It is common knowledge in Queenstown that the traffic congestion that plagued the resort town before the arrival of Covid-19 has eased markedly in the past two years.
What is less well known is that despite the hammering suffered by its tourism, hospitality and retail sectors, and an exodus of temporary workers, a long-running construction boom has fuelled a continuing rise in its resident population.
Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult recently told the Otago Daily Times the council estimated the district’s population had risen from about 40,000 to 47,000 in the past three years.
With Australians able to travel to New Zealand from April 12 and other large traveller markets set to follow on their heels next month, the resort town could soon be back to pre-pandemic traffic levels.
However, the temporary lull has given Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency some breathing space as it works through the lengthy process of developing a business case for, consulting on, and designing a major upgrade to the state highways running through Queenstown.
Waka Kotahi transport planner Tony Sizemore, of Dunedin, said it was now deep in the detailed design, property acquisition and consenting work required for the upgrades, which were expected to start later this year with the creation of a bus lane on the Ladies Mile.
Mr Sizemore said the aim was to increase the roads’ capacity as effectively as possible within the agency’s budgetary constraints, while playing its part in a long-term, multi-agency effort to nudge a growing percentage of residents out of their cars.
Enabling alternative transport options was especially vital in the Wakatipu Basin, where the topography made increasing road capacity a particular challenge, he said.
For example, the capacity of Frankton Rd was exceeded on 140 days in 2019, resulting in frustrating delays for motorists.
However, geotechnical hurdles and massive property acquisition costs meant two-laning the road had been ruled out as a solution.
As with other pinch points in the town’s highway corridor, ‘‘we can’t build our way out of this’’.
Instead, getting more people on to buses, and giving those buses priority on the roads, was an ‘‘essential part of the picture’’, he said.
The measures would help make the Orbus service faster, more reliable, and therefore more attractive to the public.
The agency was also playing its part in the multi-agency effort to promote active transport, with safer intersection crossings and trail connections for pedestrians and bikers, he said.
The programme is being funded from the $8.7 billion New Zealand Upgrade Programme (NZUP) announced by the Government in 2019.
What’s coming
- Frankton Rd (Frankton roundabout to Suburb St )
The Frankton roundabout will be enlarged and replaced with traffic signals. Traffic signals will be installed at the McBride St, Frankton Marina, Goldfield Heights and Hensman Rd intersections with Frankton Rd. Traffic lights for pedestrians will be installed at Battery Hill and Larch Hill Pl.
Traffic signals will be installed at the Humphrey St intersection, and the Lucas Pl (airport) roundabout replaced with traffic signals. A townbound bus lane will run from the Humphrey St intersection to the Frankton roundabout. The Frankton bus hub will be expanded and upgraded.
- Frankton (Frankton roundabout to Hardware Ln)
Traffic signals will be installed at the Joe O’Connell Dr (Queenstown Events Centre) intersection and at a relocated Hansen Rd intersection. Roundabouts at the Grant Rd and Hawthorne Dr intersections will be replaced with traffic signals.
- Ladies Mile (Shotover Bridge to Howards Dr)
A roundabout will be built at the Howards Dr intersection, and a townbound bus lane will run from there to the Shotover Bridge. Mr Sizemore said the idea of building a second bridge across the Shotover River to address the Ladies Mile’s congestion issues was rejected at an early stage. When traffic on the road is at its busiest, the intersections at either end of the bridge become congested, something that a second bridge would not resolve, he said.
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Quote "Instead, getting more people on to buses, and giving those buses priority on the roads, was an essential part of the picture, he said."
Most people travelling into Frankton outside the commuter rush are doing it with intent grocery shopping, other purchasing, or business with multi destinations.
None of that is going to "move on to buses". Your "essential part of the picture" is irrelevant to most residents.
There is a head in the sand attitude from this government and NZTA regarding transport. On the one hand they push EVs but disregard the fact they take up the same space as any other vehicle. Buses will suit some people but most will find them inconvenient at best. The reality is that people and businesses will still need to use cars, however they are powered. NZTA/govt ideas may work in big cities with dense populations but that hardly applies to NZ and certainly not to Queenstown..