Reliability takes a back seat

Let’s Get Wellington Moving – the local and central government partnership designed to improve Wellington’s transport system – gives only 15% weighting to the goal of giving Wellingtonians ‘‘more efficient and reliable’’ transport, according to documents released under the Official Information Act.

The LGWM weightings – which were decided in 2016 and reconfirmed last year – instead give more priority to other goals around transport, which Transport Minister Michael Woods says will all help efficiency.

The weightings are laid out in a briefing given by Wood to the National Party on August 8.

‘‘It turns out that they had given twice the weighting to getting people out of cars and getting cars off the street than they had actually to a safe and efficient transport system,’’ ACT transport spokesperson Simon Court said.

The goals and weightings listed in the document are that the project enhances urban amenity and enables urban development outcomes (20%); provides more efficient and reliable access for users (15%); reduces carbon emissions and increases mode shift by reducing reliance on private vehicles (40%); improves safety for all users (15%); and is adaptable to disruption and future uncertainty (10%).

The $7.4 billion project – the biggest change in how Wellingtonians get around in decades – would see a new fourlane tunnel under Mt Victoria, two lanes of which would be for buses. The current Mt Victoria tunnel would be turned into a pedestrian and cycling tunnel. A light rail line is also planned out to Island Bay.

It also plans to pedestrianise Wellington’s golden mile – a stretch of road along Lambton Quay, Willis St, Manners St and Courtenay Place.

‘‘Let’s Get Wellington Moving has its priorities all wrong. It should be getting Wellingtonians to and from places that they need to work and to take their families but instead they focused on delivering the Government’s carbon reduction agenda and simply getting people out of cars,’’ Court said. ‘‘It’s a Green activists’ dream this plan, it’s got nothing to do with getting Wellington moving.’’

But Transport Minister Michael Wood said that the goals and weightings need to be taken as a whole, not split up into their constituent parts.

‘‘A key part of the programmes reflected in the weightings is a need to reduce emissions through achieving mode shift,’’ Wood said.

‘‘By definition, if we achieve that and we get more people travelling in efficient ways through mass rapid transit, safe walking and cycling, we will have a decongestion benefit which will make the network work more smoothly.’’