Government funding on hold for cycleway projects

Published on 14 November 2023

The construction of new cycleways and pedestrian improvements on Summerhill Drive/SH57 and two parts of Featherston Street have been delayed after Waka Kotahi – NZ Transport Agency put a pause on further funding until a new Transport Minister is in place.

Waka Kotahi recently informed Councils it was putting a hold on releasing further funding for its Transport Choices programme. This programme formed part of the previous Government’s Climate Emergency Response Fund supporting transport projects which help reduce carbon emissions.

Our Council has three projects which are funded by the Transport Choices programme:

• Cycleway and pedestrian safety upgrades on Summerhill Drive/SH57
• Cycleway and pedestrian safety upgrades on two sections of Featherston Street between Botanical Road to Aroha Street and North to Ruahine Streets
• Construction of new bus stops and shelters throughout the city. As the manufacturing of the shelters was already underway this project will be rolling out throughout the city as planned to support the new bus routes in the city that come into effect in February 2024, which will see more buses more often in Palmerston North. The funding for the bus shelters is still coming from the Transport Choices programme. It is only the first two projects above that are now on hold.

We have separate funding through Waka Kotahi’s Streets for People programme for cycleway and pedestrian improvements on Featherston Street between Aroha Street and North Street – which includes the area around Central Normal, Palmerston North Boys’ High, McDonald’s, Mitre 10, Countdown and the Rangitikei St intersection. This work is not impacted by the current hold on Transport Choices funding and will proceed this summer as planned.

Since learning of the halt to funding for the cycleway and pedestrian improvements on parts of Featherston Street and Summerhill Drive/SH56, Council has asked Waka Kotahi for more clarity for our community about the decision and next steps.

Chief Executive Officer Waid Crockett says our key message to Waka Kotahi has been that we are disappointed by the decision to pause funding and hope that the incoming Government will continue to fund this important work.

“Waka Kotahi is our most significant funding partner for transport initiatives in Palmerston North and we appreciate its support for all projects which are helping to move people and goods around more efficiently and safely. These cycleway projects have seen thousands of hours of staff, Elected Member and community time working on designing the streets together. We ask that when a Minister is appointed, we get the go-ahead to proceed with construction. The plan was to start construction over summer when our roads are less busy and school holidays are occurring. If funding proceeds, we may need to have a further conversation with our community about the best time to undertake the work.”

Mr Crockett says we’re reaching out to stakeholders, businesses and schools who we’ve worked with to let them know about the decision and next steps.

Once we receive an update from Waka Kotahi, we will provide another update to our community.