The DCC carries out, or supports, a number activities and approaches that contribute to achieving the Vision of this Strategy as part of normal operational business. Many of these are on-going or regular activities which are implemented out of existing budgets. As well as existing operational activities, this Strategy has (under each Area of Focus) also set out a number of Strategic Approaches that will be implemented through DCC operational work programmes in future. These existing and future approaches and activities, and the Areas of Focus they contribute to, are summarised in Appendix 1.
In addition to the on-going operational activities that will deliver on the Vision, it will, in some cases also be necessary to address major issues and opportunities through specific capital projects. Appendix 1 also identifies a number of possible projects that might achieve the Goals, Objectives and Vision (under each Area of Focus). The following sections provide an overview of these possible projects and their implementation.
Developing the list of possible projects to be put through a Programme Business Case
To address the Challenges outlined in Section 2, give effect to the Transport Objectives and move toward the Vision, a number of indicative key projects have been identified. These projects, as with the rest of the Integrated Transport Strategy, have been identified out of a process of discussion with, and feedback from, the community and analysis of the key issues on Dunedin’s network.
The primary engagement with the community occurred in 2011 through the ‘Your City Our Future’ (YCOF) consultation process. As part of YCOF there was an Accessible City Leadership Team that focussed on transport, and several of the other YCOF leadership teams also identified priorities or actions that related to transport. The YCOF process also included a community survey on the DCC’s spending priorities. The feedback received through the YCOF process has been integral to understanding the community’s views on transport (see Section 3).
In addition to this conversation with the community, the DCC has carried out a detailed analysis of the key problems on the network – particularly the issues and areas driving Dunedin’s main safety and accessibility issues. Many of the issues and projects considered and assessed were identified in the previous DCC Transportation Strategy (2006) and particularly consideration was given to which of those previous priorities are still relevant and important and where they sit in relation to the new priorities adopted in this Strategy. This process also examined and analysed a number of previous studies carried out by, or for, the DCC in the past regarding numerous project concepts and strategic proposals.
Throughout the process the DCC engaged in a series of meetings with stakeholders to ensure the Strategy identified and addressed all the key issues on the network. Input from consultants was also drawn on to provide a fresh perspective on local issues and priorities and analyse possible projects and schemes according to best practice.
Out of the above process the following key projects have been identified as high priority strategic responses. They have been evaluated against their contribution to each area of focus, and those that make a significant contribution to one or more areas of focus have been prioritised accordingly.
Some of the projects are wholly or partly on state highways that are controlled by the NZTA. Where this is the case, DCC will either work in partnership with the NZTA, or advocate for the NZTA to take the project forward. The approach taken will depend on which is the most appropriate in each case.
An indicative plan for how these projects might be investigated and implemented for the period 2015 – 24 is outlined in Appendix 2. The indicative plan has split the projects up according to the three-year National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) funding cycles. Including projects in the NLTP is the route to securing NZTA subsidies for works. The costs attributed in the plan are broad estimates, also in need of further refining. This is not a confirmed implementation plan, nor does its inclusion in this Strategy constitute a commitment by the DCC to invest in and deliver these projects. Rather, this list of projects are concepts that high-level investigations have indicated may be effective means of addressing Dunedin’s key transport problems and achieving the Vision of this Strategy.
The inclusion of any of these projects in the DCC’s Long Term Plan is the point at which the Council makes a commitment to fund and deliver a project. Therefore this indicative list of projects may be subject to change according to the DCC’s financial situation, further investigation, and community and stakeholder consultation. To this end the DCC intends to test these project concepts through a Programme Business Case, in collaboration with the NZTA. However, despite this proviso, this plan (Appendix 2) should be read as the most important transport investment priorities for Dunedin over the period 2015 – 2024. A description of each of these projects is included in Section 9.5, below.