Minutes of a meeting of the

Regional Transport Committee

Te Kōmiti Waka-ā-Rohe

Held in the Council Chamber, Civic House, 110 Trafalgar Street, Nelson on Monday 6 December 2021, commencing at 1.30p.m.

Present:               Cr B McGurk (Chairperson), Her Worship the Mayor R Reese, Councillor J Edgar (Deputy Chairperson – by Zoom connection), Councillor R O'Neill-Stevens and Waka Kotahi Representative Ms E Speight

In Attendance:     Group Manager Infrastructure (A Louverdis), Manager Transport and Solid Waste (M Parfitt), Waka Kotahi Representative (A James), Team Leader Governance (R Byrne), Governance Adviser (K Redgrove) and Administrator (P Boutle).

Apologies :          Nil

Karakia and Mihi Timatanga

1.       Apologies

There were no apologies.

2.       Confirmation of Order of Business

There were no changes to the order of business.  It was noted an updated Chairperson’s report had been circulated.

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.      Biddy Myers - The need to support Electric Vehicles in our Region

Document number R26335

Biddy Myers tabled supporting information (A2799852) and spoke about the need to support electric vehicles in the region.

She submitted that additional stations for electric vehicles should be provided across the region and that each of these should have two charging units to reduce queues.    She suggested the additional costs could be mitigated by partnering with other agencies and businesses.

The meeting discussed how to advance the points raised by Ms Myers and noted that communications with Waka Kotahi and initiatives supported in the Long Term Plan may assist.  It was suggested an addendum capturing Ms Myer’s views should be included with the recent submission to Central Government on climate change.

Attachments

1.  A2799852 - Biddy Myers tabled document

4.2.      NELSUST - Bus Priority, Incremental Options from 2023

Document number R26484

Peter Olorenshaw, on behalf of the Nelson Transport Strategy Group, spoke about bus priority incremental options from 2023.  In his view, the Nelson Future Access Study had not properly grasped the changes required to make use of public transport a more attractive option.  He also expressed disappointment that timelines for implementation were not sooner.   He described a number of measures he considered key in order to achieve this, including give way provisions, priority lights and priority lanes for buses.   He also considered an upgrade to the Nelson bus depot was a priority. 

5.       Confirmation of Minutes

5.1       28 September 2021

Document number M18972, agenda pages 6 - 9 refer.

Resolved RTC/2021/017
	That the Regional Transport Committee 1.     Confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Regional Transport Committee, held on 28 September 2021, as a true and correct record.
O'Neill-Stevens/McGurk Carried

6.       Regional Transport Committee Chair's Report

Document number R26461, agenda pages 10 - 10 refer.

An updated Chairperson’s report was tabled (A2797516).  The Chair made particular mention of the positive progress with the Rocks Road Walking and Cycling Pre-Implementation, noting there were still procedural steps around funding to overcome.

Resolved RTC/2021/018
	That the Regional Transport Committee 1.     Receives the report Regional Transport Committee Chair's Report (A2797516).
McGurk/O'Neill-Stevens Carried

7.       Variation to Regional Land Transport Plan - Rocks Road Walking and Cycling Pre-Implementation

Document number R26260, agenda pages 11 - 37 refer.

The Group Manager Infrastructure, Alec Louverdis, presented the report, noting suggested minor amendments which would be incorporated in the Plan prior to publication.    Waka Kotahi representative, Emma Speight, confirmed safety considerations for the work would be reflected through the design and safety audit processes.

Resolved RTC/2021/019
	That the Regional Transport Committee 1.     Receives the report Variation to Regional Land Transport Plan - Rocks Road Walking and Cycling Pre-Implementation (R26260) and its attachments (A2779559 and A2781180); and 2.     Notes that a variation to amend the Regional Land Transport Plan is required to include the SH6 Rocks Road Pre-Implementation Phase to facilitate Waka Kotahi seeking funding concurrently with the Business Case approval, and that consultation on this variation is not required as it does not trigger Council’s Regional Land Transport Plan’s Significance Policy and nor is it appropriate to carry out any additional consultation in the circumstances; and 3.     Approves, for submission to Council, subject to minor amendments, that the Nelson Regional Land Transport Programme 2021-31 is varied to include a total of $6.5M for “Pre-implementation Phase” for the SH6 Rocks Road Walking and Cycling facility spread over the 2021-24 financial years, noting that approval from both the Tasman District Council and Marlborough District Council is not required but that they be advised of the proposed variation.
O'Neill-Stevens/Speight Carried

Recommendation to Council RTC/2021/020
	That the Council 1.     Approves that the Nelson Regional Land Transport Programme 2021-31 is varied to include a total of $6.5M for “Pre-implementation Phase” for the SH6 Rocks Road Walking and Cycling facility spread over the 2021-24 financial years.
O'Neill-Stevens/Speight Carried

8.       Waka Kotahi Update

Document number R26365, agenda pages 38 - 53 refer.

Ms Speight spoke to a PowerPoint presentation (A2792850), reporting that, whilst there had been a downturn in deaths and serious injuries statistics for 2020, these had to some extent been influenced by the  Covid-19 lockdowns.  She advised a new road safety campaign would soon be rolled out nationwide. 

There was an update on signage, with inclusion of Te Reo Māori on those being replaced around schools.

Ms Speight described ongoing work with Central Government to restructure Waka Kotahi’s current funding model.  She commented that supply chain issues and workforce availability was having a significant impact on costs.

It was noted the community still had significant concerns around the safety of the State Highway 6 intersection with Glen Road, Glenduan despite recent reductions in the speed limits between Nelson and Blenheim.

Ms Speight clarified how initiatives to encourage walking and cycling were prioritised, with volume of traffic and scale of benefit both being factors.  She observed that even relatively small investments in provincial areas could deliver large benefits.  

Resolved RTC/2021/021
	That the Regional Transport Committee 1.     Receives the report Waka Kotahi Update (R26365) and its attachment (A2792850).
Speight/McGurk Carried
Attachments 1    A2792850 - Waka Kotahi Update PowerPoint presentation

Karakia Whakamutunga

There being no further business the meeting ended at 2.44 pm.

Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings by resolution on 29 March 2022

Resolved RTC/2022/001
	That the Regional Transport Committee 1.     Confirms the minutes of the meeting of the Regional Transport Committee, held on 6 December 2021, as a true and correct record.
O'Neill-Stevens/McGurk Carried