Reconnecting the Marlborough Sounds community, their way
Between July 2021 and August 2022, the Marlborough District’s roading network was damaged by severe weather events. Flooding and landslides caused serious impacts to access in and out of the Marlborough Sounds. A significant number of slips and dropouts made many roads impassable for long periods of time—creating stress and uncertainty for residents and businesses who could no longer rely on roads they normally used.
To get people moving again, the Marlborough Sounds District Council commissioned us to help develop a business case to fund safe and resilient long-term transport access. In a study to gain feedback for transport options, we engaged with stakeholders from five geographic areas within the Sounds and throughout the whole district. From the onset of our study, it was clear that this project would set precedents as to how we engage with a community still suffering from the effects of a natural disaster—we needed to be sensitive in conversations about what future access may look like while also considering a wide range of uncertainties. We conducted workshops, hui, surveys, webinars, and public community events and developed a comprehensive suite of collateral including a website, booklets, videos, and maps of the areas with FAQs.
The community were highly engaged, driven by the knowledge that their input was critical to the success of restoring the transport network.
At a Glance
- Offices
- Client
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- Marlborough Sounds District Council
- Partners
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- Publik
- Award
- EMPA New Zealand Awards 2023, Excellence in Emergency Communication – Community Engagement
Andrew Maughan, Market Leader - Transport Advisory
The thing I celebrate most is when we’re able to exceed client expectations by solving complex problems.
Sarah Connolly, Team Leader, Transport, Dunedin / Senior Principal, Transport Planner
I’m keen to be part of a fundamental change in how engineers and planners “do” infrastructure.
We’re better together
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