Minutes of Land Transport Committee

1. WELCOME/APOLOGIES/NOTICES

Chairman Dick welcomed all present to the meeting and Ms Jenny Chetwynd, Regional Director NZTA introduced Ms Jenny Skinner, Regional Advisor to the meeting.

Apologies were received from Ms E Shaw, Mrs C Gilbertson, Mrs T Ashworth and Councillor T Kingston.

Furlong/Probert

CARRIED

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS

There were no Conflict of Interest declarations for this Meeting..

Short Term Replacements on the Committee

There were no short term replacements for this Committee..

4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES OF the Regional Transport Committee held on 8 July 2010

Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on Thursday, 8 July 2010, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed.

Chetwynd/Gilbertson

CARRIED

5. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on Thursday 8 July 2010

6. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Meeting Held on 23 April 2010 – Napier Coastal Study

Mr Bain updated the Committee on the Napier Coastal Study and advised that Kiwi Rail had provided the required information for insertion into the study and it was hoped the report would be completed and portions of the report ready for release by mid November.

Action Items from Regional Transport Committee Meetings

Ms Codlin commented on the current action items and responded to questions from the Committee. It was agreed that the Action item State Highway 38 – request for resealing would remain on the list.

Resolution:

1. That the Committee receives the report “Action Items from Regional Transport Committee Meetings”.

Gilbertson/Douglas

CARRIED

7.	Call for General Business There were no General Business Items

Annual Report 2009/10 - Regional Land Transport Programme and Regional Land Transport Strategy

Ms Codlin introduced Ms Bate who presented this agenda item which reviewed the implementation of the Regional Land Transport Programme and Regional Land Transport Strategy for the 2009-2010 year. It was noted that a full review of the programme would be undertaken by the Regional Transport Committee prior to the completion of the 3 year programme as at 30 June 2012. Ms Bate outlined the regional achievements for the year and noted that more roading works had been achieved than what was planned even though weather conditions in the region had had a major impact on work undertaken.

Ms Bate advised that this was the first report prepared under the new requirements and as such was a baseline report which would be used for future reference.

The Committee congratulated staff on the presentation of the report, and noted that it was a useful report. The Committee noted that some interpretation of the data would be useful and would indicate possible future policy considerations. The Committee also noted that care should be taken in the presentation of the data to ensure that it was meaningful. There was some concern about the air quality data and staff are to review that section as well as checking the timing of the data ( ie winter or summer) and the impact of domestic fires on the results which may give a false sense of positiveness. It was suggested that care should be taken if comparison data was used as it does not always reflect the occurrences within the region. Older data comparisons were not always satisfactory as in most cases the parameters had changed so modelling had also changed but often no allowance had been made for those changes.

Following a question from Councillor Gilbertson, the Committee discussed the importance of monitoring air quality throughout the summer months as well as winter and what impact those measurements taken in summer would have on daily emissions from motor vehicle figures in Napier. Staff would investigate this concern.

The Committee also discussed whether recreational cycle projects should be included in the Report or commuting cycling projects only. It was noted that the first cycleway in Napier Bayview to Westshore had attracted NZTA funding and it encouraged cyclists biking to work to move off the road onto the cycleway and therefore the linkage between the two was relevant.

It was also noted that staff should review the quality of statistics in readiness for the next report.

Resolutions:

The Regional Transport Committee recommends that Council:

1. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted policy on significance and that Council can exercise its discretion under Sections 79(1)(a) and 82(3) of the Local Government Act 2002 and make decisions on this issue without conferring directly with the community and persons likely to be affected by or to have an interest in the decision due to the nature and significance of the issue to be considered and decided.

2. Adopts the 2009/10 Annual Report on the Regional Land Transport Programme and the Regional Land Transport Strategy subject to appropriate amendments being made as a result of the Committee’s feedback.

Speers/Furlong

CARRIED

Public Transport Update

Mrs Welsby updated the Committee on public transport issues since April 2010 and advised that over the months June, July and August there had been a 16% increase in passenger numbers and an increase in Super Gold Card trips with 6340 trips undertaken in July and 6317 trips completed in August. Previous difficulties experienced by drivers in regard to the beneficiary/disabled fare and the introduction of a Community Services fare were now minor with June adult fares the highest since the introduction of the service.

Mrs Welsby also advised that the Commuter express service which was introduced by Council as a two year trial was now permanent following a resolution by Council in July. Go Bus would continue to operate the service under the current gross contract.

The Committee discussed the proposed changes to the SuperGold Card as set out by the Ministry of Transport and the financial implications those changes would have on Council. A letter expressing Council’s concerns had been drafted and would be sent to Ministry of Transport. Mrs Welsby advised that it had been decided to keep fares at the current level at this time and absorb the GST increase with a review of fares to be undertaken in 2011.

Responding to a question from Chairman Dick, Mrs Welsby advised it was difficult to determine the reasons for the increase in passenger numbers over the last three months however there was now better infrastructure in place with more bus stops, good timetable information at bus stops and an increase in the frequency of Saturday services due to popular demand.

Concern was expressed regarding the ratepayer financial backup of bus services in the region particularly in areas where there is no public transport and it was suggested that members of the community in those areas could be in favour of the Government’s propositions in regard to the SuperGold Card Review.

The Committee noted that it would be useful if the graphs were presented in a consistent time period to enable easy comparison.

Resolution:

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the report “Public Transport Update”.

Gilbertson/Speers

CARRIED

10.

Strategic Inter-regional Transport Issues Between Hawke's Bay and Gisborne

Ms Codlin presented this agenda item which outlined discussions had at a joint Napier-Gisborne Rail Link meeting held on 23 August 2010 and in particular an action point from that meeting around the need to understand potential freight volumes from existing and new forestry plantations in the East Coast area and to understand the cost impacts on both road and rail if both services were available and if only road was available to transport freight to the Port of Napier.

Ms Codlin advised that the Wider Regional Transport Study will cover inter-regional transport issues and that a Gisborne centric study might be useful. She advised that she was meeting with GDC and BOPPRC staff towards the end of October and these issues would be discussed then.

Following discussion, the Committee noted that data required to assist in a decision around freight volumes would be contained in the Gisborne Napier Coastal study which would be released in the near future. It was also noted that the studies would be recognised as being dependent on market forces.

The Committee was advised that KiwiRail were still making steps to increase the viability of the line and with the increased height in the tunnels it was now possible for Hi cube containers to be moved on the line.

Following a comment from Chairman Dick, Mr Santer confirmed a media release would be prepared once Kiwi Rail engineers have given the final approval for the tunnel improvements.

Resolution:

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the report ‘Strategic Inter-regional Transport Issues Between Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne’.

Probert/Gilbertson

CARRIED

11.

Progress Report on Regional / Joint Projects

Ms Codlin updated the Committee on the progress on the regional and/or jointly funded projects contained in the National Land Transport Programme for Hawke’s Bay.

Responding to a question from the Committee, Ms Codlin confirmed there was not an approved budget for the Regional Walking and Cycling Strategy so it could not be included in this set of reports.

Resolution:

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the report titled ‘Progress Report on Regional / Joint Projects’.

Speers/Furlong

CARRIED

Mr Bain exited the meeting at 11.45am

12.

OBJECTIVE AND ADVISORY REPRESENTATIVE REPORTS

The Objective and Advisory representatives provided the Committee with verbal update reports and the following highlights were noted:

Alistair Bramley – Environmental

Mr Bramley commented on the proposed cycleway through the Estuary known as the Water Ride and said this was an excellent example of consultation amongst several groups and Council,. He applauded the work that had been undertaken by Council staff.

Murray Douglas – Economic Development

Mr Douglas updated the Committee on the current economic situation in the region and noted that export market is doing well and better than last year. A lot of fruit exports are now directed to Asia rather than Europe.

Information gained from house sales indicates that people leaving the region are heading for Australia so there needs to be a large emphasis put on training within the region.

David Murray – Access and Total Mobility

Mr Murray outlined incentives in Western Australia for recipients of the equivalent of the NZ Gold Card.

The Car Fit programme has been taken up by Blair Cunningham and it was hoped to assist people who were no longer able to drive.

Chris Wallace – Public Safety

Inspector Wallace updated the Committee on current statistics in relation to road fatalities and vehicle accidents. He advised that the next three months were high risk times in the region with many activities on and people needed to be aware when driving and there would be a large police focus placed on serious injury and fatality crashes.

Kim Santer – KiwiRail

Mr Santer advised that KiwiRail was experiencing a slower time than last year but there was an optimistic view that Hawke’s Bay was going to gain Fonterra export out of Napier and KiwiRail was working closely with the Port of Napier to accommodate the required infrastructure.

Resolution:

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the verbal reports of the Objective and Advisory Representatives

Gilbertson/Furlong

CARRIED

12.

NZTA Central Region Regional Director’s Report

Ms Chetwynd presented her report on key NZ Transport Agency projects and initiatives in the Hawke’s Bay region and other national items that would be of interest to the Committee.

Ms Chetwynd advised that that she hoped to report to the next meeting on the outcomes based funding approach to public transport which is currently under consideration.

Ms Chetwynd outlined group structural changes within NZTA and she hoped to be able to confirm the new structure at the next Committee Meeting. As part of the ongoing changes, the South Island with the exception of the top of the South now comes under 1 Director . There were also changes in north island regions reducing the number of Directors from 6 to 4 nation wide.

Mr Kinvig presented the local State Highway Report and outlined progress to date on regional projects which included Matahorua Gorge and SH50A Southern Extension. Mr Kinvig advised that after a review of the benefits and costs associated with the proposed northern extension at Matahorua Gorge it was decided not to proceed but to implement smaller scale improvements at each end.

Mr Kinvig also reported that work was progressing on the implementation of the VDM Amendment Rule and work was currently being undertaken on Prebensen Drive as part of a complete detailed pavement and structure assessment of High productivity Motor Vehicle routes as identified as important to local industry.

Responding to a question from the Committee about the projected savings on the Matahorua Gorge project and whether they could be redirected back into R funding, Ms Chetwynd agreed that the savings were substantial but was unsure whether they could be allocated back into R funding as the Matahorua Gorge project had proceeded earlier than anticipated as it was one of the Government’s stimulus projects. The Committee agreed that it was important that a proposal be put forwarded to NZTA requesting the savings be allocated to R funding. In response to the suggestion, Ms Chetwynd advised that all regional projects had been ranked and the GPS was a driver of where the funding allocated would be spent.

A suggestion that the Willowflat intersection could be one of the projects that could be considered as there were ongoing safety issues and agreement had been reached by all parties, however funding issues to date had prevented this project for succeeding.

Resolution:

That the Regional Transport Committee:
1. Receives the NZTA Regional Director’s report.

2. Agrees that a letter from the Chairman of Regional Transport Committee be forwarded to NZTA requesting consideration be given the savings from the Matahorua Gorge project being reallocated back into R funding in order for nominated projects on the ranking list to proceed.

Douglas/Probert

CARRIED

13.

Regional Transport Committee Establishment and Membership

Ms Codlin outlined the process involved to establish a Regional Transport Committee as soon as possible after the forthcoming election and invited existing members to indicate their interest. Ms Codlin explained the process for Objective Representatives to be appointed and requested that if existing Objective Representatives wished to be considered for the next Committee term, could they register their interest with staff. The Chair requested that the Advisory members be asked to do the same.

Resolutions:

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the report titled “Establishment of the Regional Transport Committee”.

2. That existing Objective Representatives and Advisory members wishing to be considered for the next committee be invited to register their interest.

Gilbertson/Speers

CARRIED

Prior to closing the meeting, Chairman Dick thanked all members of the Committee for their contributions over the last 3 years. The Committee had worked very well over the last term in an environment of significant change and he had very much enjoyed being part of the Committee. Chairman Dick also acknowledged staff who had assisted the Committee during this time.

Chairman Dick also paid tribute to Councillor Norm Speers who would be standing down as an elected representative on the Hastings District Council at this election after 18 years with Local Government.

In closing, the Committee acknowledged Chairman Dick for his own style of chairing the Committee meetings. They agreed, as a result of this, Committee meetings had been enjoyable to attend over this time.

Closure:

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 12.25pm on Thursday, 23 September 2010..

Signed as a true and correct record.

DATE: ................................................ CHAIRMAN: ...............................................