Agenda of Regional Transport Committee

Te Kōmiti Waka-ā-Rohe

16 February 2021

Page No.

1. Apologies

Nil

2. Confirmation of Order of Business

3. Interests

3.1 Updates to the Interests Register

3.2 Identify any conflicts of interest in the agenda

4. Public Forum

5. Confirmation of Minutes

5.1 7 December 2020 5 - 10

Document number M15331

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Regional Transport Committee, held on 7 December 2020, as a true and correct record.

6. Chairperson's Report

7. Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-31 and Draft Regional Public Transport Plan Consultation 11 - 187

Document number R22558

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-31 and Draft Regional Public transport Plan 2021-31 Consultation (R22558) and its attachments (A2570814, A2569883, A2561832, and A2564747) ; and

2. Approves the use of the special consultative procedure for community consultation on the Draft Regional Land Transport Plan (A2570814) and the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan (A2569883); and

3. Adopts the Draft Regional Land Transport Plan (A2570814) and the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan (A2569883) as the Statements of Proposal for the purposes of the special consultative procedure; and

4. Adopts the Summary of the Statements of Proposal (A2561832) to enable public understanding of the proposal; and

5. Approves the consultation approach (set out in sections/paragraphs 5.13 - 5.17 and Attachment 4 (A2564747) of Report R22558) and agrees:

(a) the approach meets the requirements of the Land Transport Act 2003, including Section 125 which specifies that when preparing a draft Regional Public Transport Plan, a regional council must consult

· the relevant regional transport committee

· the Agency

· every operator of a public transport service in the region

· the Minister of Education

· the territorial authorities in the region

· the relevant railway line access provider and

· if there are any specified development projects in the region, Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities; and

(b) the approach includes sufficient steps to ensure the Statements of Proposal will be reasonably accessible to the public and will be publicised in a manner appropriate to its purpose and significance; and

(c) the approach will result in the Summary of the Statements of Proposal being as widely publicised as is reasonably practicable as a basis for consultation.

6. Delegates any minor word changes to the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Regional Transport Committee.

8. Feedback on Waka Kotahi Investment Proposal 188 - 191

Document number R22550

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report Feedback on Waka Kotahi Investment Proposal (R22550) and its attachment (A2544081).

9. Waka Kotahi Update 192 - 206

Document number R22593

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report Waka Kotahi Update (R22593) and its attachment (A2567869).

10. Nelson Future Access Update 207 - 209

Document number R22595

Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report Nelson Future Access Update (R22595) and its attachment (A2567821).

Regional Transport Committee Minutes - 7 December 2020

Minutes of a meeting of the Regional Transport Committee

Held in the Council Chamber, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson

On Monday 7 December 2020, commencing at 4.09p.m.

Present: Councillor B McGurk (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, Councillors J Edgar (Deputy Chairperson), R O'Neill-Stevens and Waka Kotahi Representative (Mr J Harland)

In Attendance: Group Manager Infrastructure (A Louverdis), Governance Adviser (E Stephenson) and Governance Support (P Boutle)

Apologies : Nil

1. Apologies

2. Confirmation of Order of Business

There was no change to the order of business.

3. Interests

There were no updates to the Interests Register, and no interests with items on the agenda were declared.

4. Public Forum

4.1 Nelsust - Congestion Charging

Peter Olorenshaw, representing Nelsust, provided a PowerPoint presentation (A2536992) regarding congestion charging. He suggested that the Nelson Future Access Project should include a congestion charging option which included the use of any arterial roads at peak times. He presented a Waimea Road crossing idea as a talking point.

Mr Olorenshaw answered questions regarding how he felt congestion charging could work.

Attachments

1 A2536992 - Nelsust Public Forum Presentation

5. Confirmation of Minutes

5.1 7 September 2020

Document number M14100, agenda pages 6 - 8 refer.

It was requested that the 7 September 2020 minutes be amended to refer to Waka Kotahi in all instances for consistency.

Resolved RTC/2020/059

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Confirms the amended minutes of the meeting of the Regional Transport Committee, held on 7 September 2020, as a true and correct record.

O'Neill-Stevens/Her Worship the Mayor Carried

6. Regional Transport Committee Chair's Report

Document number R21440, agenda pages 9 - 10 refer.

The Chair spoke to his report commending the decision to reduce speed limits on SH6 between Nelson and Blenheim. He thanked Mr Jim Harland for his contribution as the Waka Kotahi representative on the Nelson City Council (NCC) Regional Transport Committee (RTC) and welcomed Emma Speight, Director Regional Relationships, Lower North Island who would be taking over from Mr Harland.

Resolved RTC/2020/060

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report Regional Transport Committee Chair's Report (R21440).

McGurk/O'Neill-Stevens Carried

7. 2019/20 Annual Monitoring Report on the Regional Transport Plan 2015-21

Document number R13709, agenda pages 11 - 42 refer.

Manager Transport and Solid Waste, Marg Parfitt, answered a question regarding walking and cycling and public transport regional monitoring on agenda page 23.

Discussion took place regarding missing data from Waka Kotahi on agenda pages 26-27 and Waka Kotahi representative, Rhys Palmer, provided an explanation on the missing data, noting that Waka Kotahi could fill that gap from the Tom Tom dataset.

Concerns were raised by the Committee regarding the missing data, which was considered vital to inform the Nelson Future Access study. Waka Kotahi Representative, Mr Jim Harland, advised that this would be included as an item on its next update report.

Resolved RTC/2020/061

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report 2019/20 Annual Monitoring Report on the Regional Transport Plan 2015-21 (R13709) and its attachment (A2448144).

Harland/Edgar Carried

8. SH6 Hope to Wakefield Speed Limit Review - Submission

Document number R13694, agenda pages 43 - 48 refer.

Resolved RTC/2020/062

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report SH6 Hope to Wakefield Speed Limit Review - Submission (R13694) and its attachments (A2518550 and A2518335); and

2. Approves retrospectively the submission on the SH6 Hope to Wakefield Speed Limit Review to Waka Kotahi (A2518335 of Report R13694).

O'Neill-Stevens/Her Worship the Mayor Carried

9. South Island Regional Transport Committee Chairs - Collaboration Charter

Document number R21410, agenda pages 49 - 51 refer.

In response to a question, Group Manager Infrastructure, Alec Louverdis, advised that there was no equivalent North Island group to the best of his knowledge.

Resolved RTC/2020/063

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report South Island Regional Transport Committee Chairs - Collaboration Charter (R21410) and its attachment (A2510677); and

2. Notes the amended Collaboration Charter (A2510677 of Report R21410) as agreed to by the South Island Regional Transport Committee Group.

Edgar/McGurk Carried

10. Nelson Future Access Update

Document number R21452, agenda pages 52 - 54 refer.

Waka Kotahi representative, Rhys Palmer, answered questions regarding progress on the project, noting that an opportunity to further engage with the community before Christmas had been missed. He advised that, in discussion with NCC officers, that placeholder budgets would be included in the Draft Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP).

In response to a question as to how the RLTP would line up with Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP) process, Group Manager Infrastructure, Alec Louverdis, advised that all documents would be aligned.

A concern was raised that if the state highway network was not operating as it should, that this would mean that ratepayers would be funding state highway deficiencies, which was not acceptable, and that a further discussion with Waka Kotahi on this issue was required.

Resolved RTC/2020/064

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report Nelson Future Access Update (R21452) and its attachment (A2519917).

O'Neill-Stevens/Her Worship the Mayor Carried

11. Waka Kotahi Update

Document number R21453, agenda pages 55 - 80 refer.

Wahi Kotahi representatives, Jim Harland and Steve Higgs, presented the update, highlighting key points.

Discussion included a focus on improving road safety and inclusion of commuter walking in the Urban Street Guide. It was noted that the Nelson population figures on agenda page 77 were out of date. Mr Higgs advised that Council was still able to give informal feedback on the Draft Waka Kotahi Investment Proposal if it wanted to.

The importance of communicating some of the legislative barriers and significant challenges faced by Council towards achieving the network changes that it wanted to achieve was noted.

Resolved RTC/2020/065

That the Regional Transport Committee

1. Receives the report Waka Kotahi Update (R21453) and its attachment (A2519918)

Harland/Her Worship the Mayor Carried

There being no further business the meeting ended at 5.30p.m.

Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings:

Chairperson Date

Item 7: Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-31 and Draft Regional Public Transport Plan Consultation

Regional Transport Committee

16 February 2021

REPORT R22558

Draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-31 and Draft Regional Public Transport Plan Consultation

1. Purpose of Report

1.1 To approve the commencement of a special consultative procedure on the proposed Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-31 (RLTP) and Regional Public Transport Plan 2021-31 (RPTP).

1.2 To adopt the draft RLTP, the draft RPTP and the Summary Statement of Proposal (Summary SOP) for that consultation.

2. Summary

2.1 Waka Kotahi, Nelson City Council (NCC), Marlborough District Council (MDC) and Tasman District Council (TDC) have been involved in drafting the RLTP and RTPT plans which prioritise the transport projects for the next six years and seek funding for them.

2.2 The Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA) requires consultation in accordance with provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA 02) when preparing an RLTP or an RPTP. Officers recommend using the special consultative procedure specified in section 83 of the LGA 02 and seek the Committee’s approval for the draft plans and Summary SOP to commence consultation.

3. Recommendation

That the Regional Transport Committee

2. Approves the use of the special consultative procedure for community consultation on the Draft Regional Land Transport Plan (A2570814) and the Draft Regional Public Transport Plan (A2569883); and

4. Adopts the Summary of the Statements of Proposal (A2561832) to enable public understanding of the proposal; and

5. Approves the consultation approach (set out in sections/paragraphs 5.13 - 5.17 and Attachment 4 (A2564747) of Report R22558) and agrees:

· the relevant regional transport committee

· the Agency

· every operator of a public transport service in the region

· the Minister of Education

· the territorial authorities in the region

· the relevant railway line access provider and

· if there are any specified development projects in the region, Kāinga Ora-Homes and Communities; and

(c) the approach will result in the Summary of the Statements of Proposal being as widely publicised as is reasonably practicable as a basis for consultation.

6. Delegates any minor word changes to the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Regional Transport Committee.

4. Background

4.1 The Land Transport Management Act 2003 (LTMA) requires Unitary Authorities to prepare a RLTP every six years and update it every three years.

4.2 When preparing a RLTP, an RTC must consult in accordance with the principles specified in section 82 of the Local Government Act (LGA) and may use the special consultative procedures specified in section 83 of the LGA.

4.3 The RLTP sets out how the region’s land transport system will develop and identifies proposed regional transport activities for investment (local and/or central government) over the next ten years. It includes policy and activities related to road maintenance and improvements, public transport services and infrastructure, walking and cycling infrastructure, road safety education and transport planning.

4.4 The draft RLTP is a joint document with NCC, TDC, MDC and Waka Kotahi to enable the key transport objectives and policies to provide a joint voice when competing for central government funding. The joint draft document is titled “Connecting Te Tauihu”.

4.5 The draft RLTP also includes a foreword endorsed by the South Island Regional Transport Committee Chairs group of which Nelson is a member.

4.6 A number of joint Te Tauihu Regional Transport Committee workshops and briefings have been held (26 May 2020, 7 September 2020, 7 December 2020 and 27 January 2021) to understand the key issues, opportunities and benefits facing the region from a transport perspective. Workshops have been a mixture of face-to-face and virtual zoom attendance.

4.7 Alongside this draft RLTP sits the draft Nelson-Tasman Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) titled “Accessible Nelson-Tasman”. The draft RPTP was workshopped by the joint Nelson and Tasman RTC members on 8 April 2020, 31 July 2020, 7 December 2020 and 27 January 2021. The key outcomes of these workshops are presented in section 5.10 of this report.

5. Discussion

5.1 In developing this draft RLTP officers have used best practice guidelines developed by the Transport Special Interest Group (TSIG) in partnership with Waka Kotahi and have included use of a new Waka Kotahi RLTP template.

5.2 The draft RLTP reflects a business case focus guided by the Investment Logic Map (ILM) developed at a Joint Te Tauihu RTC workshop held on the 7 September 2020.

5.3 The draft RLTP will inform the preparation of the Long Term Plan 2021-2031 and aligns with the Council’s strategic documents. Any significant issues will also be consulted on as part of the Long Term Plan and future Annual Plan process.

5.4 The Land Transport Management Act 2003 requires the RTC to develop the RLTP to be consistent with the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS).

5.5 The GPS sets out national land transport objectives and the results the Government wishes to achieve from allocation of the National Land Transport Fund.

Regional Land Transport Plan

5.6 The draft RLTP Statement of Proposal is included as Attachment 1.

Public Transport Plan

5.7 The LTMA states that if significant changes to a RPTP are proposed that a new plan is required to be developed and associated consultation steps are followed. The LTMA states that the Regional Council may carry out consultation on a proposal to adopt a RPTP in conjunction with the relevant regional transport committee’s consultation on its RLTP. Officers support this approach.

5.8 Following an extensive joint public transport review, direction was provided by Nelson and Tasman RTC members to develop the public transport network as proposed in the draft RPTP titled “Accessible Nelson-Tasman”. Marlborough District Council (MDC) has developed and will consult on a separate RPTP.

5.9 An amount of $51.5 million opex and $3 million capex is included in the Draft RLTP and Long Term Plan for public transport improvements across Nelson-Tasman. The phasing of these improvements is outlined below. Existing contracts and the long lead in procurement time required for new services prohibit earlier introduction of the changes proposed in the RPTP.

Step Change 1 July 2023	New urban routes 7am and 7pm, 7 days per week Hourly weekend service
	Stoke demand responsive service
	Single urban fare
	Zero or Low emission buses
	Community Transport services to Motueka, Golden Bay, Wakefield and Hira
	Morning and evening bus to Motueka and Wakefield
	Super stops at Richmond, Stoke, Tahunanui, Hospital and Nelson Bus stop improvements elsewhere
	Regional branding of the services
Step Change 2 July 2026	All urban buses run every 30 minutes
	Weekday service to Motueka (4 daily) and Wakefield (6 daily)
	Park and ride facility
Step change 3 July 2029	Additional buses at peak times
	Weekend bus service to Motueka (4 daily) and Wakefield (6 daily)

5.10 Waka Kotahi is currently reviewing its Regional Fare Policy guidelines. Consequently the fare policy wording in the proposed draft RPTP is a placeholder and will be updated in accordance with the Waka Kotahi review outcomes but early indication is that it will not change significantly.

5.11 The draft RPTP Statement of Proposal is included as Attachment 2

Consultation and decision making process

5.12 When preparing a RLTP, an RTC must consult in accordance with the principles specified in section 82 of the LGA 02 and may use the special consultative procedures specified in section 83 of the LGA 02.

5.13 Before adopting a RPTP, a regional council must consult in accordance with the principles in section 82 of the LGA 02 and may use the special consultative procedures specified in section 83 of the LGA 02. A regional council may carry out consultation on the proposal to adopt an RPTP in conjunction with the relevant RTC’s consultation on its RLTP.

5.14 In this case officers recommend use of the special consultative procedure on the proposal to adopt both plans, as it is considered that they are both of high significance as they involve the future form and management of the transport network.

5.15 When carrying out the SCP (as outlined in sections 83 and 87 of the LGA) the Council must:

· prepare and adopt a statement of proposal, (in this case the draft RLTP and the draft RPTP).

· consider whether a summary of the statement of proposal is necessary to enable public understanding of the proposal.

· make the statement of proposal publically available for at least one month and invite written submissions.

· provide an opportunity for people to present their views to the local authority (or its delegated representatives) in a manner that enables spoken (or sign language) interaction.

5.16 Officers consider that in these circumstances a summary of the proposed plans is necessary to enable public understanding. The Summary of the Statements of Proposal is included as Attachment 3. Both the draft plans and the summary will be made available to the public for feedback, with a proposed consultation period running from 17 February 2021 to 17 March 2021.

5.17 The TDC and MDC will also be considering the matter at their respective RTC’s to seek approval to adopt the SOP and to commence consultation on the RLTP. Although all three Councils will be adopting the same draft RLTP, each Council will consult and consider hearings separately. Decisions will also be made separately by each RTC.

5.18 Nelson and Tasman share a joint draft RPTP and following adoption will hold combined hearings. Decisions will be made by each RTC separately.

5.19 The draft consultation plan for NCC is included in Attachment 4.

5.20 NCC Hearings on the RLTP will be held on 6 April 2021 followed by joint hearings with TDC on the RPTP on 7 April. A deliberations report will come to the Nelson RTC on 21 April.

6. Options

6.1 Consulting on the draft RLTP and RPTP is required by the LTMA.

Option 1: Commence consultation on the draft RLTP and draft RPTP
Advantages	· Complies with requirements of the LTMA
Risks and Disadvantages	· Nil
Option 2: Do not commence consultation on the draft RLTP and draft RPTP
Advantages	· Nil
Risks and Disadvantages	· In breach of the LTMA · Risks validity of funding bid to Waka Kotahi

6.2 Officers support Option 1

7. Conclusion

7.1 The draft RLTP 2021-31 has been developed through a series of Joint Te Tauihu RTC workshops or briefings taking into account the requirements of the GPS 2020 and the LTMA 2003.

7.2 The draft RPTP has been developed through a series of joint NCC and TDC workshops.

7.3 It is recommended that the Committee adopt the draft RLTP and the draft RPTP and the Summary of the Statements of Proposal for the purposes of a special consultative procedure and approve that consultation can commence on 17 February 2021 and close on 17 March 2021.

8. Next steps

8.1 Submissions will be heard by the RTC on 6/7 April 2021 with a deliberation report to the RTC scheduled for 21 April 2021.

8.2 The RTC will then make a recommendation to Council on 24 June 2021 to adopt the RLTP and RPTP. Any subsequent alterations will be included in the deliberations report to the Council’s Long Term Plan to ensure budgets and programmes are aligned.

8.3 The final step once approved will be to submit the RLTP to the National Land Transport Fund moderation process prior to 30 June 2021.

Author: Margaret Parfitt, Manager - Transport and Solid Waste

Attachments

Attachment 1: A2570814 (Draft) Connecting Te Tauihu: Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 - 2031 ⇩

Attachment 2: A2569883 (Draft) Accessible: Nelson-Tasman Regional Public Transport Plan 2021-31 ⇩

Attachment 3: A2561832 (Draft) Summary Statement of Proposal ⇩

Attachment 4: A2564747 (Draft) Consultation Plan for the Statement of Proposal ⇩

Important considerations for decision making

1. Fit with Purpose of Local Government

Providing a Regional Land Transport Plan and Regional Public Transport Plan is a requirement of the Land Transport Management Act 2003.

2. Consistency with Community Outcomes and Council Policy

The development of a Regional Land Transport Plan and a Regional Public Transport Plan sets the key objectives, measures and activities that contributes to the community outcome “our infrastructure is efficient, cost effective and meets current and future needs”.

3. Risk

Not approving the draft RLTP and RPTP for consultation will leave Council without documents to support the goal of developing and adopting the LTP and is a failure to meet the requirements of the LTMA.

4. Financial impact

Preparation of this Regional Land Transport Plan and Regional Public Transport Plan are included in operational budgets.

The activities listed in this plan are consistent with the activities proposed via the Draft Transport Asset Management Plan for Nelson City Council and the Waka Kotahi Investment Proposal.

5. Degree of significance and level of engagement

This matter is of high significance because it involves the future form and management of the transport network. Therefore a Special Consultative Procedure in accordance with section 83 of the Local Government Act 2002 is planned.

6. Climate Impact

The draft RLTP and RPTP recognises that the transport network we have traditionally relied upon may not be appropriate for the future. This is in part due to vehicle usage effects on our natural environment and that our communities are susceptible to losing access in more frequent weather events. The draft proposes a number of adaptation and mitigation measures.

7. Inclusion of Māori in the decision making process

All iwi of Te Tauihu were sent a presentation that provided an overview of the document in early December 2020.

8. Delegations

The review and consultation requirements for the RLTP and RPTP are laid out in the Land Transport Management Act 2003.

The Regional Transport Committee has the following delegation: