'End of the beginning': Where does Lets Get Wellington Moving go next?

Thursday, 16 May 2019

A mass public transport system is due to be constructed between Wellington Railway Station and the airport as part of the $6.4 billion Let's Get Wellington Moving programme.

With rates to be levied, business cases to be lodged, contracts to be signed, and votes to be solicited Chris Laidlaw could be right when he says this is all just the 'end of the beginning'.

Business cases for the various projects that make up the plan for Let's Get Wellington Moving would not be debated until councillors from Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council approve the proposal, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said at a press conference on Thursday.

Wellington City Council City Strategy Committee chairwoman Iona Pannett said the plan for Let's Get Wellington Moving would come before her committee in June.

GWRC Chairman Chris Laidlaw says today's announcement is 'the end of the beginning'.

Greater Wellington chairman Laidlaw said his regional councillors would be expected to approve proposals by the end of next month: 'I guess we're at the end of the beginning here now'.

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But at this stage the council's wouldn't be voting on whether to set aside billions in rates to pay for the projects.

Twyford says it'll be a few years before shovels hit the ground on mass transit for Wellington.

After councils approved the proposal, business cases on the key projects would be solicited, routes planned and, eventually, contracts signed, Twyford said.

Mayor Justin Lester said it would take another year for councillors to vote on the budget.

Lester acknowledged this meant councillors could choose not to fund the project after the local body election in October.

'If we want to do this project then we need to pay for it.'

Another bottleneck for the project is legal action, the type that doomed the basin flyover.

Lester has previously expressed his hope that the government's proposed Urban Development Authority would cut off the type of litigation that had stalled other large Wellington transport projects.

Two bills need to pass parliament for this to happen: The first bill to set-up the agency, which will be presented by the end of the month, and the second to allocate powers to it.

Both are expected to pass by the middle of next year with the first to appear before parliament by the end of the month, according to a spokesman from Twyford's office.

Twyford said it would be a number of years before construction work started on the projects, including a mass transit system.

There are three such options being considered: buses, trackless trams, and light rail.

'Realistically I think we'd be looking at a few years before shovels hit the ground.'