Katie Mayes watched from a distance last year as the Cambridge Connections project began to unravel.
Katie Mayes – Waipa District Council Cambridge Connections reset. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
At the time, she held a national role with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and observed the fallout when a proposed site for a third bridge — dubbed “the blue blob” by locals — sparked widespread concern.
Homeowners were blindsided when they learned through The News their property values may have dropped significantly overnight.
See: Bridge a ‘bolt out of the blue’
The backlash was swift, leading to a community revolt that forced the project’s postponement and a full reset.
Mayes is at the helm of the reset as Waipā’s executive director. She brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of both local and national infrastructure planning.
“I really felt for everybody at the end. I felt for staff. I felt for council, for the community and potentially affected landowners as well.”
Some members of the public took the opportunity to check out the Cambridge Connections options inside Bridges Church. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Mayes, 55, moved to Leamington three years ago with husband Hugh Goodman, a haematologist at Waikato Hospital, downsizing once their three children had moved out.
“Cambridge is an awesome little place and it’s growing and so I wanted to be able to be part of helping Cambridge grow in a way that keeps that special flavour.”
Mayes was born in England and came to New Zealand when she was three and grew up in Auckland. She left to do law at Otago University in Dunedin and then a master’s in resource management at Massey.
After that she lived in Palmerston North, Wellington, New Plymouth, Rotorua, Tauranga, back to Auckland, London and then to Hamilton.
A mix of private and public work, plus the master’s in public policy administration she got at the London School of Commerce, has helped her see a range of perspectives and decide she wanted to work in the public sector.
She was at Waikato Regional Council for 11 years before moving to NZTA.
“I’ve lived in the region for 20 years, I’ve got that local government understanding and a lot of relationships around the region and the connection with central as well which will be useful for this work and for other strategic projects,” she said.
“I think there’s a lot of goodwill in the community and a real commitment by council to do Cambridge Connections differently and better.”
The original Cambridge Connections plan with the Blue Blob
Mayes is confident there was some good technical work done before the reset but because of changes like the Cambridge to Piarere four-laning, it would need retesting.
It is easy to look back and see how events unfolded.
“But usually when you reach a crisis as that became, there’s a series of decisions, some of them explicit and some of them not along the way made by a whole load of people that get you to a particular situation. It’s useful to reflect on those things, but not to dwell on them.”
Waipā had done a lot of things well, planning for growth which was happening faster than even Statistics NZ have predicted.
See: Putting Blue Blob behind us
Mayes reports directly to Waipā chief executive Steph O’Sullivan and is part of the executive team. Her role provides strategic support to O’Sullivan with a focus on securing a successful future for the council, the district’s infrastructure and communities.
She works across the organisation bringing the right people together to get things done.
“The first cab off the rank is a reset of Cambridge Connections and then there will be a range of other things which may not be growth and infrastructure related,” she said.
“Through Ahu Ake and other ways, the community has already identified what kind of place it wants Cambridge to be, so the job of Cambridge Connections is to put the transport flesh on those bones.”
Victoria ‘High Level’ Bridge – should it become a pedestrian bridge and a new vehicular one built?
While a third bridge remains a key component, the project encompasses a broader range of transport solutions.
With the next regional land transport programme set to begin in 2027, Waipā must soon finalise its short, medium and long-term priorities.
“If we think about where the growth is happening and some of the pressures we need to respond to in the short term, rather than the long term, then that might be upgrading some intersections. There will be a range of different things to look at.”
She is prepared for flak from the public.
“I can listen to those perspectives and try to actually draw them together and make sure my role is to set up an approach that provides for that opportunity for community engagement.”
See: Looking at transport for Cambridge
See: Making connections
See: Chamber looks to big picture issues for Cambridge
Katie Mayes – Waipa District Council Cambridge Connections reset. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
