The Queenstown Lakes District Council says it would be ‘‘extremely concerned'' if structural reforms in the Land Transport Amendment Bill meant Transit New Zealand's adoption of a Land Transport New Zealand (LTNZ) endorsement of the Wakatipu Transportation Strategy was no longer recognised.
The comment comes from the council's submission to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee, which is considering the amendment Bill.
The changes proposed in the Bill include merging Transit and LTNZ into a single entity in a bid to improve accountability and decisionmaking.
The Queenstown council's submission said there was ‘‘much to commend'' in the Bill, particularly the proposed lengthening of planning and funding ‘‘horizons'' but there were concerns it would mean higher administration costs.
Queenstown was one of New Zealand's most successful and important tourism destinations, the submission said. Visitor numbers were expected to increase by 300,000 to a total of 1.87 million by 2012.
The Queenstown Lakes district also had a growing residential and employment base and a growing peak day population, which was expected to more than double by 2026.
‘‘This growth places pressure on existing infrastructure and on the amenity values that attract visitors to the district,'' the submission said.
It was within that context that the way the district's transport systems were developed was crucial. The recently completed Wakatipu transportation strategy aimed to deliver a fully integrated transport system which met the growth in travel demand.
‘‘The strategy maps out the development of the system over the next 20 years. It brings together investment and management in roading, passenger transport, parking and travel demand management.
‘‘A critical factor is that the strategy has the support of the Regional Council, Transit and now Land Transport NZ,'' the submission said.
‘‘We would be extremely concerned if the structural reforms presented by the Bill resulted in new agencies failing to recognise the recent commitments represented by Transit's adoption and Land Transport NZ's endorsement of the strategy.''
