A Capital Letter: Wellington mayoral hopefuls should leave $7.4b transport plan alone

The existing Mount Victoria Tunnel will be converted into one for pedestrians and cyclists to use. Image / LGWM

OPINION:

Mayoral hopefuls might be tempted to relitigate Let's Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) with new transport policies, but I am respectfully asking them not to.

I don't think Wellingtonians want to spend a moment longer pondering what should and shouldn't be included in LGWM.

It's time to move past the talk fest, to detailed design, to spades in the ground.

Last week the Government announced its preferred option for the $7.4 billion plan to overhaul the capital's transport network.

This included light rail to Island Bay, a second Mount Victoria tunnel with two lanes for cars and two lanes for public transport, bus priority to the east, and upgrades at the Basin Reserve.

It was somewhat difficult to get excited about because it felt very much like a re-announcement, but with a few changes.

Wellingtonians were also told three years ago by then Transport Minister Phil Twyford that the city was getting a second tunnel and light rail.

Back then the announcement was so light on detail that the Treasury did not support a recommendation for Cabinet to endorse the indicative LGWM package.

An email leading up to the finalisation of that Cabinet paper raised concerns it did not explain why the proposed investments would solve the city's problems.

Treasury officials even took issue with the use of a word cloud graphic, which was criticised for being "anecdotal and emotive, rather than conclusive evidence of a need for these particular investments".

Time will tell what was made of this latest Cabinet paper. Regardless, it's fair to say a lot has happened in the past three years.

Michael Wood is now the Transport Minister, LGWM has been overhauled after the project was found to be at risk of failing, and the plan now properly takes into account urban development opportunities.

The fact ministers are now talking about how light rail to the south will unlock 21,000 more homes is a real win for the city.

I never understood the previous plan to have light rail to the airport.

Transport Minister Michael Wood and Finance Minister Grant Robertson. Photo / Mark Mitchell

LGWM should serve the people who live and work in Wellington, not those trying to catch a flight out of the city.

So, this version of the plan feels the most transformational and I have greater confidence in it than I did standing outside of the railway station listening to Twyford in 2019.

This time around Finance and Infrastructure Minister Grant Robertson made a plea to all Wellingtonians, including the business community, to get on board with LGWM.

When asked whether that plea extended to mayoral candidates, Robertson wisely said he was not going to step into the local government election debate and each candidate would be responsible for their own views.

"What we're doing is making sure the city and the region are clear about the Government's preference here and what we think is the right pathway forward," Robertson said.

I am personally extending that plea to mayoral candidates.

Thankfully, the Government's preferred LGWM option was announced before any of the candidates could get their fingers in the pie.

Two days prior, Labour Rongotai MP Paul Eagle confirmed his bid for the city's top job and said policies would be announced throughout the campaign.

One day after the LGWM announcement, fellow mayoral contender Tory Whanau released her key policies.

Having previously shown favour for a different LGWM option, Whanau could have taken the opportunity to lobby for no grade separation at the Basin Reserve and a second tunnel built for walking and cycling rather than cars.

Instead, she made it clear she supported light rail and would advocate for public transport to be prioritised in the plan.

Her flagship policy was to deliver a new major urban revitalisation project between Wellington's waterfront and the hospital, which is on part of the light rail route.

This is a good example of where the local body election battleground over LGWM should be fought.

Wellington mayoral candidate Tory Whanau. Photo / Mark Mitchell

We need to hear what mayoral candidates want to be prioritised within the existing package, their proposals to fast-track construction, the sort of housing they envisage along the light rail line, and ideas for how to pay for it all.

Besides, there are also plenty of other transport issues to be robustly debated, which mayoral candidates will find they have more autonomy over than the three-headed monster that LGWM is sometimes referred to.

I'm looking forward to hearing policies on the likes of bus priority lanes, cycleways, pedestrianisation, and car parks.

The city needs a mayor who will take our long-awaited transport plan forward, not pick it apart.

• Senior Wellington journalist Georgina Campbell's fortnightly column looks closely at issues in the capital.