Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Wellington City Council staff are recommending a $1.1 billion investment in water infrastructure that will slow down the implementation of the Golden Mile upgrade.
The council is holding a workshop this afternoon to discuss ideas for spending more on their pipes in its long term plan - the council's 10-year budget.
Late last year, the government scrapped the Let's Get Wellington Moving transport plan, which pitched transport changes such as light rail.
As part of the wind down of that plan, Wellington City Council wants changes to the Golden Mile, which would see private vehicles removed and the pedestrian and cycling improvements between Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place, done by the council.
Mayor Tory Whanau said it was "difficult" to delay part of the Golden Mile project, which she described as her passion project, but acknowledged water infrastructure had become the main priority for council.
"I know our ratepayers want us to prioritise certain pipes, so we know that there are other parts of the city that require much more urgent investment than the pipes under Lambton Quay.
"We want to be able to do that construction at the exact same time [as the upgrades] so it does make sense to pause it for a couple of years."
In order to fund the water infrastructure, the council was recommending delivering upgrades to Lambton Quay and Willis Street later than previously proposed.
Changes to Courtenay Place would go ahead on the current timeline for the plan.
Whanau said the Lambton Quay upgrades would likely be pushed back to about 2026/2027.
As part of that $1.1b recommended investment, $122m would go towards the implementation of water meters.
The recommended option was described by Wellington City Council chief executive Barbara McKerrow as the maximum the council can put forward for water infrastructure with its current constraint financial constraints.
The change would free up $16m for water renewals in high priority areas.
The $1.1b option has a provisional rates increase of 15.4 percent.
Regarding rate increases, Whanau said that was pretty consistent with other councils around the country.
"We know that some councils are now considering 20 percent rates increase."
Previous councils had lowered rates which had impacted the city in a negative way, she said.
"We now have water infrastructure that requires so much more funding, so we are going to have to pay for that now so that it doesn't impact our future generations."
Council staff have also considered savings in a range of other areas in the Long Term Plan, including discontinuing New Year's events, the annual fireworks display, ceasing live monitoring of city safety CCTV cameras, and reducing library hours.