TDC approves draft option for High St Motueka upgrade, hopes funds appear

Sunday, 23 June 2019

A draft plan to improve High St in Motueka is ready to go if NZTA should find some money for it.

Swallowing their disappointment over the Government brake being applied to a long-awaited upgrade of High St in Motueka, Tasman district councillors have approved a draft option for the project in the hope the money might materialise.

However, it was not a unanimous vote and concern was expressed about the package of work proposed by the New Zealand Transport Agency for the main street of Motueka, which is a key section of State Highway 60.

'I can't hand on heart support the resolution simply because the number of people in Motueka that put me here would slaughter me if I did,' Motueka Ward councillor Paul Hawkes last week said. 'I don't think they're getting a fair suck of the sav and it's just my little wee way of throwing a spanner in the works and upsetting NZTA.'

Hawkes' comments come after the upgrade was not included in NZTA's programme of work to be funded in the 2018-21 period. The omission of the Motueka project, which surprised and disappointed the Tasman district councillors, came after a change in Government priorities.

Tasman district councillor Paul Hawkes says he does not believe Motueka people are getting a 'fair suck of the sav' from NZTA.

* Fears Motueka's main street upgrade may stall

* Median barrier proposal for congested Richmond Deviation labelled 'nonsense'**

'The Government's current priority on increasing safety across the state highway network means that the Motueka project, whilst aiming to deliver some safety benefits as well as an improved journey time through the town, has not made the threshold for inclusion,' NZTA regional relationships director Jim Harland said at the time.

Zebra crossings along High St in Motueka are to be replaced with signalised crossings under the draft option for an upgrade of that section of SH60.

However, NZTA continued work on the business case for the project resulting in the presentation last week of the draft option to the council. It includes a plan to replace the zebra crossings on High St with pedestrian signals and the installation of traffic signals at the intersection of High St and Tudor St.

Motueka Ward councillor David Ogilvie said he believed much of the concern about the draft option centred on the proposal for pedestrian signals only at the intersection of High St with Pah and Greenwood streets. Many people wanted traffic signals at that busy intersection.

'Secondly, the loss of parking spaces in High St as a result of this business case,' Ogilvie said.

Overall, parking along High St is set to be reduced by 27 spaces, from 119 to 92, under the draft option.

'Those are two of the issues concerning a lot of people and the three [Motueka Ward] councillors.'

Despite those concerns, Ogilvie took a pragmatic approach.

'I don't think we've got any option but to accept this, otherwise nothing will get done in Motueka High St,' he said.

High St in Motueka can be congested, particularly in summer.

Deputy mayor Tim King's comments were along similar lines.

'We're caught between a rock and hard place,' he said. 'Are the improvements they are suggesting better than what we have, despite the fact they may not be exactly what we want and if the answer to that is: 'Yes, it's an improvement to what we currently have in the main street of Motueka', then I guess the option is to support it and at least have the opportunity of getting something done.'

Council transportation manager Jamie McPherson said the business case process would be complete with an acceptance of the draft option 'and the project probably has a better chance of being funded if NZTA finds some money within the current three-year period'.

'I've heard whispers from elsewhere in the country that they do have other projects that are not in a position where they might be completed or have money spent on them during this three-year cycle,' McPherson said. 'If the council are not happy with the business case and ask for more work to be done, that would stretch out the whole process a bit longer so it might end up decreasing the likelihood that NZTA find money to do the work in the shorter term.'

The draft option had been though consultation and the working group 'and while it might not suit everybody, I believe it suits the majority', McPherson said.

High St Motueka is part of the main route between Nelson and the visitor hotspots of Kaiteriteri, Abel Tasman National Park and Golden Bay, with traffic bumper-to-bumper in summer.