Consultation on Waterloo to City Centre Bike Lane - Hutt City Council

As outlined in our recently released Integrated Transport Strategy Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt is facing challenges, including the environmental impact of transport emissions, the effect of this on community wellbeing, and also the unsafe environments created by high traffic volumes.

56% of Lower Hutt’s city-wide emissions come from transport and transformational change is needed to help achieve our goals of halving our emissions by 2030, and net carbon zero by 2050.

We are working to address these challenges through our key focus area of developing a connected and safe transport network that makes it more attractive for people to cycle, walk or use the bus.

"Our community told us that they would travel more by foot or by bike if they felt safer on the roads and they had a good quality, convenient and pleasant environment to travel along," says Jon Kingsbury, Head of Transport at Hutt City Council.

"Creating dedicated bike lanes, which connect with other cycleways enables people to get to where they need to go and ultimately improves safety for all road users".

"A new bike lane in this area will make it safer for cyclists and residents who want the option to ride their bikes around the central city, as well as for local kids to bike to school", says Kingsbury

The area between Waterloo Station and Lower Hutt’s city centre is a strategic gap in the city’s cycling network. Council is proposing to address this with a new bike lane designed to connect with other cycleways and future infrastructure improvements like the RiverLink project, ultimately improving active travel options throughout the city centre and across Te Awa Kairangi.

Hutt City Council undertook a series of studies to investigate the feasibility of potential routes for the Waterloo to city centre connection. This included technical assessments and work with stakeholders to discuss opportunities and challenges of different options. The information gathered from the 12-month cycleway trial on Knights Road has also been factored into the assessment.

The options were assessed in collaboration with stakeholders and specialists. Through this process ‘Waterloo Road and Birch Street’ has emerged as the preferred option. The project is now at the design stage and Council wants to hear from the community before confirming and commissioning the work.

"We invite feedback to ensure this preferred route meets the needs of our communities and to help plan the street layout", says Jon Kingsbury.

To view more details and provide feedback on the plans for the Waterloo to city centre bike lane, residents can visit the Council’s website at: hutt.city/bikelane

The consultation will be open until 26 June 2022.