What we do

Delivering a shared vision for Wellington

We began our work in 2016, by asking what kind of city and region our community wants. We took your feedback and developed it into a shared vision for Wellington.

Our vision is:

• a great harbour city, accessible to all,
• with attractive places,
• shared streets, and
• efficient local and regional journeys.

To realise our vision, we need to move more people with fewer vehicles. So, this is a key consideration for us when choosing projects and solutions to traffic problems.

Developing transport projects with a purpose

We are responsible for selecting and developing transport projects that, once completed, take us closer to our shared vision.

All projects must:

• support future growth and the region's future priorities,
• make it safer and easier to get around, and
• reflect the public's aspirations for how the city looks, feels, and functions.

We evaluate projects against our programme objectives, and they are informed by 12 principles that were developed in collaboration with the people of Wellington (around 10,000 of them!).

Our programme objectives

Our programme objectives are:

• greater liveability, including enhanced urban amenity and enables urban development outcomes
• more efficient and reliable access
• reduced carbon emissions by increasing mode shift away from reliance on private vehicles
• improved safety for all users, and
• resilience and adaptability to disruptions and future uncertainty.

Our principles

Our 12 principles are:

1. Wider view
Recognise that there is a wide range of benefits to be realised from integrating urban form and transport thinking, and that increased value should not be measured by cost alone.

2. Future-proof and resilient
Provide a transport system that is adaptable and future-proofed for urban growth and resilient to natural hazards and climate change. Planning for the impact that social, economic and technological change may have on travel and lifestyle preferences and recognising the role of transport services in encouraging urban development where we want it.

3. Past, present, future
Respect the importance of character and heritage in New Zealand’s capital city. Through a transport system that ensures infrastructure developments are integrated with their built environment.

4. Clean and green
Improve environmental outcomes for the city and the region. Through a transport system that respects nature and makes a positive contribution to environmental improvement.

5. Set in nature
Ensure that Wellington city remains safe and attractive, set in nature and connected to the harbour.

6. Compact city
Reclaim urban space to support a compact and liveable city. Through a transport system that minimises traffic in the CBD and ensures ease of access to facilities, entertainment and jobs.

7. Better public transport
Significantly enhance public transport and increase its use. Through improvements in the level of service across all public transport, to make it easier to get around the region.

8. Accessible, healthy and safe
Be socially inclusive and recognise the personal safety, access and health needs of all. Through a transport system that meets the varied access needs of people of all demographics across the region, wherever they need to travel.

9. Travel choice
Provide better transport choices for the region. In alignment with the sustainable transport hierarchy in the Wellington Urban Growth Plan and the Regional Land Transport Plan.

10. Predictable travel times
Significantly reduce the impact of congestion on journey time predictability for all, at all times. 'All' includes commuters, tourists, movers of freight, tradespeople and anyone travelling to or from the hospital or airport at any time.

11. Growth
Encourage continued economic growth and support population growth and intensification of Wellington city as the economic engine of the region. Through a transport system that provides opportunities for residents and businesses to support the desired growth.

12. Demand and supply
Recognise that we need to do more than just build infrastructure and consider a range of ways to manage travel demand and supply across the network. Through a transport system that has a range of costs and incentives in place to encourage change in network use.

How we approach our work

How we develop our programme and engage with you, is as important to us as the projects we deliver.

We will:

• listen and learn, and be informed and guided by evidence and data
• be bold, aspirational and innovative,
• be open and communicate in plain English,
• respect the range of views in the community,
• adopt best practice urban design and transport standards,
• seek win-wins where possible, and
• be transparent about how trade-offs are made.