A public transport expert believes Queenstown’s chronic traffic congestion — in Frankton Rd, in particular — can be solved by a modern electric tram carrying up to 200 passengers.
Chris Harris proposes the tram run along part or all of the No 1 bus route between Remarkables Park and the airport at one end and Fernhill Rd at the other end.
Importantly, it would have "absolute priority" along Frankton Rd with "filter lights" at both ends — the BP roundabout that is being replaced with a large signalised intersection and the Melbourne St arterial road intersection with Frankton Rd.
Other traffic, including buses, would still use Frankton Rd, but the AI-controlled filter lights would ensure the road was never clogged, Mr Harris said.
He noted other public transport options had been proposed as solutions, including gondolas over Queenstown Hill, but said "a congestion-free Frankton Rd is the key strategic benefit not shared by the other proposals that have been raised so far".
With a background in engineering and urban planning, Mr Harris has lived in Queenstown since 2017.
Prior to that he was involved with transport at Auckland’s former North Shore City Council for about 10 years.
He also co-founded the Campaign for Public Transport, now known as Greater Auckland.
He said he had worked for many years "in the big-city public transport space on issues increasingly faced by Queenstown".
"Queenstown might normally be thought too small to have a tramway, and this is probably one reason why a tramway has not been proposed.
"However, as New Zealand’s tourism capital, hosting dozens of international visitors annually per resident, Queenstown is a special case."
With a low floor and spacious interior, a tram was far more appealing for airport passengers and hotel guests to roll their suitcases on and off than lugging them on to a bus with little space for luggage, Mr Harris said.
In terms of the 18km route from east to west — though it would also operate in the other direction — he suggests it start with a dedicated right-of-way from Remarkables Park to the airport, then along Kawarau Rd, west of the runway, to the planned Frankton transport interchange.
At the CBD end, instead of taking the Melbourne St arterial, he proposes it go down Frankton Rd and then along Coronation Dr to Stanley St, thus avoiding the steep part of Stanley St.
Mr Harris proposes it then go along a possibly repaved Shotover St, with its traffic lights partly or entirely removed, then Lake Esplanade.
On Fernhill Rd, it might finish by the Heritage Hotel, avoiding a steeper stretch, though he says there’s the technology to power it up.
Because buses would still serve the route, he says they or hotel shuttles could take people further on.
The tram might also only stop once on Frankton Rd, so existing bus stops could remain, he adds.
Mr Harris said modern track-laying technologies avoided the disruption of having to dig up roads to lay tracks.
For example, with the LR55 system used in Sheffield, England, since the 1990s, "tram tracks are laid in twin grooves in an existing asphalt roadway".
The tram could complement other transport modes, which could act as feeders, such as gondolas bringing people down from hilly suburbs.
In Portland, Oregon, in the United States, he points out there are several on-road tramlines plus a gondola serving a hilly part of the city.
He estimated the tramway, excluding trams, would cost about $100 million if the track is laid directly in the roadway — "that is a much cheaper option than digging up the road entirely".
The running costs of electric trams were also quite low — "the costs are nearly all up front, and once a town or city has taken the plunge, the system is very economic".
