The Queenstown Lakes District Council will lobby the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for more winter maintenance funding, arguing that Wakatipu's tourism and alpine setting mean the district faces distinct challenges.
The motion was passed at Tuesday's meeting of the council's infrastructure services committee.
NZTA national land transport programme funding for the district lagged behind the council's expense forecast for winter maintenance on the district's roads - the agency allocated $248,443 for Wakatipu roads contrasting with the council's predicted spending of $856,000, while for Wanaka it was $79,404 as opposed to $163,000, for the Crown Range Rd it was $123,762 and $364,000 and the Glenorchy Rd $28,539 and $75,468.
"Our alpine environment means we face particular challenges around icy conditions that other districts don't," council transport manager Denis Mander said.
In his report tabled at Tuesday's meeting Mr Mander said the council was considering reduced levels of service with winter gritting and grit removal because of the shortfall.
The council would now look to "engage at political and officer levels with NZTA to work through opportunities to increase funding", the report said.
Primary concerns were for road safety and dealing with the large number of visitors that make up Queenstown's inflated, floating tourist population, which can triple the permanent resident population up to 60,000 on a peak day like New Year's Eve.
In winter those numbers tend to average about 35,000 people in the resort on any given day.
The town attracts nearly 1.89 million visitors a year.
Mr Mander said the many transient visitors made road safety education difficult while the "basic winter driving skills" of visitors varied significantly, "... there's a wide variance about their knowledge".
Reduced maintenance on the district's roads had implications for driver safety and the resort's reputation as a year-round tourist destination.
Senior NZTA staff, including southern regional director Jim Harland, will meet QLDC officers on March 15 to discuss "a range of transport matters that are likely to include winter road maintenance funding", southern regional partnerships and planning manager Bruce Richards said.
"The NZTA treats each council application for winter maintenance funding on its individual merits rather than on a special case basis," Mr Richards said.
