44 Bowen Street
Private Bag 6995
Wellington 6141
New Zealand
T 64 4 894 5400
F 64 4 894 6100
www.nzta.govt.nz
09 October 2025
David Tripp
[FYI request #32228 email]
REF: OIA-19523
Dear David
Request made under the Official Information Act 1982
Thank you for your query of 4 September 2025 regarding the risk of dogs on Te Ara Tupua - the
Petone to Ngauranga Cycle path and requesting the following information under the Official
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
We request under the OIA all documents, assessments, memos and emails - whether internal or
by external agencies or consultants - related to the reassessment of this risk
The fol owing documents fal within the scope of your request and are enclosed:
• Attachment 1: OIA-19523 - Document
• Attachment 2: OIA-19523 - Emails
Certain information has been withheld from the documents under section 9(2)(a) of the Act. This
section allows for the withholding of information to protect the privacy of natural persons.
For context, the risk rating for the shared path remained ‘Significant’ and was not changed to
‘Medium’. The Te Ara Tupua Al iance identified a separate and more specific safety risk involving off-
lead dogs in Honiana Te Puni Reserve, which was assessed using NZ Transport Agency Waka
Kotahi’s (NZTA) standard risk management process rather than the Road Safety Audit (RSA) method.
The 2021 RSA recommended considering a prohibition on dogs and instal ing appropriate signage.
This concern was rated ‘Significant’ using the RSA’s qualitative matrix. NZTA, through its consultant
AECOM, acknowledged the recommendation and advised that the safety of all potential users and the
implications for wildlife would be considered, with any restrictions or controls to be determined by the
owners or operators of the path.
Between 2022 and 2023, the Al iance undertook a comprehensive safety assessment as part of the
Transport Services design process. This included Health and Safety in Design (HSiD) workshops, gate
reviews with NZTA subject matter experts, and independent Road Safety Audits at both concept and
detailed design stages. Resource consent conditions EM.7 and EM.7A required NZTA to provide
signage advising that dogs must be restrained and confined to the formed shared path, and to pursue
a legal mechanism to enforce this requirement.
The Al iance determined that prohibiting dogs from the path was outside its control and inconsistent
with the resource consent conditions. As a result, this measure was not included in the HSiD Register
or RSA. Instead, a separate hazard was recorded in the HSiD Register relating to potential conflicts
between shared path users and off-lead dogs in the Reserve’s designated dog exercise area.
This hazard was assessed as ‘Medium’ using NZTA’s Z/44 Risk Management guidelines. The
assessment considered mitigation measures such as selecting plant species to improve sight lines
and instal ing lighting to enhance visibility. At the final construction stage, the HSiD Register included a
placeholder noting that responsibility for dog control rests with dog owners, and the residual risk rating
was not completed. This reflected NZTA’s submission to the dog bylaw review requesting that dogs be
kept on-lead and on the path. It also acknowledged that proposed mitigations, such as prohibiting
dogs or reducing cyclist speeds, were unlikely to be effective and were not supported by the resource
consents.
With the Dog Control Bylaw now in effect (from 31 July 2025) and no ban in place on dogs within the
reserve or on the shared path, the residual risk remains assessed as ‘Medium’. The Al iance’s
intention is to include NZTA standard ‘keep dogs close’ signage on the path surface to support safe
and responsible use.
With respect to the information that has been withheld, I do not consider there are any other factors
which would render it desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available.
Under section 28 of the Act, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision to
withhold this information. The contact details for the Ombudsman can be located at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
In line with NZTA policy, this response wil soon be published on our website, with personal
information removed.
If you would like to discuss this reply with NZTA, please contact Ministerial Services by email to
[NZTA request email]. Yours sincerely
Jackie Smith
Manager Ministerial Services
2
