Safety projects, roundabouts and park and ride at risk due to Selwyn road funding hole

Thursday, 26 September 2024

The Lincoln park and ride, four roundabouts, two sets of traffic lights and 11 safety upgrades may be cut as Selwyn’s council tries to fill the financial transport hole the Government says it won’t help with.

The district council is trying fill a $26.8 million hole in 33 transport plans after finding out the 51% of co-funding it was banking on from the Government won’t be coming.

The coalition Government’s $32.9 billion National Land Transport Plan 2024-27, released earlier this month, has left Selwyn wondering how it will forge ahead with the significant drop in funding it expected.

Affected projects include the $6m Lincoln park and ride, $7.5m of traffic lights at Dunns Crossing-Burnham School roads and at Gerald St-Vernon Drive, and $18.5m of roundabouts at the intersections of Selwyn and Springston Rolleston roads, Selwyn and Dunns Crossing roads, Springs and Hamptons roads and Brookside and Rolleston roads.

Selwyn’s population has almost doubled in the past 10 years from 49,000 to 86,000. In the next 10 years, the population is estimate to grow to almost 110,000 people.

During this year’s long-term plan process, council staff said the projects were at risk of not getting Government funding through NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), but mayor Sam Broughton said transport funding needed to grow as the district did.

“Our towns are growing quickly, and the funding we applied for from NZTA for new capital projects would have helped meet the needs and expectations of our growing community.

“For example, the Government is now not supporting the essential intersections upgrade at West Rolleston [Primary] School.”

The council budgeted for several projects that would improve safety around the school, such as $4m for traffic signals, $1.5m for a cycle pathways under State Highway 1, and $3m for road widening.

West Rolleston principal Sylvia Fidow said more than 800 pupils spilled out of her school when the bell rang. Having safety improvements and traffic lights would make a big difference to their safety.

“We feel let down,” she said. “We’re right by rural roads that people are speeding on.

“It’s a busy junction, so having the lights would keep the children safe and help manage the traffic around the school.”

Fidow said she hope the funding would be reviewed and children’s safety put first.

Across the road, early childhood care centre Blossoms Educare’s business manager, Corrine Maruariki, said it would be a “nightmare” if the improvements were not done.

“It’s already a nightmare,” she said. “It’s amazing that there hasn’t been any incidents, it’s just crazy and it’s going to get worse so we need to get it right once.”

Although there was a crossing on nearby Dunns Crossing Rd, Maruariki said children came from many different directions, and with congestion high during pick-up and drop-off times, safety improvements should be high on the priority list.

The $26.8m fiscal hole in the council’s long-term plan would need to be filled with funding somehow - either by increasing debt, or taking money from other projects until there was another chance to make a bid for Government cash, council staff said.

The council may yet be able to dip in the coalition Government’s $100m fund for improvements that cost less that $2m for its 26 low risk projects, but that funding would also be sought by other councils across the motu that were also reworking their plans.

Broughton said he understood the Government was focused on reducing costs, but as the fastest growing district in New Zealand, the lack of funding was inconsistent with other messaging from Housing Minister Chris Bishop for housing growth.

Selwyn councillors will consider a proposal for a renewed transport plan in October.