Thank you
We held a Kāpiti Coast ExpressDay on Saturday 18 February 2017 before the Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway opened to traffic.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for ExpressDay!
What a great day out on the Kāpiti Coast for thousands.
Photos
Check out our photos of the day.
ExpressDay talks by five experts
ExpressDay visitors to the Te Moana Zone enjoyed a series of five talks in the Expert Talks tent. For those of you who missed out or would like to take time to see the presentations again, you can open them on this page.
Archaelogy - M2PP archaeologist, Mary OKeeffe
The story behind the historical finds in the Kāpiti landscape before the Expressway works started.
Design – M2PP Alliance’s Design Manager, Doug Stirrat
Some design highlights of the Expressway’s construction and features to look out for along the new road.
Infrastructure Innovation– Project Engineer, Helen Jones
Construction of some of the amazing bridge structures throughout the Expressway – from the footbridges to some of the heavy duty structures that head over Kāpiti’s local roads and rivers.
Paving the Way– Pavements Manager, Jonathan Kibblewhite
The complex business of creating the road surface and building a road from the bottom up – from base course, to chip seal to the final fancy asphalt.
Intelligent Transport Systems – NZ Transport Agency, Scott Yarrall
How the Transport Operations Centre in Johnsonville monitors and manages regional traffic flows with clever video technology.
Saturday 18 February 2017
10am-3pm
The Mackays to Peka Peka Expressway is nearly ready to open to traffic, so the M2PP team would like to invite you to the Kāpiti Coast ExpressDay - your chance to experience part of the Expressway before it opens to traffic later in February.
Walk or bus 5 kilometres of Expressway between Te Roto Drive in Paraparaumu, or Te Moana Road in Waikanae. Thanks to the generosity of Mana Coach Services ExpressTours will run from both sites throughout the day.
The ExpressDay route is open to pedestrians and mobility scooters/wheelchairs on one side and tour buses on the other side. People can also choose to try out 5kms of shared pathway alongside the Expressway.
Start your journey at either Te Roto Drive in Paraparaumu for fun and entertainment, or Te Moana Road in Waikanae, for education and expert speakers.
There’ll be something for all tastes at both sites, including Kāpiti food trucks.
What’s on
Get a taste of some of the key attractions . Whether you want entertainment, education or just the Expressway experience, the ExpressDay has it all.
Check out the ExpressDay sitemap for what you can expect on the day.
ExpressTours
Take an educational loop route tour 15-minutes north and 15-minutes south along a 5k section of the new Expressway – with an onboard M2PP ExpressGuide. Ride the full loop or hop on or off at either Te Roto Drive or Te Moana Road.
So take a Mana bus TO the ExpressDay and take one ON the Expressway before it opens to traffic.
Dos and don’ts on ExpressDay – our house rules
Please – no furry friends
To help keep everyone safe on the day, we’re asking you to please leave your furry friends at home or with a friend while you come and check out the Expressway. That includes not riding horses on the shared pathway.
Please don’t litter
There will be rubbish bins placed along the Expressway so please hold on to any rubbish until you spot a bin.
Bicycles
If you need to bring your bike along, the 5km pedestrian lanes of the Expressway and the shared pathway alongside it will be open to use. But please use good judgement and share both these spaces considerately, being aware of pedestrians and families - as you would with any shared route.
The Makarini footbridge
The Makarini Footbridge WON’T be available to use on the day to access the Expressway or shared pathway, so if you’re heading to the ExpressDay, please take this into consideration when planning how you get there.
On the buses
The same rules apply as when you normally catch a bus - no food and drinks please, but a bottle of water is OK. The buses have access ramps and some will be able to carry passengers using mobility scooters/wheelchairs. If you’re bringing a pram and want to use the buses, try and bring one that folds easily and doesn’t take up too much space.
Plan your travel
To make the most of the ExpressDay, plan ahead and think about how you’re going to get there. If you live out of town, think about jumping on a train and then catching the bus to one of the ExpressDay Zones.
If you live close, why not walk down?
If you need to drive: Where to park - main parking is at Te Roto Drive, Paraparaumu. There’ll also be some limited parking at Te Moana Road, Waikanae so if you do drive think about heading to Te Roto Drive and walk or bus up to the Te Moana Zone. And if you’re driving, get your friends or family together and carpool.
Gold coin for a good cause
The Kāpiti Coast ExpressDay is proudly supporting Kāpiti Youth Services (KYS) and Mary Potter Hospice, who’ll have volunteers greeting you on the day. Your gold coin entry donation will go to these two fantastic charities to help them with the work they do in our community.
What you need to know
Main car parking is at Te Roto Drive in Paraparaumu. Please keep this in mind if you’re driving to the ExpressDay.Check the weather on the day and if you’re planning to hang out all day, make sure you slip, slop and slap. If the weather isn’t right on the 18th the plan is to hold the ExpressDay on the 19th.If you’re planning to walk the 5km, make sure you wear comfy shoes – trainers/sneakers are best – please leave the high heels at home to protect our road surface.Fantastic food trucks will be selling food, and while some will have Eftpos, it’s best to bring cash along just in case.
Key attractions
Te Roto Zone will feature local talent and entertainers, diggers and dozers, classic and electric cars, face painting and more in the Kids Zone. Our MC is comedian and actor, Cohen Holloway and the Hits radio station will be broadcasting live from the site.
At the Te Moana Zone there’ll be Expressway experts sharing their stories about construction and more and the Expressway 101 tent will be the place to find out more about how you’ll use the Expressway and revisit some of the Mackays to Peka Peka construction, environmental and archaelogical stories.
There’ll also be project people from the Peka Peka to Ōtaki and Transmission Gully projects to answer your questions and tell you more. Kāpiti Coast District Council will be there and BeachFM will be live broadcasting throughout.
Answers to some of your questions about the ins and outs of ExpressDay
Where can I park?
We’re encouraging people to walk, bus or train to the event – and think about carpooling if you need to drive.
The best place to park is at the Te Roto Zone and then you can go to the Te Moana Zone if you want to by bus or walking down. There is some parking at Te Moana Road but it is limited.
There will be some separate parking spaces provided for drivers with disabilities.
How will the Expressway lanes work that day?
Buses will be on the east side (southbound lanes) of the Expressway with pedestrians on the west (northbound lanes).
How does the bus tour work?
It’s a 30 minute loop trip but you can get on and off at either Zone – so stay on the bus to return to your starting point, or get off and come back on a later bus.
You can get on or off a bus at either Te Roto Drive or Te Moana Road. There will be ramps to get on and off and some buses will be wheelchair-accessible.
There’s no charge for the bus thanks to Mana Coach Services generosity. But we are supporting two charities who’ll be taking gold coin donations at the gate on the day – Mary Potter Hospice and Kapiti Youth Support.
The last buses will leave at 2.30pm from each end and the ExpressDay closes at 3pm.
How can I use a wheelchair or mobility scooter?
You can use these on both the road and the shared pathway. Some of the tour buses will also be wheelchair accessible.
There will also be disability parking spaces available at both zones near the front of the parking areas. If you require one of these spaces please identify yourself to one of the marshals as you enter the parking area.
There will be ramps at each Zone for people to access the Expressway. These will also be wheelchair accessible and if any assistance is required, our roaming assistance staff will be available to offer this.
In most places we have made the site as accessible as possible and while the Expressway surface is smooth, there will be some gravel areas around the Zones and parking areas so all guests should be aware and safety-conscious throughout the day.
Can I bring my bike? Can I ride on the shared pathway?
Bikes will be OK if you’re riding down to the event and yes, you can share the pathway with pedestrians through the 5km that will be open – just follow the usual courtesies you do on a shared path, as it could be busy.
If you take your bike onto the road, you’ll need to use the pedestrian side and use the road as you would any shared pathway, by sharing the space considerately and being aware of others.
Will I be able to sit down?
There will be plenty of seating in the food areas in both Zones. Some of the marquees will also have their own seating for visitors.
There will also be St John’s assistance available at both sites.
Can I bring my guide dog?
We’ve said ‘No furry friends please’ but guide dogs and their owners are welcome to come along.