9.2 Focus on travel choices

Issue

Dunedin’s transport network gives high priority to motor vehicles and has neglected other modes, which has reduced the options available to the community. The Dunedin community wants a greater range of safe, affordable and viable transport options made available.

Course of action

Reprioritise investment and reallocate space on the transport network to achieve a significant improvement in the provision of active travel modes and public transport in Dunedin.

Outcomes

• Increased bus patronage with improved connectivity, integration, and more affordable and frequent services to key destinations.
• Increased proportion of people choosing to walk as a mode of transport.
• Increased proportion of people choosing to cycle as a mode of transport.

Goal

The percentage of Dunedin census respondents who cycle, walk or take a bus to work, school or study, doubles in 10 years, from 16% at the 2006 census to 30% by 2024.

Strategic approach

Dunedin is already well served by connections for motor vehicles and provision of parking (see Section 2.3). Key vehicle links will continue to be maintained but the focus of this Strategy is to achieve a more even balance between different travel modes, which will result in improved provision on the network for cycling, walking and public transport.

Dunedin’s crash record and feedback the DCC has received from the community over several years show that the current state of travel mode choice in Dunedin is inadequate. This Strategy does not take a prescriptive approach, telling road users which mode of travel they should choose, rather it redresses the historical imbalance in which modes other than the private car have suffered from under-investment. The strategic approach to achieve greater travel choices for Dunedin road users will be as follows.

Figure 15.  The Strategic Cycle Network, including the South Dunedin Cycle Network and Central and North Dunedin Cycle Network

Strategic Cycle Network

In 2011, the Council adopted a Strategic Cycle Network (SCN) for Dunedin Citywide (see Figure 15). The SCN sets out the priority routes for cycling and the key links between destinations for users, identified through consultation and engineering assessments and will guide the DCC in selecting routes for cycle facilities34. Through the SCN the DCC also aims to create safe, user-friendly cycling links between local centres, and from local centres to the central city.

The purpose of the SCN is to provide a safe and attractive travel option for existing cyclists and people who may be interested in cycling but are concerned about safety. While the SCN will guide cycle route planning, when detailed planning of a part of the network occurs, alternative route options may arise in preference to those identified on the SCN. Decisions about specific routes and facility types will be guided by the principle that the primary objective is to achieve a cycle network on which ‘interested but concerned’ people feel safe enough to ride a bike.

The benchmark the DCC has adopted to define the ‘interested but concerned’ user is the 10 year old child, as 10 years is the age at which children are generally considered old enough to cycle on the transport network unsupervised.

Figure 16. SCN, South Dunedin Cycle Network and Central and North Dunedin Cycle Network

The SCN will be implemented in stages. The first stage, being constructed from 2013 to 2015, is the South Dunedin Cycle Network, which includes routes that link the key residential areas and destinations (such as schools and shopping centres) of the wider South Dunedin area with the central city. The next phase, to be implemented from 2015 to 2018, will be the Central and North Dunedin Cycle Network, which will provide facilities in the central city and also link North East Valley and wider North Dunedin to the central city and the South Dunedin Cycle Network. Both these networks will also connect to the Harbour Cycleway. The remainder of the Strategic Cycle Network will be rolled out in stages.

Figure 15 shows the extent of the Strategic Cycle Network. Figure 16 shows the detailed routes being constructed through the South Dunedin and Central Dunedin Cycle Networks.

The development of a user-friendly, safe and attractive cycle network will also have economic benefits for the city in terms of tourism. The New Zealand Cycle Trail35 follows a route down the Brighton coast to link Dunedin to Lawrence. This overlaps with part of the SCN, as shown in Figure 16. This will provide an opportunity for tourists riding the Otago Central Rail Trail and other New Zealand Cycle Trail rides in and around Otago to spend time exploring Dunedin by bike, including the Harbour Cycleway.

When implementing the SCN, the provision of safe, user-friendly cycle facilities will take precedence over on-street car parking on routes where there is a conflict. Where change is required, consultation will take place with the community. The SCN will also be supported by the provision of cycle parking facilities in centres and at other key destinations on the cycle network.

Figure 17. Strategic Pedestrian Network

Strategic Pedestrian Network

The key pedestrian routes into and around the central city are shown in Figure 17. These are the most important routes in Dunedin for people moving around on foot or as ‘wheeled pedestrians’ (such as wheel chairs and mobility scooters).

Along these key pedestrian routes, greater priority will be given to walking. DCC will prioritise wider footpaths, and better facilities to enhance the pedestrian experience. This may include safety improvements, enhanced crossing points, seating, lighting, greater pedestrian priority at intersections and signals, and general amenity improvements such as paving and planting.

Access for the mobility-impaired is also very important and will become increasingly so as Dunedin’s population gets older. While drop kerb ramps will be installed on all footpaths around the city over time as part of routine kerb replacement, these facilities will be addressed on the Strategic Pedestrian routes as a matter of priority. Requests for pedestrian improvements on strategic pedestrian routes will be given higher priority than requests on routes that have not been identified as strategic pedestrian routes.

Public transport

The Dunedin community sees improvement of public transport services as being the top priority for transport in Dunedin³⁶. To achieve the community outcome of ‘A connected community’, the DCC Long Term Plan sets the vision that public transport will “meet the community’s needs”. A public transport system that meets the needs of the community is also integral to achieving the objectives identified in the Spatial Plan and Social Wellbeing Strategy.

Public transport plays a key role in enabling Dunedin to be a resilient and thriving city in the face of increasing fuel prices. It is also important for connecting Dunedin’s communities, especially given that approximately 5000 Dunedin households do not have access to a private car. An effective and well utilised bus service also contributes to a safer and more efficient transport system by reducing the number of cars on the road and the need for new infrastructure and parking.

Figure 18. Proposed bus network schematic diagram

However, the DCC is not responsible for public transport in Dunedin. Public transport is administered by the Otago Regional Council (ORC). The DCC is responsible for allocating space on the road network for buses to operate, and for some of the physical infrastructure supporting the bus service, such as signs and markings for bus stops. This split of functions between the two councils presents a challenge to delivering an integrated transport system for the city. The community has expressed its desire that both councils work together to improve Dunedin’s public transport system³⁷.

The following strategic approaches are the DCC’s priorities for public transport in Dunedin, which the DCC will advocate for and work collaboratively with the ORC to achieve.

Design of the bus system

In order to assess the effectiveness of the current bus system, the DCC commissioned a study in 2012 which made the following recommendations³⁸:

• Develop a new frequent network (15 minute frequency or better).
• Develop a new secondary network (30 minute frequency or better).
• Develop a new regional network (120 minute frequency or better).
• Use distinctive branding on buses and routes on the frequent network to make it easy to understand.

A schematic of the proposed network is shown in Figure 18. The schematic highlights how the colours used on the route map would correspond to coloured branding used on the buses, making the routes and their destinations instantly recognisable to users. Other key recommendations from the report were:

• Improve passenger information systems (e.g. timetable booklets) and bus stops on frequent routes.
• Rationalise the zone system (condensing zones 1 – 4 into a single zone, and renaming zones ‘5, 6 & 7’ zones ‘2, 3 & 4’).
• Rationalise the fare structure (a single fare for zone 1, going up in $1 increments per zone).
• Introduce a universal off-peak weekday discount
• Introduce free transfers within zone.

The report identified that the improved public transport network proposed in the study could replace the existing system at no extra cost. The report also pointed out that to achieve this cost-neutrality some coverage may be lost in favour of increased patronage. However, it was also highlighted that it may be more cost-effective to cater for the transport needs of those in areas where coverage is reduced, by providing types of services other than fixed bus routes.

Through this strategy, the DCC proposes to adopt this as the desired public transport network for Dunedin and will advocate for the ORC to adopt this approach.

Improving priority measures for public transport, such as bus lanes and signal priority, would help to ensure shorter and more reliable journey times. The DCC will work with the ORC to investigate the options available and, if appropriate, where and how they should be implemented.

Reducing the fossil fuel dependence of the bus system

The Peak Oil Vulnerability Assessment for Dunedin³⁹ recommended that Dunedin develops an electric trolley bus network, based on the original cable car network that served the city, in order to remain sustainable and well-connected in the face of increasing fuel prices. The cost of developing the recommended 50km of trolley bus infrastructure has been estimated at approximately $90 million (as at 2011)⁴⁰.

In addition to an electric trolley network, other new technologies offer opportunities for increasing the sustainability of the bus network. These include electric buses or hybrid diesel-electric buses. Fully electric buses are available but very expensive due to the lithium battery technology required. Hybrid diesel-electric buses run on an electric motor that is powered by an on-board diesel generator. They are generally up to 30% more fuel efficient than traditional diesel buses, and cheaper than fully electric buses41. Hybrid diesel-electric buses are readily available on the market and may be a more economically viable opportunity medium-term stepping stone toward full electrification (whether by battery electric buses or trolley buses) of the bus network. The DCC will continue to advocate for the uptake of these technologies in Dunedin.

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