The safety of pedestrians, cyclists, commuters and airport users were the main concerns given in oral submissions on plans to ease congestion at Queenstown’s busiest intersection.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s joint proposal for a new transport environment for the suburb of Frankton, was the subject of the second and final day of hearings this week, at the resort’s Crowne Plaza.
Waka Kotahi and the council lodged the notices of requirement with the council in December last year to designate additional land for the improvements, which they said would allow for safer streets and better public transport infrastructure.
The plans are part of the Government’s upgrade programme that has budgeted $115 million for significant proposed roading changes to bolster bus, pedestrian and cycle links along Queenstown’s Frankton entrance.
A panel of independent commissioners — chairwoman Rachel Dimery, Ken Fletcher and Jane Sinclair — heard from four submitters.
Frankton resident and health and safety expert Jeremy Wilson said plans for the expanded bus hub gave "protection for commuters, pedestrians, cyclists or our beloved tourists".
"Buses and taxis will be constantly travelling through the bus stop with the ever-constant risk of people stepping out on to the road," Mr Wilson said.
"With the proposed increase in traffic and new drivers, fresh from overseas, you will have someone step into their path and be seriously injured or die."
"This lack of health and safety totally contradicts Waka Kotahi’s goal of zero road deaths and sets them up for failure."
Mr Wilson said the bus shelter was the wrong design in the wrong place.
"There is not enough space to include everything the planners are proposing. A solution is to develop a world-class bus exchange in a commercial area."
Back Peddlers recreation cycling group’s Jeff Bryant said the plans "contain elements counter to the stated objectives in the consent application’’.
‘‘Overall we find the improvements to be limited and were overwhelmed by ill-considered elements which are unsafe and hazardous (to cyclists).
‘‘If the overall aim is to encourage people out of cars and into public transport and active travel, then this proposal fails to meet the latter objective. People wont be encouraged to cycle if they feel insecure and unsafe on the roads."
Mr Bryant suggested building dedicated cycling underpasses in the vicinity of the bus hub and one on the east side of the intersection.
He called the proposed bus interchange "a grandiose scheme of extravagant proportions".
"The capacity of the proposed bus hub does not seem to be demand driven.
"The concept of this proposal ... is not evidence-based and is driven by a fixation with bus transport as the only viable alternative to convincing people to abandon cars in the favour of public transport."
Shaping Our Future community group representative John Glover also cited lack of evidence behind the shift to public and active transport as a concern.
"I’m surprised there’s no evidence of what should be required infrastructure-wise to support mode shift to active transport," Mr Glover said.
"All we can see (from the consent application) is 15,000 people a day to pass through the bus hub, but we have nothing else to consider.
"How do we know, in the absence of any evidence about the need or even the detail, that the footprint of the land required is adequate for what’s needed at the bus hub?
"Its a huge risk given the reported $23 million spent to this date.
Queenstown Airport Corporation general manager strategy Melissa Brook said anything in the plans that could impact on Civil Aviation requirements that the airport has clear "obstacle limitation surfaces" in the air space above and next to it, remained an area of concern.
Building permanent structures and temporary objects such as cranes and vegetation growth could "impact safety and efficiency of flight operations at the airport", Mrs Brook said.
"What we really want to do … is to remain involved in … conversations to ensure [the airport] is involved in anything that could have safety impact on operations right from word go. Its imperative these concerns are included through the designation process."
The proposal received 35 public submissions during consultation earlier this year, made up of 12 that opposed the plan, four that supported it and 19 that asked for changes to be made.
