Regional Land Transport Plan 2024-34

The Regional Transport Committee is proposing the following revisions to the vision, objectives and priorities outlined in the previous Canterbury Regional Land Transport Plan.

New 30-year vision

The draft Canterbury Regional Land Transport Plan’s revised 30-year vision is for ‘an innovative, resilient, low emissions transport system that helps Canterbury thrive for generations’.

Updated ten-year objectives and priorities

The Land Transport Management Act (2003) seeks an effective, efficient and safe land transport system.

Our updated strategic objectives to deliver the 30-year vision are maintenance, resilience, emissions, growth, safety and freight.

Headline targets

We have revised our headline targets to set timeframes and increased the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land transport by 41% (previously 30%) by 2035.

Priorities for investment

We have revised our investment priorities and their weighting; these are used when ranking the specific transport activities proposed by the each of the region’s councils, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and the Department of Conservation.

New investment priorities and the weightings are listed below:

• Create a well-maintained network *top priority
• Manage risk of exposure to extreme events (35% weighting)
• Support and develop connected public transport and active transport networks (30% weighting)
• Implementing safer systems (Road to Zero) (25% weighting)
• Support and develop freight systems connecting to air, rail and sea (10% weighting).

Monitoring indicator framework

We monitor several indicators to determine if activities are having a positive impact on transport system priorities. These are outlined in the Monitoring Indicator Framework (page 60). The framework has been revised to align with the new priorities proposed in the plan and include additional wellbeing indicators.

In the draft Canterbury Regional Land Transport Plan, we’re proposing $10.8 billion investment in the region’s land transport network over the next decade. This is almost double the funding outlined in the 2021 plan.

Road maintenance, operations and renewals represent at least 40% of planned land transport investment by local and central government in the Canterbury region over the next 10 years.

We have compiled all the regional transport activities proposed for funding by councils in Canterbury, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and the Department of Conservation. These align with the strategic framework.

Current and new regional transport activities have been grouped into the following categories:

1. Ongoing programmes – mostly road maintenance, operations and renewals and current public transport services.
2. Locally important improvements – mostly improvements to network safety and resilience across the region and connected active and public transport use in Greater Christchurch.
3. Regionally significant improvements – activities with regional or inter-regional significance, for example having social, environmental, cultural or economic benefits for the wider Canterbury region.

Top-ranked transport projects

We're not seeking feedback on individual transport projects or activities, as these are proposed by the region’s councils or central government. Your submission can influence the vision, objectives, priorities, how projects are ranked and how success is measured.

In this review we have also ranked the regionally significant improvements. The 29 significant investments include, but are not limited to:

• A second Ashburton urban bridge, Ashburton District
• Improving public transport, Greater Christchurch
• Northern link, including Woodend State Highway 1 bypass, Waimakariri District
• Updating Conway Bridge, Hurunui District
• Updating the Heaton Hayes Rail Crossing to Timaru Port, Timaru District
• Updating the Pages Road Bridge to New Brighton, Christchurch
• Improving walking and cycling in Timaru
• Finishing the major cycleways in Christchurch
• Improvements around schools to keep children safe
• Improvements in Rolleston, Hornby, Brougham Street and Moorhouse Avenue area, Rangiora and Prebbleton
• Developing a programme to support the transition to low emissions transport.

Funding sources

Funding for the proposed transport activities comes from councils, direct Crown funding, and the National Land Transport Fund.

We have estimated the funding from local and national sources and there should be sufficient funding available. However, there is still uncertainty until central government decisions on transport funding are made. There is likely to be a 10-year funding gap of $4.6 billion from central government, which could affect both local and regionally significant improvements.

With this in mind, we are also seeking your feedback on actions that we should investigate to reduce this risk. For example, removing lower impact projects from the plan, increasing local contributions or identifying other sources of finance. Legislative changes might be needed to support alternative funding sources, such as city or regional government packages, new taxes or tolls. While these changes are outside the control of the plan, the Regional Transport Committee may choose to advocate for these on behalf of Canterbury.