INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING. Council Chamber Timaru District Council Offices 2 King George Place Timaru

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1 INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING on Tuesday 13 March 2018 Council Chamber Offices 2 King George Place Timaru

2 TIMARU DISTRICT COUNCIL Notice is hereby given that a meeting of the will be held in the Council Chamber,, 2 King George Place Timaru, on Tuesday 13 March 2018, at the conclusion of the Environmental Services Committee meeting. Committee Members: Clrs David Jack (Chairperson), Paddy O Reilly (Deputy Chairperson), Nigel Bowen, Peter Burt, Andrea Leslie, Richard Lyon, Sally Parker, Kerry Stevens, Steve Wills, and the Mayor. LOCAL AUTHORITIES (MEMBERS INTERESTS) ACT 1968 Committee members are reminded that if you have a pecuniary interest in any item on the agenda, then you must declare this interest and refrain from discussing or voting on this item, and are advised to withdraw from the meeting table. Bede Carran CHIEF EXECUTIVE

3 INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE 13 MARCH 2018 AGENDA Item No Page No 1 Apologies 2 Identification of Urgent Business 3 Identification of Matters of a Minor Nature 4 Declaration of Conflicts of Interest 5 Chairman s Report 6 1 Confirmation of Minutes 7 5 Pareora Road Safety Petition 8 15 Environment Canterbury Proposed Public Transport Changes 9 Consideration of Items of Urgent Business 10 Consideration of Matters of a Minor Nature Exclusion of Public Confirmation of Minutes Carpark Readmittance of the Public # March 2018

4 INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE FOR THE MEETING OF 13 MARCH 2018 Report for Agenda Item No 6 Prepared by: Ashley Harper Group Manager Infrastructure Confirmation of Minutes Minutes of January meeting. Recommendation That the minutes of the meeting, excluding the public excluded items, held on 30 January 2018 be confirmed as a true and correct record. # March 2018

5 TIMARU DISTRICT COUNCIL MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, DISTRICT COUNCIL BUILDING, KING GEORGE PLACE, TIMARU ON TUESDAY 30 JANUARY 2018 AT 10.50AM PRESENT APOLOGY Clrs Dave Jack (Chairperson), Nigel Bowen, Peter Burt, Andrea Leslie, Richard Lyon, Paddy O Reilly, Sally Parker, Kerry Stevens, Steve Wills and the Mayor Proposed Clr Burt Seconded Clr Leslie That the apology from Stephanie McCullough Temuka Community Board be accepted. MOTION CARRIED IN ATTENDANCE Janene Adams Geraldine Community Board (for public part of meeting) Neville Gould Pleasant Point Community Board (for public part of meeting) Chief Executive (Bede Carran), Group Manager Infrastructure (Ashley Harper), Land Transport Manger (Andrew Dixon)(for items 4 and 5), Transportation Team Leader (Simon Davenport) and Council Secretary (Joanne Brownie) 1 DECLARATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST The Mayor declared an interest in the Theodosia Street and Elizabeth Street intersection item. 2 CHAIRPERSON S REPORT The Chairperson reported on meetings he had attended and duties he had carried out since the last meeting including the District Licensing Committee, site visit to Temuka water temporary filtration plant, Tenders Committee meeting, Douglas Street fence collapse, parking issues, Pareora roading issues, waste water treatment plant, Industrial Relations Committee, Long Term Plan workshops, airport terminal visit, Pleasant Point Community Board meeting and inline skating event. 3 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES 17 OCTOBER 2017 Proposed Clr Stevens Seconded the Mayor That the minutes of the meeting, excluding the public excluded items, held on 17 October 2017 be confirmed as a true and correct record. MOTION CARRIED # March 2018

6 4 CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS REFRESH PROJECT UPDATE The Committee considered a report by the Land Transport Manager updating the Committee on the Central Business District refresh project progress. The Committee requested assurance that the CBD refresh budget will not be used for normal maintenance items but be allocated to specific refresh work. Proposed Clr Burt Seconded Clr Leslie That the acknowledges the progress to date of the CBD refresh project and that a further report be presented on options, following the conclusion of the initial workshops. MOTION CARRIED 5 THEODOSIA STREET (STATE HIGHWAY 1) AND ELIZABETH STREET INTERSECTION PROPOSED CHANGES The Mayor declared a conflict of interest as a property owner in the area and did not take part in the discussion or voting on this issue. The Committee considered a report by the Land Transport Manager on the proposed changes at the Theodosia Street/Elizabeth Street intersection, initiated by the New Zealand Transport Agency. It was noted that traffic volume information will be supplied to elected members. Proposed Clr Burt Seconded Clr Leslie That the supports the New Zealand Transport Agency safety improvement proposal at the Theodosia Street (State Highway 1) and Elizabeth Street intersection including the restriction of the Elizabeth Street access to the State Highway to left turn (northbound) only. 6 EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC Proposed Clr Jack Seconded Clr Stevens MOTION CARRIED That the Board resolves to exclude the public on the grounds contained in Section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act: Timaru Airport Terminal Section 7(2)(b)(ii) The withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information. MOTION CARRIE # March 2018

7 7 READMITTANCE OF PUBLIC Proposed Clr O Reilly Seconded Clr Leslie That the public be readmitted to the meeting. MOTION CARRIED The meeting concluded at 11.30am. Chairperson # March 2018

8 INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE FOR THE MEETING OF 13 MARCH 2018 Report for Agenda Item No 7 Prepared by Andrew Dixon Land Transport Manager Pareora Road Safety Petition Purpose of Report 1 The purpose of this report is to receive and consider a petition that has been received from a Pareora resident, Amanda Bisset-Popma, on road safety issues on the State Highway and local road intersections at Pareora. Ms Bisset-Popma will be in attendance at the meeting. Background 2 There have been on-going road safety concerns by Pareora residents in regard to State Highway One (SH 1) and the local road intersections. The issue was raised at a community meeting held in Pareora with Council and NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) representatives in August The outcome of the community meeting was that NZTA was to investigate options and report back to the community. A letter from NZTA was received on 23 February 2018 and is attached. 3 In the last five years there have been eight vehicle crashes in the vicinity of Pareora on the State Highway. Of these crashes three were fatal and all these were either side of the Pareora township. A map showing these the location of these crashes is attached as Attachment 1. 4 Recently there have been two fatal crashes on State Highway one in the vicinity of Pareora. This has emphasised safety concerns by Pareora residents that lead to a petition to improve road safety being initiated. The petition titled Reduce Speed Limit and Improve Road Layout: Pareora Highway opened for public support on 17 January This petition has been presented to and NZTA on 26 February The petition has over 4000 signatures. A copy of the covering letter from the organizer, Amanda Bisset-Popma is included as Attachment 2. The petition is available upon request. 6 The petition identifies vehicle speeds and road layout on the State Highway as key issues. Options 7 The petition is calling for road improvements and speed reduction on the State Highway. State Highway One is the responsibility of NZTA who are the road # March 2018

9 controlling authority for all state highways. A representative of NZTA is expected to be attending the meeting. 8 Council s role is to support the Pareora residents and work collaboratively with NZTA to achieve some road safety improvement. 9 The two recent fatal road crashes were either side of the Pareora intersections. The indicative findings are that neither of the crashes were not speed related nor road conditions related. Identification of Relevant Legislation, Council Policy and Plans 10 Council policy for receiving petition is as contained in Clause 3.20 of the Standing Orders. Assessment of Significance 11 This matter is not deemed significant under the Council s Significance and Engagement Policy. Consultation 12 Council facilitated a community meeting at Pareora on 2 August NZTA were in attendance at this meeting and noted the communities concerns. These were to be assessed by NZTA and reported back. 13 The NZTA response was recently received and is included as Attachment 3. Other Considerations 14 There are no other considerations relevant to this matter. Funding Implications 15 There are no funding implications at this stage. Road improvements have not been determined and any proposed are expected to be State Highway that NZTA are responsible for fully funding of these. If some local road intersection improvements are required these are expected to be minor and the cost of these can be managed within current budgets. Conclusion 16 A petition has been received regarding road safety concerns on State Highway 1 in the vicinity of Pareora. The issues are predominately around the State Highway which is the responsibility of the NZTA. 17 NZTA are reviewing the safety concerns on State Highway 1 in the vicinity of Pareora and have indicated a detailed assessment will be completed by the end of May There have been 8 crashes on the State Highway in the last five years. The cause of these crashes have been for a variety of reasons. Recommendations 1 That the petition titled Reduce speed Limit and Improve Road Layout Pareora Highway be received and noted. 2 That once the NZTA detailed assessment is received that this matter be further reported to the. # March 2018

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11 To, RE: Petition to Reduce Speed Limit & Improve Road Layout on the Pareora Highway I am writing to ask you to submit this information to NZTA so they can address the issues that are outlined in this petition which has been signed by over 4,000 people who want to see safety improvements made. I started this petition titled Reduce Speed Limit & Improve Road Layout: Pareora Hwy on 17 January 2018 with the following issues being raised: 1. The speed limit of 100km/hr is too fast It is too fast because we are a small township living on the edge of the highway. We have people, including children crossing SH1 to go to school, to catch buses, and to visit the café. The volume of traffic turning in and out of Pareora is high, and the risk of entering a 100km zone from a 50km zone is huge. We have seen numerous road accidents along the stretch of road that have resulted in fatalities. It is too fast because we feel unsafe with traffic using this piece of road at this speed. 2. The intersection of The Avenue & Pooke Rd running through SH1 is dangerous & needs the layout to be amended This is a high use intersection utilised by Pareora residents, school buses, stock and effluent trucks, staff of Silver Fern Farms commuting to and from Timaru, passing traffic stopping at the café, farm vehicles for the large scale farming operation down Pooke Rd, and the many varied vehicles stopping at Caltex Fuel pumps. There is no right turning bay into Pooke Rd on the south bound lane This is unsafe because not only would it mean a vehicle has to stop in the centre of SH1 to wait for a safe right turn, but there is also no safe area to pull over to the left to wait until the highway is clear because it is a crossroads intersection with The Avenue. Traffic turning right out of Pareora is difficult and dangerous due to visual obstruction and high traffic volume Right turning traffic is disadvantaged considerably with a lack of visibility to the oncoming traffic from the south when vehicles are parked in front of the café. At peak periods the traffic queue trying to turn out of Pareora can be hundreds of metres long. a. There are no safe exits into Pareora that can be approached at a reasonable speed The current exits are short and narrow which means traffic must slow considerably before attempting to exit SH1. This is unsafe because traffic tailing vehicles that are slowing but not pulling off the highway become frustrated and could make dangerous driving decisions. While there is an area with which there is a truck weigh station beside the highway, there is a gutter trench between this and the road making it difficult and unsafe to pull off the highway at a reasonable speed. 3. The passing lane situated where it is makes the road more dangerous It is unsafe because it starts at a busy intersection where traffic volume is high and ends just after a blind corner where people unfamiliar with the road may be taken by surprise. Passing lanes encourage speed and this is a piece of road we want to see a speed reduction. # March 2018

12 4. There are no safe pedestrian crossings SH1 at the Pareora intersection has people walking across the road daily with no pedestrian crossing or safe walkway. Shelly lives on Pooke Rd and has 2 children attending Pareora School. Every day she must walk her children to and from school to ensure they cross the highway safely. High school students cross the highway to catch a school bus on the west side of the road every weekday morning. Trucks not only fuel up but take the opportunity for a pit stop, both truck drivers and other café patron s park at the fuel stop and walk across the road to the café. NZTA met with Pareora residents in 2017 to discuss various safety concerns regarding two intersections onto State Highway 1 close to the township. We are still awaiting any follow up. Please see that this community has had enough and that we are calling for safer roads and lower speed limits. I thank you for your attention to these issues. I hope you will take the time to read through all of the comments posted by signatories. To quote just a few of the many comments posted by supporters of this petition: Life is too precious to ignore calls such as this for a lower speed limit and hopefully other lifesaving changes. The Government is calling for safer roads, now is the chance to do something positive. We need to look at every improvement in road layouts and conditions to lower the road toll. It's a tricky piece of road with many near accidents so something must be done to protect all road users Put up speed cameras to!! I'll gladly give my hard earned tax for that extra bit The speed needs to be lowered! Passing lane taken away also as people speed up to pass not taking into account the 2 intersections to enter Pareora, this is a dangerous stretch of highway I use regularly as I live in Pareora. Visibility leaving Pareora at the Avenue turning right is low at the best of times if not non existent when traffic parked at the dairy. And the turning Bay into King Street needs improvements as there isn't anywhere to pull over with traffic behind you. I could go on more! How many accidents does there need to be before someone takes notice! By reducing the speed limit and improving the road layout, we can make the roads more safe for everyone and save lives. This is extremely important, every life matters. Thankyou. I won't use this passing lane it's too dangerous. Can't even get to 100km on inside lane. Take it out and put in safer place This corner is very unforgiving if a passing manoeuvre goes wrong. Speed combined with the road curvatures is, and has been, a recipe for disaster on so many occasions Reducing the limit through Pareora to 70 I believe will make this stretch of highway much safer. # March 2018

13 I have lost a couple of friends along this stretch of road and witnessed many accidents and close calls. A passing lane on the bend at 100km is just ridiculous...the hole stretch needs realigned as they did with the stretch just further north where my cousin and partner lost their lives. This is the most dangerous passing lane. I travel this road every day and it is terrifying. Thoughts are with the families of those involved in this week's tragedy. PLEASE do something about this passing lane and the speed limits in this area. Please NZTA, something needs to be sorted about this highway. Too many lives have been taken already its dangerous. Shouldn t have to be doing a petition obviously the statistics should show already to many lives lost! Last big accident there was only 4 months ago I've just lost a family member on this highway today I have had so many incidences here. One in particular that so very very nearly made my children orphans. This is NO place for an overtaking lane Regards, Amanda Bisset-Popma The busy SH1 intersection with The Avenue & Pooke Rd looking North-West from the cafe The queue on an average day at 3.30pm heading out of Pareora # March 2018

14 Shelly walking her children home from school, waiting to cross SH1 The view south from The Avenue waiting to pull out onto SH1 # March 2018

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18 INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE FOR THE MEETING OF 13 MARCH 2018 Report for Agenda Item No 8 Prepared by Andrew Dixon Land Transport Manager Environment Canterbury Proposed Public Transport Changes Purpose of Report 1 The purpose of this report is to inform members of the proposed public transport changes outlined in the Environment Canterbury (ECan) Long Term Plan consultation document and to consider if the Council wishes to make a submission. Background 2 Environment Canterbury (ECan) is responsible for the provision of public transport in Christchurch and Timaru. ECan also provides subsidies for total mobility schemes for people who are unable to access regular bus services. 3 The public transport service has experienced a decline in patronage in both Timaru and Christchurch that has resulted in the service operating at a financial loss. This has required a review of the service funding that is a mix of user pays fare revenue, targeted rates and NZ Transport Agency financial assistance. Past losses have been funded from reserves but this is no longer sustainable and increase in revenue/reduction in costs is now required. 4 Patronage on the Timaru bus service has dropped from 220,000 passenger trips to just over 180,000 passenger trips per annum over the last 10 years. Options 5 ECan officers will be in attendance to provide the background and outline the options being presented in the Environment Canterbury long term plan. 6 The ECan consultation document outlines three options to improve the financial sustainability of the service. (The relevant pages from ECan s Long Term Plan Consultation document are appended to this report). These options include reducing costs with a reduction in services for some areas, reduction in subsidies and an increase in fare revenue to fund the service. These options with the exception of the reduction in bus routes affect Timaru and Geraldine residents. # March 2018

19 7 The three options directly from the ECan Long Term Plan consultation document are outlined in the table below: The Timaru bus service free transfer window is reduced from four hours to two hours that would be consistent with the Christchurch service. The reduction in the maximum total mobility subsidy affects less than 2% of all trips being the longer distance trips such as a few users in Geraldine. 8 The increase in bus fares is not considered a good option in Timaru as the ease of using a private vehicle in Timaru with lack of congestion and low cost parking results in the bus service not being recognized as an attractive alternative transport mode. An increase in fares may reduce patronage further. 9 The Timaru public transport service is targeted at members of our communities that do not have access to alternative transport modes such as private car. These are generally the young and elderly members of our community. On this basis an increase in ECan targeted rate component rather than fares would be more suited to meeting the needs of these transport disadvantaged people. 10 A recent Timaru District road user survey has indicated a significant increase in cycling but this has been at the expense of bus patronage rather than private car use. 11 The most effective initiative to increase bus patronage in Timaru is to increase both the metered or time restricted area of parking and parking charges so that the cost of using a private car is greater than the bus service. Identification of Relevant Legislation, Council Policy and Plans 12 Local Government Act Land Transport Management Act 14 Timaru Metro Public Transport Strategy # March 2018

20 Assessment of Significance 15 This matter is not deemed significant under the s Significance and Engagement Policy. Consultation 16 ECan will be widely consulting our community and inviting submissions either written, electronic or video. Other Considerations 17 The bus service is important to Timaru as it provides that mobility choice particularly given our ageing population. Having a bus service also promotes our city status. Funding Implications 18 There are no direct funding implications for as the public transport service is funded by ECan and user pays charges. However, there is a cost to our community with all options whether the additional costs are funded by an increase in ECan rates or user charges. Conclusion 19 The Environment Canterbury Long Term Plan consultation document outlines potential changes to the public transport delivery in Canterbury. The delivery of the service in both Timaru and Christchurch is no longer financially sustainable and a mix of cost reductions and revenue increase initiatives are proposed. 20 The Timaru Service has changes proposed and three options are presented in the consultation document. These are a mix of increasing user charges, increasing Environment Canterbury rates, reducing free bus transfer time and reducing the financial subsidy cap on mobility services. 21 The Timaru public transport service is targeted at members of our communities that do not have access to alternative transport modes such as private car. Being a more social service an increase in rates rather than fares is recommended. 22 It is suggested that Timaru District make a submission to the Environment Canterbury Long Term Plan in regard to the proposed public transport changes in Timaru District and that Committee members indicate the preferred option. Recommendations 1 That the supports option 2 being no increase in bus fares, a targeted rates increase of 3.64% per annum, reduction in the maximum total mobility subsidy and the reduction in the Timaru bus service free transfer window from four to two hours. 2 That a submission to the Environment Canterbury Long Term Plan be prepared on this basis. # March 2018

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24 INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE FOR THE MEETING OF 13 MARCH 2018 Report for Agenda Item No 11 Prepared by Tina Rogers Group Manager Corporate Services Andrew Dixon Land Transport Manager Exclusion of the Public Recommendation That the Board resolves to exclude the public on the grounds contained in Section 48(1) of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act: Carpark Section 7(2)(b)(ii) The withholding of the information is necessary to protect information where the making available of information would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information. # March 2018