Issues experienced during Queenstown's three big snowfalls this winter must be solved by next February, Queenstown Lakes District Council transport manager Denis Mander says.
His report on the July and August snow events, and in particular, problems with winter maintenance of skifield access roads, was discussed by the council's infrastructure services committee on Tuesday.
It covered feedback and issues across areas such as performance on arterial and secondary roads, footpaths, snow-clearance techniques, infrastructure and public communications.
Committee chairman Lyal Cocks commended the report, but asked if the report's action plan timeframe for the implementation of improvements was "realistic".
"There's a lot of things there to be done by February, but is it realistic to be done by then?"
Mr Mander replied he was "not confident", but the work had to be done in terms of lead times for equipment to arrive by winter.
The report found one of the most important matters to be resolved related to Coronet Peak Rd, and particularly communication issues with road maintenance contractors.
Discussions with NZSki had revealed "some concern at the uncertainty of maintenance activities" on the road during the events, the report said.
Mr Cocks said it was an issue not just with NZSki: "It's not just Coronet Peak. There's the other skifields that need to be communicated with, as well."
Queenstown District Lakes Mayor Vanessa van Uden added that skifield operators would be invited to a debriefing on the season's snow events.
The report puts the cost of the three snowfalls to council at $457,000. Of that, $204,607 is to be paid by the council and the rest funded by the NZTA under the emergency reinstatement category.
