Princes Street budget change recommended

Councillors at today’s Finance and Performance Committee voted to recommend the $1.5 million overspend of the budget for Stage One of the project in 2026/27.

The money would be offset by a $1.2 million underspend in the Harbour Arterial project.

Councillors who voted to recommend the change were Deputy Mayor Lucas, Cr Chambers, Cr Garey, Cr Hall, Mr Langsbury, Cr Laufiso, Cr Mayhem, Cr Treadwell, Cr Walker and Cr Weatherall

Cr Vandervis and Cr Lund voted against recommending the change.

The Princes Street Connection Project is a multi-year transport project that will deliver improvements along Princes Street to support better safety outcomes and improve the efficiency, reliability and accessibility of bus journeys.

Princes Street is Dunedin’s main public transport route between South Dunedin and the Central City, with up to 64 buses per hour travelling along the corridor in peak hours, and is also a high-traffic area for pedestrians.

The Princes Street Connection project was adopted by the Council as part of the Shaping Future Dunedin Transport programme in 2021.

A staff report said the budget for the three-stage project is split over three financial years, to a total value of $7,034,000, and is co-funded by NZTA at a funding assistance rate of 51%.

The overspend would increase the available 2026/27 funding from $3.2 million to $4.7 million, allowing the project to be accelerated, but the project’s total budget remains unchanged.

Stage One initially included improvements at the intersection of South Road, Maitland Street and Princes Street. Staff had since identified an opportunity to expand Stage One to include the length of The Oval, addressing public safety concerns in one piece of work and reducing disruption for businesses, sports ground users, residents and commuters, among other benefits.

Increasing the scope would deliver road safety improvements sooner at the intersections of South Road, Maitland Street, Lees Street, Jones Street and Melville Street, as well as additional improvements for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport as part of this stage.

Significant targeted engagement has already been undertaken with affected residents, business owners and stakeholders regarding the changes, which helped inform the design, prior to public consultation on parking changes.

The procurement process for Stage One has since been completed, which identified the need for additional budget for Stage One in this financial year.

The change would see funding allocated to the Harbour Arterial Stage Two – part of the same Shaping Future Dunedin Transport programme as the Princes Street Connection Project – used to offset the Princes Street Connection overspend, as the Harbour Arterial Stage Two work has been rephased into later years.

The rest of the Princes Street Connection budget will be updated through the upcoming Long Term Plan process.

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