Regional councillor Martin Williams says Hawke's Bay is "addicted to cars" and a substantial shift in transport is needed. Photo / File
Hawke's Bay is "addicted to cars" and a new plan to get 30 per cent of workers off the roads is needed, one of the region's transport bosses says.
Just 0.5 per cent of commuters in Hawke's Bay use public transport to get to work and it's causing "serious and fairly unique" transport problems, Hawke's Bay Regional Council regional transport committee chairman Martin Williams said.
He said the HBRC's "innovative" draft Regional Land Transport Plan (2021-2031) will be key to solving them, and will also aim to reduce road fatalities by 40 per cent in the next decade.
Last year, 25 people died from crashes on Hawke's Bay roads - the highest since the region suffered 27 road deaths in 2010.
Williams said the plan highlights three priorities: safety on roads, providing better, sustainable transport choices and ensuring an efficient and reliable transport network, particularly for freight.
The plan includes new proposed road safety measures including improved intersections and highway safety, as well as upgrades to the cycling network, road safety education and improving access to driver licensing and training.
In the 53-page plan, there's limited mentions of trains or commuter rail however, despite recent calls for a train from Central Hawke's Bay through to Hastings and Napier.
The plan notes that low demand and increasing costs ceased passenger services between Napier and Palmerston North in 2001, while a Napier to Gisborne route was cancelled after damage to the line caused by Cyclone Bola in 1988.
HBRC senior policy planner Mary-Anne Baker said the plan noted rail's potential in helping to manage emissions and resilience in the transport network.
Williams said as a "big supporter of rail" it had not disappeared from his radar, and rail travel would complement the already busy roads in Hawke's Bay.
"It adds resilience, it's a climate change friendly mode of transport and it's efficient in terms of resource cost of sustaining."
People are encouraged to share their thoughts on the plan by February 28.
"Any death or serious injury on Hawke's Bay roads is one too many," Williams said.
"We want to get the number down by at least 40 per cent in 10 years, but we need the community's backing and support to get there."
While Napier's road death toll of nine in 2020 was one down on the 30-year high of 10 in 2019, numbers in both the Hastings and Central Hawke's Bay districts increased.
Williams said the plan will target how Hawke's Bay residents travel, with many "addicted to cars".
"Hawke's Bay has a much higher private car ownership rate than it did 20 years ago, and an unhealthy dependency on private vehicles to get around.
"We're aiming to get 30 per cent of people travelling to work out of their cars, and a similar mode shift for students."
The councillor added that council need to provide "useful, accessible and affordable options" to encourage people to take up the alternatives to cars.
"Getting more people out of their cars and on the bus, biking or walking will go a long way to meet our objectives."
The plan stated that the use of public buses has declined from 799,000 boardings in 2013-14 to 645,000 in 2018-19, while nearly half of the region's rural state highway network is rated as two-star highways, meaning they have "substantial deficiencies".
The Road to Zero road safety strategy's first action plan sets out a range of key actions for 2020-22 across the five focus areas - infrastructure improvement and speed management, vehicle safety, work-related road safety, road user choices and system management.
The region did see an uptake of electric vehicles registered from 201 to 309 during 2019.
The plan has been prepared by HBRC alongside Napier, Hastings and Wairoa councils, as well as Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
Williams also raised the importance of the efficient and reliable movement of freight around the region.
"Our transport network needs to be able to handle the movement of all the fruit, logs, meat and everything else that is vital to the wellbeing of our community.
"I'm encouraging the community to have their say on this – it's our future, and what you say matters. But as I see it, this plan can't be just about building more roads, or rolling out yesterday's solutions to tomorrow's problems."