Agenda of Regional Transport Committee - Wednesday, 11 December 2024

Regional Transport Committee

11 December 2024

Regional Transport Committee Agenda

Meeting to be held in the Council Chamber

36 Water Street, Whangārei

on Wednesday 11 December 2024, commencing at 10:00am - 12:30pm

Recommendations contained in the agenda are NOT decisions of the meeting. Please refer to minutes for resolutions.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE Regional Transport Committee

Chairperson, Councillor Joe Carr

FNDC Councillor, Steve McNally	WDC Councillor, Simon Reid	KDC Councillor, Ash Nayyar
Waka Kotahi Director Regional Relationships, Steve Mutton	Deputy Chairperson - NRC Councillor, John Blackwell	KiwiRail Programme Director Northland, Eric Hennephof

KARAKIA / WHAKATAU

RĪMITI (ITEM) Page

1.0 Ngā Mahi Whakapai/Housekeeping

2.0 Ngā Whakapahā/apologies

3.0 Ngā Whakapuakanga/declarations of conflicts of interest

4.0 Nga Whakaae Miniti / Confirmation of Minutes

4.1 Confirmation of Minutes - 1 October 2024 5

5.0 Receipt of Action Sheet

5.1 Receipt of Action Sheet 11

6.0 Nga Ripoata Putea / Financial Reports

6.1 Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 - National Funding Assistance Uptake Report 13

7.0 Nga Ripoata Mahi / Operational Matters

7.1 NZTA Waka Kotahi Update for Te Tai Tokerau 62

7.2 KiwiRail Update 83

7.3 Regional Road Safety Report 84

7.4 Committee Members Priorities and Updates 99

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Regional Transport Committee item: 6.1

11 December 2024

TITLE:	Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 - National Funding Assistance Uptake Report
From:	Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 03 December 2024

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

This report covers subsidy claims submitted to the New Zealand Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) for the first financial year of the Regional Land Transport Plan Three Year Review that covers the 2024-2027 three-year funding period and details the funding assistance uptake by each Approved Road Controlling Authority for the financial period 1 July 2024 to 31 October 2024.

In addition to reporting on the funding uptake for the region, the three district councils have provided copies of the latest progress reports to their respective Infrastructure Committees.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘Regional Land Transport Plan 2021/2027 - National Funding Assistance Uptake Report’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council and dated 12 November 2024, be received.

Background/Tuhinga

Section 106 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 stipulates that: -

(1) The functions of each regional transport committee (other than the regional transport committee for Auckland) are—

(a) to prepare a regional land transport plan, or any variation to the plan, for the approval of the relevant regional council; and

(b) to provide the regional council with any advice and assistance the regional council may request in relation to its transport responsibilities.

In addition to the above, one of the functions of the Regional Transport Committee (RTC) is to monitor the progress of the relevant Regional Land Transport Plan Three Year Review (RLTP).

This report provides the RTC with a quarterly update on the uplift of funding assistance applied for through the Northland Regional Land Transport Plan Three Year Review and approved in the National Land Transport Programme 2024-2027 (NLTP) for the Far North District Council, Whangarei District Council, Kaipara District Council, New Zealand Transport Agency – Waka Kotahi and the Northland Regional Council transport related works and projects. These are tabled at each Regional Transport Committee (RTC) meeting for consideration.

It is important to note that to obtain all the information for the compilation of the attached funding sheets, the financial figures reflected in this report are a full month in arears of the RTC meeting itself.

These reports and attached spreadsheets provide the RTC with information relating to how each Activity Class/Programme:

· Is tracking regarding the uptake of the funding assistance approved through the National Land Transport Programme 2024-2024 for the relevant financial year.

· Supports the five Regional Strategic Objectives reflected in the Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-2027.

· Supports the seven Regional Priorities included in the Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-2027.

It also details:

· The probability of all the approved funding assistance being fully uplifted in the relevant financial year, and

· The reasons for any variations and action to be taken.

As this report updates the RTC on the national funding assistance (subsidies) uptake for those Activities/Programmes approved in the NLTP reflected, the Attachments do not include non-subsidised projects or work categories.

The base information contained in the attachments is sourced directly from the New Zealand Transport Agency’s (Waka Kotahi) ‘2024-2027 National Land Transport Programme for Northland’ and from the individual October 2024 subsidy claims submitted by each of the approved authorities.

Please note that for the funding period covered in this report (1 July 2024 to 31 October 2024) Kaipara District Council submitted one claim in August covering both July & August 2024. No further claims have been submitted as Kaipara District Council have yet to finalise reconciling their 2024/2027 Long Term Plan Transportation budgets with the approved NLTF 2024-27 budgets. It is planned to have this finalised at the November 2024 Council meeting and Council will submit a November 2024 claim for all unclaimed costs to the end of November 2024. They have however requested that the August 2024 claim be reflected in the funding uptake spreadsheet.

Please note that as NZTA have not yet received all the relevant information pertaining to quarterly forecasts, these have not been included in the attached spreadsheets.

Any questions regarding the information reflected in the spreadsheets can be directed to the relevant approved Road Controlling Authority.

As requested by the RTC Elected Representatives, please find attached copies of the latest progress reports submitted to the respective District Council Infrastructure Committees.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Funding Uptake Report ⇩

Attachment 2: WDC Roading Report ⇩

Attachment 3: FNDC Infrastructure Report ⇩

Attachment 4: KDC Transportation Report ⇩

Regional Transport Committee item: 7.3

11 December 2024

TITLE:	Regional Road Safety Report
From:	Kayla Gunson, Regional Transport Coordinator; Nicole Korach, Project Manager - Road Safety Promotion and Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 26 November 2024

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

This Report updates the Regional Transport Committee on the progress made on Northland Road to Zero program for local roads in Northland.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

That the report ‘Regional Road Safety Report’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager – Northland Regional Council, Nicole Cauty, Road Safety Project Manager, Kayla Gunson, Regional Transport Coordinator, and Nick Marshall, Transportation Strategy & Planning Lead, dated 29 November 2024, be received.

Background/ Tuhinga

The three district councils with NZTA have developed a comprehensive education and promotion programme to support in conjunction with other road safety partners the reduction of deaths and serious injuries on Northland roads.

Road Trauma Update

The fatal injuries are broken down in the tables below, and nationally and regionally we have so far seen a decrease in fatal injuries over the network for 2024 compared to 2023. Nationally there have been 242 to date in 2024 compared to 295 in 2023, and for Northland there have been 25 to date in 2024 compared to 31 in 2023.

Calendar Year 2024 - 1 January – 31 December, Provisional Road Fatalities Statistics

Fatalities Jan – Dec 2024	Far North	Whangārei	Kaipara	Northland	National
Local roads	8	5	1	14	111
State highways	3	7	1	11	131
TOTAL	11	12	2	25	242

Breakdown of the 2024 Deaths year to date: 25 Deaths

Fatal crashes per month
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	April	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Fatal	7	6	1	4	2	1	1	2	0	1	0

Breakdown of the 2024 Deaths year to date: 25 Deaths

Fatal crashes per month
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	April	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Fatal	7	6	1	4	2	1	1	2	0	1	0

Fatal crashes by role
Driver	14
Passenger	4
Motorcyclist	2
Cyclist	1
Pedestrian	4

Fatal crashes by age group
0 – 14 years	2
15 – 19 years	6
20 – 24 years	1
25 – 39 years	2
40 – 59 years	8
Over 60 years	6

Fatal crashes by speed corridors (Local Roads)		Fatal crashes by speed corridors (State Highways)
100 km/h	9	100 km/h	10
80 km/h	0	80 km/h	1
70 km/h	0	70 km/h	0
60 km/h	1	60 km/h	0
50 km/h	4	50 km/h	0
Total	14	Total	11

The Communities at risk register has been updated for 2023

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There have been some changes from the 2022 communities at risk register including:

· Kaipara District

o Speed (too fast for conditions) has previously been a high risk and is now a medium risk.

o Cyclists and pedestrians both showed as a risk in 2022 and do not show as a risk in 2023.

· Whangarei District

o Speed (too fast for conditions) showed as a medium risk and cyclists and pedestrians both showed as high risk in 2022 where only cyclists show as a medium risk in 2023.

· Far North District:

o Urban intersections (subset of roads and roadsides) is showing as a high risk where previously it has not been a risk.

o Motorcyclists have moved from a medium risk to a high risk.

o Distraction has moved from a high risk to a medium risk.

o Fatigue is showing as a high risk where previously it has not been a risk.

o Both cyclists and pedestrians were showing as high risk in 2022 and do not show as a risk in 2023.

A summary table for the districts and region is attached for reference which looks at years 2019 to 2023.

The road safety action planning group looks at these as they become available to look at trends and what the priorities are in Northland. Any changes that come about are investigated by the safety teams from the district.

Funding impacts on road safety education and promotion programme:

There have been some implications to the education and promotion safety programme for Northland after NZTA’s confirmation of funding was reduced by 60%. As per the new guidelines of what the funding can be used for, all marketing and advertising campaigns have been stopped.

There will no longer be any regional specific campaigns.

In the Far North District, council staff and provider Far North REAP are reviewing the priorities for the district and at this stage, young drivers and impaired driving looks like the top two, with work on other priorities such as restraints, fatigue, and speed reducing. Bike Northland was operating in the Far North district delivering bike skills training in schools, but a recommendation was made to stop this activity as funding both activities (Far North REAP and Bike Northland contracts) was not viable.

In the Whangarei district, it is a similar situation where the priorities are being reviewed and adjusted to fit the new level of funding. There are two providers in Whangarei, the Northland Road safety Trust and Bike Northland. Bike Northland will still deliver bike skills training in schools, although will focus more on Grade 1 students and less Grade 2 students. Grade 1 is a simpler session where the students are kept in school grounds and are given basic bike skills training whereas Grade 2 is more complex with taking students out of schools and given training on quiet local roads around their school. Northland Road Safety Trust would like to continue their impaired driving and licensing/training courses, while other priorities such as restraints, fatigue and events will reduce.

In the Kaipara district, the bid for funding was quite large as funding was requested for two new projects to include a bike skills training programme and a speed and anti-social behaviour programme for driving on beaches. These projects were not approved. Council staff and the provider Northland Road safety Trust are again reviewing the priorities for Kaipara with the core focus being on impaired driving and driver licensing/training

Working better together initiatives:

Northland road safety partners have been working with NZ Police, ACC, and NZTA to develop material to aid NZ Police in their enforcement operations to support the concept of general deterrence. The initiative involves road safety providers putting out consistent messaging on information sharing platforms or events, for example with the lead up to the holiday period the message will be about impaired driving. The NZ Police will then go out and target that particular activity, so will be doing a lot of breath testing. The hope is that general deterrence comes from seeing the message, hopefully multiple times, and then seeing NZ Police out enforcing it, dissuading the general public from committing the crime.

These initiatives will continue and can be used for other behavioural concerns such as speed and restraints.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Attachment 1: Communities at risk register ⇩

Attachment 2: Northland Road Policing Report ⇩

Regional Transport Committee item: 7.4

11 December 2024

TITLE:	Committee Members Priorities and Updates
From:	Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council and Kayla Gunson, Regional Transport Coordinator
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 26 November 2024

Whakarāpopototanga / Executive summary

The purpose of this agenda item is to provide each Elected Representative of the Northland Regional Transport Committee the opportunity to communicate the key strategic transportation issues identified by their respective Council/Organisation via either a written report or verbal update.

Members reports can help provide a list of strategic outputs for further consideration by the RTC.

Council roading and transport staff will be present at the meeting to provide responses to any questions or requests for information raised as part of their respective member updates.

Ngā mahi tūtohutia / Recommendation

1. That the report ‘Committee Members Priorities and Updates’ by Chris Powell, Transport Manager - Northland Regional Council and Kayla Gunson, Regional Transport Coordinator and dated 12 November 2024, be received.

2. The supplementary verbal updates provided by Regional Transport Committee members be received.

Background/Tuhinga

Under the Northland Regional Transport Committee Terms of Reference, the functions of the Committee are defined as:

1. To prepare for approval by the Northland Regional Council:

a) a Regional Land Transport Plan for the Northland region, or any variations to the plan or any reports on the plan prepared under the Act;

b) a Regional Public Transport Plan, or any variations to the plan prepared under the Act; and

c) to provide the regional council with any advice and assistance the regional council may request in relation to its transport responsibilities.

2. To adopt a policy that determines significance in respect of variations made to the Regional Land Transport Plan.

3. To regularly monitor and review progress towards the adoption and implementation of the Regional Land Transport Plan.

4. To approve procedures and requirements for implementing the council's public passenger transport service registration functions under the Act.

5. To advise the council on any significant legislative changes, programmes, plans or reports relating to the region’s land transport system.

6. To liaise with Ministry of Transport, New Zealand Transport Agency, the Commissioner of Police, district councils, Northland’s Road Safety Forum and other interests on land transport matters and advise the council on appropriate new initiatives.

7. To regularly monitor and review progress towards the performance targets and outcomes relative to land transport contained in the current Long-Term Plan and Annual Plan. members are tasked to regularly monitor and review progress towards the performance targets and outcomes related to land transport contained in the current Council Long-Term Plan and Annual Plan.

The objective of these regular member updates is to provide staff with clear understanding of the Regional Transport Committee’s key strategic issues and priorities to inform works associated with the 2024/2027 RLTP (and individual Council LTP’s where applicable). These reports can help provide a list of strategic outputs for further consideration by the RTC.

At the time of completing this report, no written Priorities or Updates had been received from the Regional Transport Committee Elected Representatives. Therefore, any items for discussion will be tabled on the day.

Attachments/Ngā tapirihanga

Nil

TITLE:	Confirmation of Minutes - 1 October 2024
From:	Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 13 November 2024

TITLE:	Receipt of Action Sheet
From:	Haylee Labelle, Personal Assistant Community Resilience
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 26 November 2024

TITLE:	NZTA Waka Kotahi Update for Te Tai Tokerau
From:	Steve Mutton, NZTA - Director Regional Relationships, Te Tai Tokerau me Tāmaki Makaurau
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 28 November 2024

TITLE:	KiwiRail Update
From:	Eric Hennephof, KiwiRail - Programme Director Northland
Authorised by Group Manager/s:	Louisa Gritt, Group Manager - Community Resilience, on 14 November 2024