The long-running “Let’s Get Welly Moving” process that was set up after NZTA failed to get approval for its proposed Basin Reserve flyover is beginning to produce some results – and that means that supporters of sustainable transport options need to get involved to ensure a good outcome.

First, here’s how you can do that:

Let’s Get Wellington Moving have announced they plan to run some half-day workshops with the public in February to help them test and evaluate the draft ’scenarios’ they’ve been working on for Wellington transport – which will be the first sign we get of the next round of proposals for transport near the Basin Reserve.

LGWM say that they will select participants who represent a “balanced sample of interests”. But to give ourselves of the best chance of a good outcome, as many Save the Basin supporters as possible should sign up and say they want to attend.

To sign up, you need to complete a short (5-minute) survey, here: https://diagram.typeform.com/to/r46azO

But Let’s Get Welly Moving has also been making presentations to the City and Regional Councils – and we’ve learned that they have adopted the following five objectives for Wellington’s transport system:

A transport system that:

1. Enhances the liveability of the central city
2. Provides more efficient and reliable access for all users
3. Reduces reliance on private vehicle travel
4. Improves safety for all users
5. Is adaptable to disruptions and future uncertainty

We understand that the City and Regional Councils have signed up to these objectives, which you can find in this public document:

http://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/council-reports/Report_PDFs/2016.516.pdf

and there’s more detail, including a useful summary graphic, in this Appendix:

http://www.gw.govt.nz/assets/council-reports/Report_PDFs/2016.516a1.pdf

These objectives look encouraging. Two of our key arguments against a Basin Reserve flyover were that it reduced the liveability of the central city and increased reliance on private vehicle travel, so the first and third objectives would make it very difficult for a flyover proposal to be put back on the table as an outcome of the Let’s Get Welly Moving process.

More generally, these look like good transport objectives for Wellington to follow – though the second objective could conceivably still be used by the four-lanes-to-the-planes crowd to argue for more roading, so they’re not an automatic win.

But – and it’s a big but – there are still substantial pockets of political opposition to those objectives, and to the third objective in particular.

That’s why we need to make sure that there’s a strong voice at the February workshops in favour of a more liveable city and reduced reliance on private vehicle travel. Sign up now to make sure sustainable transport voices are heard loud and clear!