Several people took to the Wānaka Sun’s Facebook page earlier this week to express their frustration over delays to the reopening of the Blue Pools Track in Makarora, including Queenstown Lakes deputy mayor Quentin Smith.
"Rob Roy and Blue Pools aren’t that old, certainly not at end of life if looked after," he wrote.
The suspension bridges at both the Blue Pools and Rob Roy tracks were closed suddenly in May last year for what Doc said were necessary repairs and maintenance.
Work on the Blue Pools Track is not expected to be completed until September, while a reopening date for the Rob Roy Track has not been given.
John Cossens, another Facebook commenter, said the closure was"utter madness".
"Which is more risky, walking across a perfectly fine bridge or crossing the river?
"Unintended consequences, a tragedy waiting to happen."
"We need to see a proactive plan to ensure that our visitor assets are managed and maintained to keep them open for our visitors and our community is the ultimate thing."
He said instances of prolonged maintenance, such as the now three-year closure of the Boundary Creek Campsite, were unacceptable.
"It shouldn’t take three years to find a solution to a toilet issue," he said.
"We understand there are disruptions but it’s about how you respond to them.
"It does appear that the maintenance and asset management has slipped."
Former Queenstown Lakes mayoral candidate Jon Mitchell, who also weighed in on Facebook, told the Otago Daily Times the suggestion it was just"bad management" on Doc’s part was"not constructive".
"The organisation ... is under extreme pressure," he said.
"Doc have got massive costs in tracks, in Fiordland in particular."
Mr Mitchell said the Queenstown Lakes District Council should consider working with Doc to come up with a solution"that means these key local attractions can be back online as soon as possible".
"Within the context of the situation that Doc’s in, there needs to be a conversation about where their priorities sit."
Mr Mitchell agreed with Cr Smith’s sentiment that more transparency was needed around the scale of the maintenance work required at the Blue Pools.
When approached for comment, Doc Central Otago operations manager Nicola Holmes said the suspension bridges at the Blue Pools and Rob Roy tracks were subject to a"strict inspection and maintenance programme" that was in line with New Zealand and international best practice standards.
"Since the Blue Pools and Rob Roy bridges were built in 2009 and 2013 respectively, usage has increased consistently," she said.
Ms Holmes said an average of 550 people crossed Blue Pools Bridge each day in January last year, and some were failing to pay attention to signage warning of the bridges’ capacity limits.
"Multiple reports were received from the public of more than double the signposted loading occurring at the Blue Pools site, which raised serious concerns for visitor safety.
"Engineering advice was sought, which recommended the bridges could not safely sustain that level of usage without additional redundancy measures being put in place."
Ms Holmes said Doc understood people were disappointed they had not been able to visit these spots over summer.
Doc were working with groups and businesses that had been directly affected by the closures, she said.
