Media statement | 26 June 2007

Safety and efficiency Land Transport NZ's focus for Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman

Improving the safety and efficiency of roads to handle increasing traffic volumes is the focus for Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman in the 2007/08 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).

Land Transport NZ today announced $2.4 billion in transport spending for New Zealand in 2007/08, including nearly $40 million allocated for investment in Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman’s land transport network. This includes $29 million allocated for maintenance of state highways and local roads and more than $7 million for local road and state highway construction.

Land Transport NZ Acting Chair Paul Fitzharris says the agency and its partners are committed to making Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman’s major routes safer and more efficient.

The region will also be allocated $674,000 in 2007/08 for passenger transport operations. Public transport is being investigated as part of a package of solutions to tackle traffic congestion in Nelson’s central business district.

Funding has been committed for the continuation of major projects including design and construction of the Atawhai Cycleway project and work associated with the replacement of the Normanby Bridge in Nelson.

Mr Fitzharris said a new element in this year’s NLTP is the inclusion for the first time of community focused activities, including road safety and sustainability initiatives. This change means the planning and funding of these activities can now be integrated with the delivery of travel behaviour change projects, road safety engineering and other NLTP activities.

The Road Safety to 2010 Strategy goal  for the Nelson-Marlborough region is that by 2010 fatalities and hospitalisations will be less than 110 per year. There were 200 fatalities and hospitalisations due to road crashes in 2006. Funding for road policing activities in the Nelson-Marlborough area  for 2007/08 totals $7 million to help reach the 2010 target.

Mr Fitzharris says the activities funded through the NLTP reflect Land Transport NZ’s objective of contributing to an integrated, safe, responsive and sustainable land transport system.

Regional newsletters, a fact sheet and the NLTP book, which details all projects in the 2007/08 NLTP, will be available at www.landtransport.govt.nz from 6pm today.

For more information:

Ian Hunter
Partnership Manager, Central
(04) 931 8900 or 0274 506 966