Knights Road Connection Project

The Knights Road Connection Project came to completion in July 2021 when the Council made decisions about the next steps following two on-road trials. Find out more about what was decided here

The Knights Road Connection Project was one of several pilot projects funded by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency that aim to create more people-friendly spaces in our towns and cities. The Innovating Streets programme provides the resources and support for Councils to work with their communities to find solutions that work for the people that use the streets and spaces the most.

Creating streets and spaces that are more people-friendly make it easier to choose active modes of transport. This is important because New Zealand has a goal of 40% mode shift towards active transport and public transport by 2030. Working towards this goal will reduce congestion, help to meet climate targets and improve health. It's a big shift in a short time, and so this iterative way of working allows solutions to be tested quickly and cost effectively in the real world by all affected road users while change to the layout can still be made.

The aim is for more people to feel comfortable using active non-motorised modes of transport (bikes, scooters, e-scooters etc) for some of their shorter, regular journeys, or for the last kilometre after public transport. This will reduce the congestion and pressure on off-road parking, freeing up space for people for whom active modes are not practical. For people to feel comfortable using active transport there needs to be a safe, convenient and connected network that goes to the places people need to go to.

We’re trialling a new road layout along Knights Road connecting Waterloo Station to the Lower Hutt CBD. The aim of the trial is to make the journey a safer and more attractive connection regardless of how you choose to get around.

The new layout will create better connections between the Lower Hutt CBD, local schools, homes and workplaces and the public transport and active transport facilities at Waterloo station. The purpose of trialling these changes on the road is so that everyone who uses the road can see and feel the new layouts while there is still the potential to change them. We want to hear what is working, and what is not.

Our vision

Our bold goal is to find, through temporary trials, a design that becomes an attractive, well used shared-mode connection between Waterloo Station and the Lower Hutt CBD. We want students from local schools, and staff at local businesses to use the new road layout for commuting, improving the experience of all those that use the route.

Through the trial we are working with road users to find a safer layout for all modes of transports. Children on bikes, people on e-scooters and people walking on the footpath should feel safe using thing key connection, creating real transport choice.

Why did we choose Knights Road?

In Lower Hutt and across Wellington there is a lot of investment in shared paths and off-road cycleways, such as the Wainuiomata Shared Pathway, the new Beltway route under construction, the increasingly popular Hutt River Trail and the Melling to Ngauranga cycleway. These types of facilities are generally seen as safe, and allow travel between local suburbs and are close to public transport. What is missing is connections between these key routes, at key points, to the places people want to go - especially schools, shopping areas and workplaces.

• Knights Road is the connecting road between the public transport hubs at Waterloo Station and Queensgate.
• It is the link between the new Beltway route and Lower Hutt's CBD.
• There are six local schools on or near by Knights Road, and congestion at pick up and drop off times is an issue for all of them.
• Speed data along Knights Road showed that an unacceptable number of vehicles are exceeding 50km/h and some are driving at very high speeds for an urban environment.
• It is a wide road with enough space to trial changes to the road layout.

On this basis, a Knights Road connection to improve the connectivity of existing and planned shared paths and cycleways was first proposed as part of an urban cycleways package that included the Wainuiomata Shared Path (completed 2019, the Beltway Cycleway and the Eastern Bays Shared Path.

What has happened so far?

First trial road layout

From July to October 2020, the Knights Road Connection project team ran a series of workshops and engagements with residents, schools and the local community to better understand their experiences on Knights Road, what is working well and what might need to change to make the connection work better for more people.

Based on the feedback we trialled a temporary road layout in Knights Road during March 2021. You can find out more about the results of that trial here or read the full report here

Pop-up park at event on Friday 4 DecemberEngagement at Queensgate

Amended trial road layout 

Based on community feedback and data from the first trial, we are trialling an amended road layout. You can find out more about it here

How to get involved?

We are trialling the temporary changes in real time, using your recommendations to find the best solution for the space and the community. We need to hear from you about what works well and anything that isn’t working from the trial layout.

We'll be posting regular project updates, running surveys and Facebook polls, and collecting your ideas on how you want the space to work.

Thank you to the more than 300 of you who have filled in the online surveys. These are now closed, so that we can collate and understand your feedback. You can still share your ideas on the project page, attending a workshop or pop in session and/or emailing us.

Share your idea here

Your feedback will be used alongside real-time traffic monitoring to help inform what might happen next.