Cobham Drive and SHW Spees, Have Your Say

Introduction

Wellington faces numerous challenges as it continues to grow, including our roading and transport infrastructure. The Chamber fully supports Let’s Get Wellington Moving’s original objectives to support the growth of the city and to make it easier and safer for goods and people to get around.

But instead of getting Wellington moving, the current programme is doing the opposite. This proposal is, in plain speaking, putting a speed bump right on State Highway 1 (SH1). LGWM’sfocus and progress continue to concern us. We urge LGWM to return to its original vision and progress the major aspects of the indicative package, such as the Mt Victoria tunnel and Basin Reserve improvements – which will get Wellington moving.

Te Motu Kairangi (the Miramar peninsula) is an important part of Wellington City. It is home to an estimated 10,000 Wellingtonians, Weta Workshop, and the main airport for the lower North Island.

Wellington’s newly adopted spatial plan also lists suburbs such as Miramar, Mapuia, and Strathmore Park as opportunity sites for densification and development.

High-growth areas, such as this, need a well-functioning road and public transport network. With the expected growth in the opportunity sites and the increased usage of the airport, a fluid, well-maintained transport system should be the top priority for the infrastructure in this area.

Summary

The route from SH1 from the Wellington Airport to the Mt Victoria tunnel is crucial for Wellingtonians in the eastern suburbs and those travelling to and from Wellington’s airport. According to the research, 35,000 road users travel on the road, daily. The Airport also has 6 million users annually, that will use the road to connect with the rest of New Zealand and in many cases, the world.

As Wellington Airport’s submission puts plainly:

Cobham Drive is an excellent stretch of State Highway. It is long, straight, four lanes wide, and median separated, with a gold standard cycling and walking path. There are existing crossing points through the Lyall Bay underpass and at the major Evans Bay intersection, an appropriate place for traffic lights. It is not sensible to place an additional pedestrian crossing further along the road, particularly not a raised crossing that will function as a speed bump.

The Chamber writes in strong support of the submissions made by Wellington International Airport Ltd (the Airport) and the Road Transport Forum (RTF). Our submission will reference a number of the points raised by these groups and we find ourselves in strong agreement with them. These submissions, including ours, should be weighted accordingly, given the interest in the outcome, direct impacts proposed, and the number of members held by both the Chamber and RTF...

Download to read the full submission.