District-wide matter: Transport

The Council’s District Plan Committee has recently endorsed the following draft changes for addressing identified issues for further development, which we’re now consulting on:

• Integrated Transport Assessments (ITAs) are required as part of the resource consent process for certain land developments and will be based on the scale of the development. This will give the Council confidence that activities that are likely to put pressure on the wider transport network are assessed during the consent process and appropriate contributions are made to any road network upgrades.
• The minimum width of smaller roads (‘Local Minor’ and ‘Local Intermediate’), such as cul de sacs and streets serving more intensive housing areas, is to be reviewed. The intention is to increase the permitted width to allow for wider grass berms, footpaths on both sides of the road and to ensure sufficient space for car parking, vehicle manoeuvring (including emergency service and refuse collection vehicles) and wheelie bins.
• The width of vehicle crossings ie section of driveway at the front of a property, on smaller roads (‘Local Minor’ and ‘Local Intermediate’) is reduced from a maximum width of 6 metres (m) to 3.5 m where the roadside berm is less than 15 m wide.
• Require footpaths on both sides of all smaller roads (‘Local Minor’ and ‘Local Intermediate’) where there is enough space to promote walking, cycling and access to public transport Single-sided footpaths would need to be assessed through the resource consent process.
• Require subdivision within intensive housing areas to provide walkable blocks with a maximum 800 m perimeter (rather than the current 1,000 m) to promote walking, cycling and access to public transport.
• Retain the existing subdivision rules for managing the design of cul de sacs, but introduce a rule that new cul de sacs need to have ‘line of sight’ to adjoining streets to promote well-connected streets and improve pedestrian safety.
• Encourage cycling by increasing the number, and improve the location and design, of cycle parking spaces in town centres.
• Include objectives and policies that support public transport by referencing the need for Council to consider the establishment of specific facilities in the district, including Park N’ Ride facilities.

As a result of the review of current policies and rules specific to transport, we’ve identified the following issues with the current District Plan:

• There are currently no rules for Integrated Transport Assessments (ITAs) to be required as part of a resource consent. An ITA is a detailed assessment of how a new development could impact on the operation of the wider road network and what contribution the development should make to any upgrades.
• Smaller roads, such as cul de sacs and streets serving more intensive housing areas, are sometimes not wide enough to provide space for amenity strips ie grass berms. This reduces streetscape amenity and the ability to provide footpaths on both sides of the road and space for wheelie bins and vehicles to easily manoeuvre. Wide vehicle crossings on these streets also reduce the area of frontage available for on-street parking.
• Smaller roads, such as cul de sacs or streets serving more intensive housing development, aren’t providing sufficient space for footpaths, while large neighbourhood blocks are not providing enough pedestrian and cycling connections. In addition, the availability and design of cycle parks in town centres are also proving to be insufficient. These issues are discouraging people from walking and cycling and having safe and convenient access to public transport and other destinations.