He tāone e hāngai ana ki te anamata
A city fit for the future
We're rebalancing our streets to give people more low carbon transport options in Wellington. The work underway on Thorndon Quay is part of connecting our northern suburbs through to the city, making it safer and easier for more people to walk, bike, scoot or use public transport.
Project at a glance
Thorndon Quay is one of the most important commuter routes for Wellingtonians. Each day during the week, about 10,000 people travel this route by bus, making it the busiest bus route outside of the city centre. About 1300 people travel this route by bike each work day, and this number is expected to increase significantly when Te Ara Tupua opens in 2026, providing a safe cycle route between the Hutt Valley and Wellington.
Construction started in late 2023, and is expected to be complete mid-2025.
To make it easier for more people to use low carbon transport options to travel in this area, we're making changes including:
- Peak hour bus lanes in both directions to improve bus travel times
- A two-way cycle path on the sea-side of the route to avoid intersections and the bus interchange
- Five signalised pedestrian/bike crossings, two of which will be raised
- Improved lighting and planting, along with cultural design elements to recognise mana whenua and the location of awa
- Fewer parks along the route to make space for the bus lane, as well as changes in some parking time restrictions.
These changes will make travel along Thorndon Quay safer, more efficient, and more enjoyable for all.
If you have any particular questions, feel free to contact the project team at thorndon@wcc.govt.nz.
During public consultation on the design, we talked with businesses on the route and the Wellington public about two options for how we could manage construction along the route. Most people told us they wanted us to get construction done in larger or multiple sections over a shorter time frame, and this is the approach we have followed.
This means that we've planned the construction process in detail with the help of acoustic and traffic management experts – balancing the need to have Thorndon Quay traffic open for two lanes of traffic with separation for cyclists during the daytime with minimising noise from doing broader works at night.
Construction will be happening 24/7 and in sections along the 2km route, so that we can keep traffic flowing as best as possible and minimise the impact on local businesses and residents.
This project was originally part of Let's Get Wellington Moving (LGWM) - a partnership programme between Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Greater Wellington Regional Council, and Wellington City Council - with the directive to help move more people in Wellington with fewer private vehicles. When this programme was dissolved in early 2024, Wellington City Council took over responsibility for delivering the Thorndon Quay project.
- 2020 - Development of project objectives and options for a proposed solution
- May-June 2021 - Public consultation on project objectives and proposed solution
- June 2021 - Wellington City Council approve traffic resolution to change angle parking to parallel parking to improve safety
- November - December 2022 - Public consultation on designs and traffic resolution for Thorndon Quay
- 24 August 2023 - Koata Hātepe, our Regulatory Processes Committee, approved the traffic resolution which confirmed the design
- Late 2023 - Construction begins on Thorndon Quay
- March 2024 - Wellington City Council takes over responsibility for Thorndon Quay project
- August 2024 - Koata Hātepe, our Regulatory Processes Committee, makes changes to the design of the project in response to feedback and funding changes, removing one pedestrian crossing and changing two others from raised platforms to level crossings.