New Wellington mayor looks to have a fight on his hands over extra Mt Victoria tunnel
Tuesday, 15 October 2019
Wellington mayor Andy Foster is already facing his first battle with his new councillors, with most objecting to his push to bring forward construction of an extra Mt Victoria tunnel.
Foster wants the extra tunnel - part of the $6.4 billion Let's Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) programme - to be completed ahead of a proposed mass transit system, and plans to take his case to Transport Minister Phil Twyford.
But the new mayor would first need to gain the support of his new councillors, most of whom told Stuff they were in favour of retaining the current plan which prioritises mass transit.
LGWM is a joint venture between the city council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and the New Zealand Transport Agency.
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It features several major infrastructure projects, each of which are still subject to business cases and sign-off from the three parties.
Twyford said on Monday he was open to discussing concerns about the sequencing of the 20-year programme, which has an extra Mt Victoria tunnel down for completion after 2029, along with a tunnel near the Basin Reserve.
But of the 10 councillors contacted by Stuff on Tuesday - four could not be reached for comment - six said they wanted mass transit between the city's railway station and airport to remain the priority.
Another, Jenny Condie, said she wanted to see business cases first but campaigned for mayor on mass transit being done first.
Councillors opposed to the idea were Green Party members Sarah Free and Iona Pannett, Labour Party members Teri O'Neill, Fleur Fitzsimons, and Rebecca Matthews, and independent candidate Jill Day.
O'Neill, a first-time councillor, said mass transit looked to be the most future-focused solution.
'Andy voted for the current [LGWM] plan and I'd really like to see that rolled out.'
Fitzsimons said Foster had no mandate to renegotiate the previous council's unanimous endorsement of the programme, while Day said the council needed to focus on moving ahead with the current plan.
Nicola Young did not want to comment, but noted she had previously voiced her support for reassessing the programme's timeline.
Diane Calvert, who campaigned for bringing the tunnel project forward during her mayoral bid, and Simon Woolf both sided with Foster.
LGWM programme director Andrew Body said work would begin shortly on business cases for mass transit and the Mt Victoria and Basin tunnels.
That work would influence decisions on sequencing.
'These are not simple decisions. They will depend on a number of issues such as funding availability, construction disruption, and how best to unlock the benefits of the investment.'
Foster said he spoke to councillors 'one-on-one' on Monday about issues relating to motor vehicle transportation – including an additional Mt Victoria tunnel – for which he said there was a reasonable amount of support.
Councillors needed to be well-briefed on the Let's Get Wellington Moving issues, he added.
Foster could not specify if the support was directly related to the Mt Victoria tunnel project, but if a future vote was on the cards he hoped councillors reflected the wishes of the community.
One of the ironies of the situation is that the extra tunnel, originally thought to be for private car use, was revealed by Stuff earlier this year to in fact be earmarked for public transport.