Hon Annette King: Ministerial Address to Kapiti Coast District Council and Electra Business Breakfast Forum

A summary of the Government's position on transport and police issues on the Kapiti Coast

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Thank you forum chairman Guy Weaver for that introduction and the invitation to join you today.

I also want to acknowledge Mayor Alan Milne, Kapiti Coast District Council chief executive Leigh Halstead, and, of course, Warren Thessmann, the chairperson of Electra, which sponsors this event.

It's great to be back in Kapiti, an area I know really well, and to be enjoying breakfast with you all.

Congratulations to the council and everyone else involved in running this excellent networking event for business for so many years. I am honoured to be a speaker at it.

I will be talking today about Kapiti issues in two of my portfolios, firstly transport and then police, but I want to start by touching on the issue of growth in Kapiti because it has a significant impact on the resources required by my departments.

It wasn't that many years ago when Paraparaumu and Waikanae were small beach side towns where people came to holiday. Paekâkâriki was a railway town and Otaki very much a rural town.

Otaki is still rural, but in the past 20 years there has been a growth in lifestyle blocks and many owners commute daily to Wellington. Waikanae and Paraparaumu have also grown, and again large numbers of commuters head to Wellington. Paekâkâriki has become a 'character' town, a place for artists.

Kapiti has been growing steadily over the years. In the last census the population was 46,200. That's 8.8 percent up on the 2001 census. If this trend continues, Kapiti will surpass Porirua as the third most populous territorial authority in the Wellington region by 2011.

The main areas of growth are Paraparaumu (including Raumati), Waikanae and the rural sector. This suggests that while people are coming to the area for lifestyle, they are probably travelling to work some 50 plus kilometres away in Wellington or the Hutt.

I understand how growth is impacting on the local council in terms of having to upgrade and expand infrastructure such as water, wastewater and local roading.

The demand on national agencies in the transport sector to keep up with growth has certainly been increasing. Kapiti is never far away from the news, and I believe my parliamentary colleagues and I have helped the district address many of the issues it faces.

Public Transport

There are challenges in terms of safety and the amount of time taken in the daily journey between Kapiti and Wellington, as well as in just driving north through the district en route to some other destination. The good news is that Kapiti people have embraced public transport - especially trains.

For example, on the western rail corridor route, which includes Kapiti, 25 percent of all journeys at peak time are made by rail - a very high figure even by international standards. On that same line, nearly 26,000 more rail journeys were made in May 2007 compared with May 2005. That's a pretty amazing increase.

Such demand for public transport will see, subject to final approval by Land Transport New Zealand, double tracking and electrification through to Waikanae by 2010. This will improve both the frequency and reliability of commuter services. There are also plans to upgrade rail network facilities in Wellington, particularly with respect to replacing old and unreliable signalling infrastructure, and this will directly benefit the service to the Kapiti Coast.

There are also plans to buy 70 new commuter units, build a new railway station at Raumati and improve park and ride facilities. Most of these projects will attract 90 percent LTNZ funding. Sorting out transport issues in Kapiti is a complex issue, and the government agencies and Greater Wellington Regional Council have done some excellent work to ensure that there is an integrated approach to transport planning in the district. The rail and road networks are inextricably linked, and good timing and planning are essential.

Patronage on public transport can't be taken for granted. Commuters will go back to using their cars if the rail service is deemed unreliable, or is not of a quality standard or if it's too expensive relative to the cost of driving.

I hear lots of good feedback about the quality of the 'Capital Connection' service, but I also hear that it and other rail commuter services don't always run to time. Reliability is one key to getting more people to use public transport. At least in the Wellington region, and especially in Kapiti, there is a positive attitude to public transport, and this needs to be encouraged.

Rail has the ability to reduce congestion on our roads and to contribute to our overall sustainability. In the last budget the government allocated $600 million for rail improvements in both Auckland and Wellington, and details of how this money will be spent are now being worked through.

Roading improvements in Kapiti.

The focus here has been very much around state highway engineering improvements. Significant progress has been made and plans are afoot for more improvements. The new alignment at MacKay's Crossing has been an outstanding success, and has vastly improved traffic flow.

While most of Centennial Highway is not within the actual Kapiti boundary, it's fair to say Kapiti 'owns' this stretch of highway. Making it safer is a priority and a challenge, and I believe Transit has done well making some life-saving engineering improvements.

Currently Transit is making good progress on installing the wire rope median barrier along Centennial Highway. Widening works at the southern end are nearly complete, and, providing good weather continues, the project should be completed by September 2007. At this stage all of the road, footpath and wire rope barrier works will be completed, and there will be no more overnight lane closures. The last job will be installing the actual wire rope barrier, which will take only three days to put in place. The footpath cum cycleway has been improved by installing the cycle-friendly, low-level kerb. Entrances and exits into the lay-bys will also be improved to make them safer.

Later an 'Automatic Traffic Monitoring System' will be installed. This includes cameras and 'queue detecting radar' to warn of any traffic events along the road. Just as an aside, an added bonus is that the sea view has been enhanced. The construction of a low-level kerb means only a single rail guardrail is required, as opposed to the previous double rail.

The barrier has proved very effective. Since November 2004, 12 vehicles have hit the barrier, but not crossed the centre line. Transit is investigating further barrier extensions from Fisherman's Table to MacKays Crossing.

Recent suggestions that new guardrails on State Highway One north of Waikanae come at the expense of extending the Coast Road median barrier are incorrect. While Transit investigates extensions to the median barrier, work continues on a large programme of other safety improvement projects across the region. At any one time Transit will be looking at a number of ways to make the region's state highways safer.

The intersection where Paekakariki township joins State Highway One is another perceived black spot.

I have personally met the local community board along with Transit and LTNZ. As a result, it's been decided to reduce the speed limit to 70 kph over an 850 metre section of State Highway One around this intersection. Transit also plans to reconfigure the intersection to make it safer. The new speed limit has now come into effect and signs pointing this out have been put up.

I am pleased to see that the 'Western Link Road' is at last moving ahead. It's been too many years in the making, but let's hope the target date of late 2008 for getting the bulldozers moving is met.

On a daily basis this route will ease the journey home for commuters, as traffic for Paraparaumu and Waikanae leaves the State Highway just south of Paraparaumu.

It will certainly make a huge difference to traffic flows at the start of holiday weekends, and will enable Waikanae residents to travel to Paraparaumu without having to go via State Highway One. This will give elderly residents greater access and mobility within the district without having to venture out onto a busy state highway. On a practical note it will provide a quality diversion if there is an accident on State Highway One between Waikanae and Paraparaumu.

The concept of Transmission Gully has been around for a very long time now. If you google Transmission Gully on the internet you get more than 400,000 references. Transit is now working on stage one of a new set of investigations, which includes a preliminary design phase of the 'Transmission Gully Motorway' project, to establish a better understanding of the costs, risks, benefits, and feasibility of this proposed project. Once these studies are complete, Transit will report back to the region with findings and start on stage two.

The Government also announced in Budget 2007 that it would provide regions with the opportunity to implement a regional fuel tax to cover projects that cannot be advanced via normal funding mechanisms or completed in a timeframe the region desires. Transmission Gully is clearly the type of project that fits within the intent of the tax.

The details of the tax are currently being worked through. Once these are finalised, it will be up to the Greater Wellington Regional Council to determine if there are other projects that they wish to advance via a regional fuel tax.

I've been talking so far about engineering issues in the south of the district, but things are also happening in Otaki, of course. Traffic issues have arisen, mainly as a result of new retail shops opening on the main highway through Otaki. A clear pressure point is the Otaki roundabout. A new roundabout has been designed and the appropriate land purchase and consents are now being obtained. Transit is proposing a dual-lane roundabout to ease congestion.

Transit is eager to get started and has the full support of the local Community Board, but the exact start will depend on the land purchase and consent process.

The pedestrian crossing in Otaki is also being investigated in terms of its impact on traffic flows. The results of this investigation will be available shortly and will also be presented to the Community Board.

Road safety is a big issue on the Kapiti Coast. The dangers of the state highway running right through the district are well known and documented, and I am well aware of local views on this subject.

It's worth underlining that the 2006 road toll was the lowest in nearly 50 years, though so far this year that downward trend hasn't continued. I am optimistic, however, that we can reach the target in the Government's Road Safety to 2010 Strategy of no more than 300 fatalities by 2010. A lot of work is being done to ensure that this target is met.

Unfortunately, there has been an increase in Kapiti in crash numbers and severity. In 2005, there were 97 injury crashes compared to 77 in 2004. The most common type of crash is loss of control, accounting for 47 percent of all fatal or serious crashes.

Many of the state highway improvements I have mentioned will help reduce road trauma, and many national initiatives we are taking will, I believe, have favourable results in Kapiti.

In this respect, some of you will recall that in December 2006 I launched a Road Safety Policy Document which was the result of a pre-policy engagement programme called See You There - Safe As.

Young drivers are over-represented in casualties in Kapiti. They make up 26 percent of casualties, but only 9 percent of the population.

During the Safe As campaign there was strong support for making penalties for breaches of the Graduated Driver Licensing System more 'appropriate' by increasing demerit points and reducing the $400 infringement fine. Young people racking up huge fines and not paying them are not the answer. The Graduated Driver Licensing System is a very good system, but like all laws it needs to be obeyed.

There are other road safety issues which have contributed to serious crashes in the district. As well as speed and alcohol, driver fatigue is a very important issue in Kapiti.

Many people don't realise that a major cause of driver fatigue is sleep deprivation, not just the length of time travelling. This means that even commuters can have fatigue crashes, and officials are now working on a national fatigue strategy.

In general there is a crucial need for on-going driver education for all drivers of all ages if we want to reduce the number of crashes. This view was strongly articulated in the Safe As workshops. There is a limit to what engineers, enforcement officers and lawmakers can do. In the end people have to take responsibility for their own actions by making good decisions when driving.

I note that the Automobile Association has set up a defensive driving course for experienced drivers. Such initiatives are designed to have positive outcomes on all roads, including those in Kapiti.

That about covers the transport issues I wish to raise. Much is happening in this district in terms of rail, road and road safety, and the Government and its agencies are aware of the issues and committed to doing their best to meet your expectations. I think we all share similar goals of saving lives on the road, improving the driving experience and the quality of commuter travel.

If I can now turn to my Police portfolio, I'd like to say at the outset that the Kapiti district is very well served by local police. They work hard, have made significant inroads in reducing crime, and make a very valuable contribution to road safety with their enforcement activities.

There are now 43 Police servicing the area from Paekakariki to Waikanae, and a further seven sworn staff servicing Otaki. Just as a matter of interest, one of the seven is a new position, and there's a possibility of an additional staff member in the next year.

For the past two years, Kapiti Police have been running a new initiative called 'eCrim' which is based on a UK system. This ensures police are focused on specific tasks related to crimes and crashes, and this approach has produced some excellent results.

Though crime is going up in some areas, there's been a 36 percent reduction in commercial burglaries; a 20 percent reduction in stolen cars; and a 12 percent reduction in violent attacks and thefts from cars and dwellings; and the number of people wanted on 'Warrants to Arrest' for failing to appear at court currently stands at three, compared to 50 at this time last year.

Police have a zero tolerance to all incidents of domestic and family violence, working very closely with agencies such as Women's Refuge, Kapiti Safer Community Trust and other non-government organisations as well as government agencies.

In road safety there has been a very successful campaign targeting cyclists not wearing safety helmets. Called 'Operation NUTTA' the two week campaign was well publicised. The council donated 30 cycle gift packs for compliant cyclists. Those seen to be wearing their helmets were given an entry form to complete and went into a draw for one of these packs.

During that two weeks, a total of 98 tickets were issued. However, police gave people 14 days to comply with the law and if they came into the station with a helmet AND a receipt, the ticket was waived. At last count 68 tickets have been waived. This is good news as the aim was not revenue gathering

As might be expected, new police initiatives often happen in conjunction with Levin, but Otaki benefits too. For example, a district Rural Liaison Officer has been appointed; there's been a review of 'after hours' calls to the Otaki Police station; and there are plans for a youth aid worker to work out of Otaki Police Station one day a week.

What is also pleasing at Otaki is the way the Community Board and local business work collaboratively with Police to reduce crime. A volunteer community patrol is also very active. It's great to see the community taking ownership of issues and not just leaving it to government agencies to sort out.

Police in both Otaki and Kapiti are looking at improving crime prevention by installing closed circuit television cameras. This is being done in partnership with the District Council. Kapiti plans to have cameras installed by the end of July and Otaki wants them installed in the main business area where there have been vandalism problems.

If I can sum up before questions, I hope I have shown you that the transport issues facing the district are being given the attention they rightly deserve. There have been significant improvements made and more are planned.

I am greatly impressed with the level of support in the district for rail and public transport, and I hope the new Public Transport Procurement Bill will help enhance outcomes in the region. I want to pay tribute to the District Council and the Greater Wellington Regional Council for their efforts to bring about transport improvements.

I also think that the Police throughout the district are doing a fine job and this is backed up by hard data and crime statistics.

Thank you for inviting me here today. Kapiti is a great place to live, and I understand why you are all so passionate about this area.

ENDS

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