Queenstown's council will this week pick a new name for the Eastern Access Rd (EAR) from a shortlist of seven options.
In a report to tomorrow's full council meeting, infrastructure principal planner Denis Mander said the first section of the EAR (the road's ''working title'') was due to open this year.
It will eventually connect State Highway 6 to Remarkables Park via a new road around the back of Queenstown Airport. It is scheduled for completion in December 2017.
Names for the road were discussed at last month's property subcommittee meeting. The council will select from the list.
Oterotu, Frances or Frances Rees were all names compliant with the council's road-naming policy.
Tahuna complied with the policy, but the name also applied to Queenstown.
If Remarkables Ave or Remarkables Park Dr were accepted and available, it would require reallocating official addresses to residents and businesses off Hawthorne Dr and Lucas Pl, Mr Mander said.
Remarkables Park Limited (RPL), the company developing the area, of which Alastair Porter is managing director, said it preferred the entire length of road to be given one name, either Remarkables Park Dr, Rd or Ave.
However, if the council decided against that, RPL proposed ''Porter Dr'' for the eastern end, submitting that name complied with the council's naming policy under ''common or established theme''.
The guidelines state a personal name can be used but naming after people alive or recently deceased ''should generally be avoided''.
Brian Fitzpatrick, of RPL, said in a letter to Mr Mander if a naming theme was already established, names for that suburb should remain consistent.
''When we look at this side of Frankton Flats we find the names Grant Rd, Jock Boyd Pl, Glenda Dr, Margaret Pl and Brookes Rd - all names associated with previous landowners, with ... Glenda and Margaret being names from the Boyd family.''
Across the highway were Hansen Rd and Jim's Way, which indicated a naming theme associated with previous land ownership had been established.
''That theme was continued very recently with council's property subcommittee indicating its preference for the name `Brookes Rd' (within Shotover Park), specifically because of the association of Brookes as a recent, former landowner.''
Mr Fitzpatrick said the council recently declined the name ''Porter Dr'' when it was proposed for a road within the Shotover Park subdivision.
''Porter Dr is not put forward under ... `Personal name for special service'.
''Accordingly, the rider [to that policy] ... is not relevant and should not be taken into account in an application ... based on a common or established theme.
''I do, by the way, note that the Porters' development of the Frankton Flats, both at Shotover Park and Remarkables Park, has made a massive contribution to the district.''
The choices
Eastern Access Rd new name options. -
• Oterotu, the Maori name for the Frankton area.
• Frances or Frances Rees - early Wakatipu settler, after whom Frankton was named.
• Tahuna, the Maori name for Queenstown.
• Remarkables Ave.
• Remarkables Park Dr.
• Porter Dr.
