Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi – Bay of Plenty

At a glance

Arataki Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi – Bay of Plenty regional direction [PDF, 13 MB]

Arataki Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi statistics table – infographic alternative [PDF, 143 KB]

The September 2023 v1.1 release of Arataki includes updates to reflect the severe weather events of 2023 and make minor corrections.

Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi Bay of Plenty is one of the fastest growing regions in Aotearoa New Zealand. Within the region there are significant differences between the rapidly growing western section of Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi as compared to other regional areas that are growing slower, facing higher unemployment rates, and earning lower incomes.

As the country’s primary export port, Port of Tauranga plays an important role in the region. Transport connections between Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi and Waikato have national economic significance. The economy of Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi relies on tourism, horticulture, and forestry.

Tauranga is experiencing significant growth. It requires transformational change to address high rates of private vehicle use. Changes to the transport network and urban form are necessary to improve access and safety, as well as reduce emissions. Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi has a poor road safety record, with high numbers of deaths and serious injuries.

Resilience also needs to be a key focus, with parts of the region vulnerable to tsunami risk, sea level rise, flooding, coastal erosion, and landslides.

Focusing our efforts 

The transport challenges for Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi Bay of Plenty need to be tackled in a cohesive way for efficient and effective progress. The directions below identify the most important issues to be resolved over the next 10 years to make progress towards transport outcomes.

• Use spatial planning to enable and encourage growth in areas that already have good travel choices and shorter trip lengths, such as the work underway in Tauranga, Western Bay of Plenty, and Rotorua.
• Rapidly accelerate the delivery of walking and cycling networks, predominantly through reshaping existing streets, to make these options safe and attractive.
• Implement the transport components of the Urban Form + Transport Initiative (UFTI) – this includes protecting key strategic corridors and developing high-quality public transport, walking, and cycling infrastructure to connect centres.
• Continue to improve interregional connectivity and resilience, especially to Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Kirikiriroa Hamilton, and Tairāwhiti Gisborne.
• Explore the potential for new and emerging technologies, such as on-demand services, to improve access to social and economic opportunities.
• Better understand the impact of future economic transformation on travel patterns and freight volumes.
• Explore opportunities to move to a more multimodal freight system with greater use of rail and coastal shipping.
• Confirm how key resilience risks will be addressed and work with communities to identify plans for when to defend, accommodate, or retreat.
• Continue to implement road safety plans and programmes, including those focused on iwi Māori.
• Reduce financial and other barriers to iwi Māori getting a driver’s licence in areas not well served by public transport.
• Improve or maintain, as appropriate, physical access to marae, papakāinga, wāhi tapu, and wāhi taonga.

These will be updated over time to focus effort on the most critical matters. 

Arataki Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi – Bay of Plenty regional direction [PDF, 13 MB]