Wellington Regional Transport Committee rejects Steven Joyce thinking - 'You can't continue to motorway your way out of problems'

Wellington's transport wish-list for the next six years has been decided, and it includes three cycleway projects that have been given priority over major motorways.

The Regional Transport Committee, on which all the region's mayors sit, signed off its list of most significant projects on Wednesday after releasing its draft list in December and considering 570 public submissions.

Those submissions largely called for a greater focus on public transport and cycling over motorway building. As a result, the committee bumped the Ngauranga to Petone Cycleway up from No. 10 to No. 5 and included Wellington City's Council proposed network of 150 km of cycle lanes on the list at No. 9.

Improvements to Wellington's Adelaide Rd, which include safety measures for cyclists, sit at No. 10.

Meanwhile, the proposed second Mt Victoria Tunnel has dropped a place to No. 6, and the Cross Valley Link highway, which will join Wainuiomata to State Highway 2, has fallen from No 8. to No. 11.

Top of the list is still an $8 million package of improvements for Paraparaumu's local roads so they will be able to cope with the increased traffic demands generated by the Kapiti Expressway.

But the extension of the expressway from Peka Peka to Otaki has been pushed out to 16th of 20 priority projects.

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