The Let's Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) project that was meant to fix the Capital's transport woes has been officially scrapped.
The transport plan was supposed to be the answer to the capital's public transport problems and bring tunnels, light rail, bike and bus lanes, footpath changes, and speed limit alterations in a joint initiative between the Wellington City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi.
In a joint statement on Sunday morning Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Chris Bishop, Minister of Local Government Simeon Brown, Mayor Tory Whanau and Chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council Daran Ponter confirmed they "have agreed in principle to dissolve" the project.
"Today local, regional and central government are in agreement about the way forward for Wellington," Whanau said.
"It is important to me that we work constructively with the new government to deliver the infrastructure that Wellington desperately needs. It is good to have a clear sense of direction from the Government and commitment to investing in the infrastructure for our growing population."
Central Govt to fully fund second Mt Victoria tunnel
The new coalition Government confirmed its plans to deliver a second Mt Victoria tunnel and an upgrade to the Basin Reserve, which would be fully funded by the central government.
Under the old LGWM deal, Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington Regional Council would've been responsible for 40 percent of the programme investment, which includes the Basin upgrade and the new tunnel's construction costs.
Bishop said Wellingtonians are "sick of all the backwards and forwards" on the second Mt Vic tunnel.
"The plan now is for central government to fully fund the new tunnel. The tunnel will create exciting opportunities for more urban development and housing, and the government will work with Wellington City Council to explore these opportunities," Bishop said.
It was also confirmed on Sunday that conversations will begin on city/regional deals for Wellington and the Wellington Region.
The statement also said accelerating the North-South, East-West, and Harbour Quays' bus corridors will be priority projects, which will support the investment in the Basin and the Tunnel and improve access to the airport and hospital.
Bishop added it's pleasing to have reached an agreement on some key issues facing Wellington as "we plan and build the infrastructure Wellington needs to actually, at long last, really get moving".
Brown, who is also the new Transport Minister, said he was committed to delivering "effective and efficient transport solutions" for Wellingtonians.
He believes the Golden Mile project needed to ensure efficiencies were made and that the design met everyone's needs, including better bus routes and access for pedestrians.
"As we move through the next stages of building Wellington's future transport solutions, we are all looking forward to having discussions on creating a Regional/City Deal for Wellington city and the wider region," Brown said.
"This would mean having strategic objectives for road, rail, public transport, housing and environmental resilience investments for Wellington that are shared by central, regional and local government, along with long-term funding commitments to enable certainty of planning."
Whanau said while she doesn't support a second Mt Victoria car tunnel, she is glad that local, regional and central governments were all in agreement about the way forward for Wellington.
"I have been clear that I do not support a second Mt Victoria car tunnel. However, the Government has said that this is a priority for them this term and have committed to funding 100 percent of the costs," she said.
"I am also glad to have found areas of collaboration where we can look to develop a housing and urban growth precinct with the acquisition of land for this development."
Ponter added: "Thousands of Wellingtonians commute to work every day, making it essential that our public transport network is fit for purpose.
"It is important that we super-charge bus priority routes on our core transport spines and open up a new public transport spine on the Harbour Quays."
