Award for Botany Travel Plan

Award for Botany Travel Plan

A plan to make it easier to get to and from Botany Town Centre has won a major planning award.

The Botany Town Centre Travel Plan, which is the first of its kind in New Zealand, has won the New Zealand Planning Institute’s Best Practice Award.

The travel plan is primarily aimed at making it easier for people to travel to work at the town centre without the need to always rely on the car. Shoppers will also benefit from some of the initiatives.

The plan was developed by Manukau City Council, Opus and Botany Town Centre owners AMP Capital Investors. Funding was provided by the New Zealand Transport Agency and AMP Capital Investors, with further support on a range of linked travel initiatives from the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA).

As a result of the travel plan findings and research, Howick and Eastern Buses have refined, improved and expanded their bus routes. Along with selling bus tickets at the Botany Town Centre Visitors Centre, this has helped drive a 36 per cent increase in passengers on buses in the area.

'Go by Bus', a joint programme with Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) and Botany Town Centre, was launched to retailers in 2009 with free giveaways and incentives for those already using the bus service and for others wishing to trial it.

Encouraging centre staff and the local community to walk in the Botany area and beyond is a continuing focus for Botany Town Centre. This year, the Summer Fun Run and Walk saw a 53 percent increase in participants compared to last year. The centre also supported Walk2Work Day with a free breakfast event for staff that walked to work.

There will also be a carpooling initiative introduced in July and more bike stands, lockers and showers to encourage cycling to work. Future projects include production of a local area cycle and walking map.

Manukau City Council Transport Portfolio Leader David Collings says the award is great recognition, but the real success is in the initiatives that will give people a range of options for travelling to the town centre.

“The aim of travel plans is to reduce the number of people driving cars alone to help with traffic congestion. But to do that we have to make other transport options realistic alternatives.

“Travel plans involve research to find out what transport is used in particular organisations or locations and then talking to people to find out what they want. This means that initiatives can be introduced that will actually make a difference.

“It’s a great step by Botany Town Centre to develop a travel plan and one that will continue to pay off in the future,” Cr Collings says.

Botany Town Centre Senior Manager Jennifer Andrews says the driver behind the travel plan came from research conducted in 2009.

“We found an overwhelming majority of staff and shoppers commute to the town centre by car, and many travel alone. With infill development planned for Botany Town Centre in future, both Botany Town Centre and MCC recognised that a new approach to managing staff and shopper commuting was imperative in order to achieve fewer single-occupancy car trips and reduce demand for all-day car parking.

“We’re delighted that the travel plan has won the NZPI Best Practice Award. This is a magnificent achievement for Botany Town Centre, Opus International Consultants and Manukau City Council. Working to improve the quality of the environment for the community is an important part of what we do and it is a great feeling to be recognised for our efforts.”

The travel plan will be rolled out to centre staff first, before being extended to the wider Botany business community and then the community as a whole. The plan has short, medium and long term objectives and a phased roll-out of various initiatives.

ENDS

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