We will then confirm which route from the Parliament Street rail underpass to the Hutt River Trail to progress and apply for any consent applications so we can begin to build this portion of the W2HV Link.

Once the detailed design is completed and we have consents, we will confirm construction timeframes. We expect to begin construction at the end of 2017.

We are also working with the RiverLink team on flood capacity improvements and redeveloping the Hutt River corridor to ensure that our proposals are consistent with their plans.

Submissions for the public engagement on the Petone to Melling section of the path have now closed. A report detailing the results of the engagement will be published in due course.

Read more about the project:

• Project posters
• Public engagement guide– April 2017

Ride from Melling to Petone with us

Take a ride on our virtual train to experience what the Melling to Petone section will be like.

Next steps for the Ngauranga to Petone section

We have more work to do on the concept design to confirm how much foreshore to reclaim, the shape of the seawall, rest areas and the bridge. We also need to consider mitigation requirements based on the width of the reclamation platform. We plan to bring you further information and get your input later in 2017. This later round of consultation will help us prepare our resource consent applications.

Feedback from 2014-2015 consultation

During our 2014-2015 consultation you gave us your thoughts on how we can improve the walking and cycling link between Wellington and the Hutt Valley. We’ve been pleased by the number of people who took part in our surveys and passed on the link to others who wanted to participate.

Your feedback showed there is clear support for walking and cycling improvements between Petone and Ngauranga and between Wellington and the Hutt Valley. In particular, we received 778 submissions with all but three in favour of investing in walking and cycling.

You also clearly identified a preference for a seaward option and an interest in connections or improvements to walking and cycling from Petone and Ngauranga Interchanges to the rest of the Wellington and Hutt City. You will find a copy of the 2014 consultation report on our publications page.

The valuable information and feedback helped to inform the development and completion of the project detailed business case and the decision about the preferred option. In November 2015 the Transport Agency and key stakeholders for the Wellington to Hutt Valley Walking, Cycling and Resilience project confirmed a preferred seaward option for the section between Ngauranga and Petone.

Selecting a seaward option was based on consultation outcomes and feedback from stakeholders, user groups, iwi representatives, community groups and the general public during 2014 and 2015. It was also based on an assessment of the wider benefits this option can provide, including safety, look and feel, and resilience for both the highway and the rail corridor between Wellington and the Hutt Valley.