Major reset for Cambridge Connections project

Community views will be at the heart and centre of the Cambridge Connections transport project, Waipā District Council has pledged.

At a workshop yesterday for elected members, the Council reconfirmed a total reset for the project, which was put on hold in August following strong public concern over the processes taken.

Mayor Susan O’Regan said the Council accepted it had made mistakes and lost the trust of the community as a result.

“We need to acknowledge the hurt that was caused, and right those wrongs,” she said. “I say this from my heart – it’s a place that none of us want to be in again.”

Chief executive Steph O’Sullivan thanked the people in the community who had been honest, respectful and very direct in sharing their thoughts. “I want to assure people we have heard loud and clear from Cambridge about the importance of this project, and that we have lost the trust and confidence of a great number of people.

“We have put our hand up publicly and said ‘mea culpa’. We’ve had some very robust and honest conversations. Now, it’s time to reset.”

The first step will be to appoint a programme lead with a fierce community engagement focus.

“Public engagement will be the absolute priority. Yes, this will take time and resources, but it is the time and resources that Cambridge deserves.”

While the aspirations for the project – a 30-year plan to help shape and develop Cambridge’s transport services and infrastructure and support its growth – remain the same, everything else is ‘back to the drawing board’, she said.

These include the assumptions that were made while the business case was being developed, the modelling on traffic patterns and transport demand, and more.

“We need to think about the future, and not be overly encumbered by the ways of the past. Things are changing with the way we live, work, play and move around – and at speed.”

O’Sullivan said the reset was an exciting prospect, and she too was eager for action. “But we must lay the foundations solidly before we proceed. We can’t afford missteps, and setting the project team up with the right people at every level is the first step.

“I want to acknowledge members of the community who have come to us with strong views, but I also want to acknowledge our staff. Our teams come to work every day to do their best for the communities, and nobody intended this to happen.

“Now it is time for us to step forward together, in one waka.”