Kapiti Coast District CWB Network Planning
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622705 Report Kapiti Coast District CWB Network Planning Prepared for Kapiti Coast District Council Prepared by Beca Limited 11 February 2015 622705 Kapiti Coast District CWB Network Planning Revision History Revision Nº Prepared By Description Date 1 Christopher Carlaw First draft to client 8/9/14 2 Alan Kerr Second draft following Council workshop 20/10/14 3 Chris Carlaw Third draft incorporating client comment 11/2/15 4 5 Document Acceptance Action Name Signed Date Prepared by Christopher Carlaw Reviewed by Alan Kerr Approved by Alan Kerr on behalf of © Beca 2013 (unless Beca has expressly agreed otherwise with the Client in writing). This report has been prepared by Beca on the specific instructions of our Client. It is solely for our Client’s use for the purpose for which it is intended in accordance with the agreed scope of work. Any use or reliance by any person contrary to the above, to which Beca has not given its prior written consent, is at that person's own risk. Beca // 11 February 2015 3819639 // NZ1-9518816-17 0.17 // i 622705 Kapiti Coast District CWB Network Planning Executive Summary Kapiti Coast District Council has appointed Beca to undertake an assessment of the Cycleway, Walkway, Bridleway (CWB) Network across the district with a view to producing an overall strategy for the development of the network including an aspirational plan for the complete future network. The network planning methodology has had a significant focus on gauging stakeholder concerns and comments about the future infrastructure for the district. In the context of this project, the data received from stakeholders, the community, Council and site visits has been used to target locations for improvements, however, like all local engagement it is subjective and open to individual interpretation. The intention was to produce a network providing safe and efficient routes for commuters and school children, as well as interesting and attractive routes for recreational users. Approximately 100 separate schemes have been identified as part of this study for pedestrian, cycling and bridleway infrastructure, and a high level evaluation process has been undertaken to determine relative levels of priority. The highest priority connections are generally those that are eligible for partial NZ Transport Agency category 2 funding associated with the revocation agreement. These include the connections through the two town centres (particularly the link between Kapiti Road and the Leinster Avenue walking/cycling bridge) as well as links to the new expressway shared path. In total, the category 2 revocation schemes are likely to cost around $5m, but have a high level benefit cost ratio of 2.2. Other top priority improvement options include improvements to infrastructure along Kapiti Road and improvements to the signage and wayfinding around the district. Moving forward, the next stage of this study will include further refinement of the implementation plan as well as agreement on the top priority improvement options. This will result in design work and further evaluation for the top priority improvement options, particularly associated with the revocation of old SH1. Beca // 11 February 2015 3819639 // NZ1-9518816-17 0.17 // ii 622705 Kapiti Coast District CWB Network Planning Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Methodology 1 1.2 The SWOT analysis 3 2 Existing CWB conditions 5 2.1 Existing facilities and site observations 5 2.2 Crash history 6 2.3 Traffic Volumes 11 3 Stakeholder and community engagement 12 3.1 Online survey 12 3.2 School Travel Plans 14 3.3 Consultation with Colleges 15 4 Cycle infrastructure / scheme development 17 4.1 Signage and Communication 17 4.2 Network Improvements 17 4.3 Off Road SH1 Revocation options 23 4.4 Evaluation of options 25 5 Summary and conclusions 27 5.1 Summary 27 5.2 Further Investigation 27 5.3 Conclusion 27 Appendices No table of contents entries found. Beca // 11 February 2015 3819639 // NZ1-9518816-17 0.17 // i 622705 Kapiti Coast District CWB Network Planning 1 Introduction As part of the Town Centres and Connectors study, Beca Ltd (Beca) was appointed by Kapiti Coast District Council (Council) to undertake a review of the Cycleway, Walkway and Bridleway (CWB) network across the District with a view to identifying potential improvement options. Council has potential to access NZ Transport Agency funds to deliver improvement to the CWB facilities around the District. Although there are a number of recreational and commuter cyclists in Kapiti, there is potential for a step change in mode share if investment is strategically targeted. Barriers to cycling and walking in Kapiti include real (and perceived) safety issues and existing road geometry, as well as extraneous factors such as the weather and cultural views. The road network in Kapiti is, however, quite conducive to good quality CWB infrastructure. Furthermore, it is likely to be well used with key commuter corridors complementing local attractors. These include: A number of popular commuter rail stations Schools Town centres The new shared path associated with the expressway. This study has been set up to complement the parallel workstream developing options for enhancing Paraparaumu and Waikanae Town Centres. 1.1 Methodology The methodology consists of a series of logical stages that respond to Council’s desire to improve the existing CWB network in the District. The approach has developed proposals from a thorough understanding of: Existing infrastructure Travel demands Safety and road geometry issues The local and regional economic and social context. The first stage of this project included data collection and mapping of the existing CWB network. This included a review of Council data and development of a GIS plan (using Google Earth) showing the CWB network diagrammatically. The second stage of the project was broken up into a series of clearly defined tasks. Task 1: Initial Research and Analysis of Issues Task 1 included high level stakeholder consultation, coupled with some analysis. This included meeting with key Council officers, the CWB advisory group, NZ Transport Agency and any other stakeholders agreed for the Town Centres and Connectors study to understand local perspectives, uses and needs for the CWB network. Site visits and “ride overs” were undertaken to assess the nature and quality of existing CWB facilities and where the key deficiencies and gaps were to develop on the high level network mapping exercise undertaken during stage 1. This informed the development of a simple SWOT analysis to provide an initial summary of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the development of CWB facilities Beca // 11 February 2015 3819639 // NZ1-9518816-17 0.17 // page 1 622705 Kapiti Coast District CWB Network Planning During this task, historic crash records were mapped using GIS and Google Earth to identify the locations where there are existing safety issues, particularly relating to cyclists, pedestrians or horse riders. In addition to this, a high level assessment of the existing and potential future transport demands was undertaken to identify “demand corridors” or desire lines between key locations. Connected to this, a gap analysis was undertaken to illustrate gaps in infrastructure and where there are opportunities to improve the network to support current and future major trip generators. Task 2: Community Consultation Numerous forms of community consultation were undertaken. The initial methodology featured tying into the Town Centres and Connectors project. However, the CWB project covers the entire district rather than just Waikanae and Paraparaumu Town Centres, therefore it was decided that a separate engagement approach should be adopted. Following discussion with the CWB advisory group, it was decided that the most effective way to engage with a wide cross section of the community was through an online survey. The online survey was developed using Survey Monkey and advertised using the Council website, Facebook page and rates notice. Further detail on the questions asked is provided in subsequent sections. In addition to the online survey, community engagement data was harvested from the Council school travel planning process. School aged children are an important target market for the CWB network, not just because the network provides routes to school, but also because the CWB network encourages positive and healthy behaviours from an early age. The school travel plan data provided feedback from the primary schools in the district, but did not include the colleges in the District. Therefore separate discussions were held with college staff and students. Task 3: Cycle, Walking and Bridle Route Development Building upon the work undertaken in tasks 1 and 2, the following activities were undertaken leading to the identification of a preferred/strategic CWB route network: The development of a user hierarchy for the proposed network. In other words, identification of the different requirements of different users (grouped into commuters, recreational users, and school children); A high level analysis of anticipated demand/trip generators in order to identify the location, type and level of service of potential CWB improvements; An understanding of the nature of the proposed improvements based on local site conditions, i.e. traffic volumes, type and number of users, local topography, land availability etc. The development of a GIS based plan showing proposed network improvements. Network improvements were identified as individual packages. This was cognisant of the importance of connecting with the proposed expressway shared path; A high level evaluation of the costs and benefits associated with the proposed interventions using a multi- criteria approach For the multi-criteria assessment (MCA), proposals were allocated a score, across a number of different categories: Safety; Directness; Connectivity; Anticipated usage; Cost; and Beca // 11 February 2015 3819639 // NZ1-9518816-17 0.17 // page 2 622705 Kapiti Coast District CWB Network Planning Fundability Due to the strategic nature of the study, a simple three score system was used (1=low score/poor, 2=medium score/average, 3=high score/good).