Hutt City Council has started planning to improve its transport infrastructure and meet growing challenges.
Photo: 123RF
The Integrated Transport Strategy is designed to bring together the city's roads, public transport and active transport options, and set out a vision for the future of the city's transport network.
It includes a number of key projects already in the pipeline, including the Melling Interchange upgrade, the Eastern Bays shared path, Te Ara Tupua (Ngāūranga to Petone Shared Path), and the long-planned Cross Valley Connections project.
The city's population is increasing at one of its fastest rates, having already met its 2030 population target last year.
This has placed a burden on existing infrastrucutre, putting a greater stress on current transport links, including State Highway 2, the Petone Esplanade, and the CBD.
Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry said the city needed a "bold and ambitious plan to ensure our future as a city isn't one where our residents sit in constant traffic".
He said with the opening of Transmission Gully not far away, that would only put more cars on the road.
Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
"We are planning for a city with a strategy that not only tackles congestion, but also encourages more cycling, walking, and other active ways of getting around Lower Hutt."
The Integrated Transport Strategy will go hand in hand with the City Spatial Plan, which is looking to identify high-level future growth scenarios for Lower Hutt.