Minutes of Regional Transport Committee

1. WELCOME/APOLOGIES/NOTICES

Chairman Dick welcomed all present to the meeting with a special welcome to Councillor Marian Elto from Victoria, British Columbia who was visiting Napier as part of the 40^th anniversary or the sister city relationship

Councillor Elto gave a brief outline of her role on the Regional Transit Committee in her city and the role the Committee undertakes.

A welcome was also extended to Mr Paul Mcardle and Dr Virgil Troy who were addressing the meeting.

Apologies were received from: Messrs C Bain, D Murray J Cox.

An apology was received from Mr C Wallace for lateness.

Chetwynd/Probert

CARRIED

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATIONS

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

Short Term Replacements for the Regional Transport Committee

Resolution

1. That Mr Aram Goes be appointed as a member of the Regional Transport Committee of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for the meeting of Friday, 15 February 2013 as a short term replacements on the Committee for Mr Jamie Cox.

Kerr/Remmerswaal

CARRIED

4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES OF the Regional Transport Committee held on 14 December 2012

Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on Friday, 14 December 2012, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed.

Kingston/Furlong

CARRIED

5. Matters Arising from Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on Friday 14 December 2012

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Action Items from Previous Regional Transport Committee Meetings

Mrs Gilbertson updated the Committee on the Action Item list.

Resolution:

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

Kerr/Kingston

CARRIED

7.	Consideration of General Business Items
	.Transport Agency Community Involvement (Cr Kingston)

Inspector Wallace joined the meeting at 10.25am

Napier to Gisborne Rail Line - Update

Following an invitation from Chairman Dick to update the Committee on a meeting held with Government officials on Thursday, 19 February, Councillor Wilson confirmed that the line had been mothballed, gave an outline of discussions held, decisions reached following the concerns voiced by the region’s mayors and himself and described the purpose of the joint task force between central government and the local governments of the North island east coast region to look at future transport infrastructure needs.

The Committee discussed the functions of the task force and noted the first step was to seek a terms of reference which would be forwarded to all Mayors, Chairman of HBRC and also to the Regional Transport Committee Chair.

Committee members expressed concern regarding the precarious state of SH2 Napier to Wairoa and sought NZTA’s views on remediation processes to improve the highway particularly in the light of increased heavy vehicles on the road now that the rail line has been mothballed.

The Committee requested that consideration be given for the establishment of SH2 as a HPMV route.

In response, Ms Chetwynd advised that SH2 has a good track record and it was part of a national classification scheme which would not get changed as it is a regional connector and already has its correct classification.

Ms Chetwynd also advised that NZTA would be meeting with freight operators in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne to discuss concerns about the current network and ways to improve the efficiency of supply chain and freight movement.

Inspector Wallace advised the Committee it would be possible to obtain data for traffic flow movement figures over the last 12 months on SH2 and configuration of vehicles. This could assist future decisions on any improvements to be considered for the highway.

Mr Santer advised that although the line had been mothballed, tidiness of the line would be maintained and track patrols would ensure that all culverts would be checked. To date, signals and bells had not been removed from the track.

Mr Santer also advised that KiwiRail would be investigating what was required on the line south of Napier as it was anticipated there would be an increase in capacity on this line in the future and already there are issues with the current passing loops.

Resolutions

1. That the verbal report on the Gisborne to Napier rail line be received.

2. That the Regional Transport Committee:

2.1 Requests the Ministry of Transport and the New Zealand Transport Agency to address the roading issues on Sh2 between Napier and Gisborne, in particular the establishment of SH2 as a HPMV route and look at future funding requirements on SH2 to ensure the security and safety of this route.

Probert/Furlong

CARRIED

Public Transport Update

Mrs Gilbertson provided the Committee with an update on Council’s public transport services, including trends since the previous update in October 2012 and a list of achievements and improvements to the bus services during 2012.

It was noted that the overall performance of the bus service continues to be positive with continued growth in passenger numbers and farebox recovery levels with passenger trips reaching another record high in 2012. These figures were the highest patronage figures in the country and it was hoped to build on these numbers in 2013.

Mrs Gilbertson advised that improvements to Route 15 and Route 17 had been successful and continued to be popular with passengers. The bikes on buses initiative had exceeded expectations.

Mr Virgil Troy from SIL presented survey results which illustrated the results of a paper based survey by 279 go Bay passengers and 73 express users at the end of 2012. The survey results showed a slight increase in the percentage of Express passengers, the service ratings remained the same over the 2011-12 surveys, value for money was the most commonly given reason for usage amongst Express users and approximately 7 out of 10 Express users used the service for getting to and from work while General passengers indicated a wider range of reasons for usage.

Resolution

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the Public Transport Update.

Remmerswaal/Furlong

CARRIED

10.

The Year Ahead for the Regional Transport Committee

Mrs Gilbertson presented this agenda item which set out an indication of topics to be discussed at RTC meetings during 2013.

Mrs Gilbertson advised a key issue would be the way freight is carried from Hawke’s Bay to other regions and advised that a workshop organised by NZTA would be held on 20 February to discuss the findings of a Central Regional freight Study commissioned by NZTA.

Mrs Gilbertson introduced Mr Paul McCardle, consultant, who provided an update to the Committee on the cycle trail network in the region.

Mr McCardle commented that Hawke’s Bay now has the most comprehensive cycling trails in New Zealand and there was the opportunity for significant financial advantage for the region and potential to highlight the region’s cycle trails into the future. He cited instances of excellent publicity in overseas magazines and strongly believed that Hawke’s Bay was sitting on a ‘goldmine’.

The Committee discussed the benefits cycling had given the community and the region, noting that NZTC were visiting the region next week to undertake an audit process and discussed a proposal that a Management Plan be developed for the HB Cycle Trails for the maintenance, promotion and development of the trails on an ongoing basis.

Resolutions

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the report and notes the four key topics to be discussed in 2013.

2. That the Regional Transport Committee recommends Council:

2.1 Requests staff develop a Management Plan for HB Cycle Trails embracing management, maintenance and promotion and development on an ongoing basis and that staff engage with stakeholders in the process.

2.2 That the Management Plan be considered as a subset of the Regional Cycling Plan

2,3 That the draft Management Plan be reported to both Council and the Regional Transport Committee.

Dick/Furlong

CARRIED

Mr Santer left the meeting at 11.45am

11.

Transport Manager's Report

Mrs Gilbertson updated the Committee on issues that had been actioned since the last Regional Transport Committee, issues raised at the regular meeting of the Transport Advisory Group (TAG) and also outlined events that were coming up in the transport sector.

Mrs Gilbertson advised the Committee that the final Transport Procurement Strategy will be presented to the Regional Council at its February meeting for adoption. This follows industry consultation and feedback on the draft Strategy and content of tender documents for the urban bus contract which expires in February 2014.

Mr Schwass also updated the Committee on the final stages of planning for the installation of the Tennyson Street Stormwater pipe and beach outfall which is expected to commence around mid April 2013. As a result of this project, it is anticipated that Marine Parade would be closed for up to two months. The heavy trucking industry has been made aware of possible detours for those bound for the Port of Napier. Discussions had also been held with shop owners in the areas affected by the construction works.

Councillor Furlong advised the Committee that the preparatory stages for the extension to Ford Road to connect to existing Prebensen Drive/Severn St roundabout were complete and sought the Committee’s support that NZTA release funds for this project. Councillor Furlong then explained the reasons why this issue had been raised at today’s meeting.

Ms Chetwynd advised that there was only a certain amount of funds available and this project was number four on the priority list and until the investigation phase of Whakatu Arterial Link and the HB Expressway Pakowhai and Links Road (numbers one and two on the RLTP priority list) were completed, the funds would not be released unless projects were re-prioritised.

The Committee noted NZTA comments, discussed the risks and impacts on other projects if the priorities were changed.

Councillor Furlong then moved the recommendation, seconded by Mayor Probert:

“That the Regional Transport Committee supports Napier City Council’s request for the funding to be released for the Ford Rd Extension, recognising that it is an integral part of the HB roading network upgrade, and all preparatory stages are complete”

Furlong/Probert

Following further discussion on the proposed recommendation, the Committee agreed that the recommendation lay on the table for 1 month to allow the TAG to discuss the request at their meeting and report back to a special Regional Transport Committee meeting if necessary.

Resolutions

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receive the Transport Manager’s report.

2. That the recommendation proposed by Councillor Furlong, seconded by Mayor Probert lay on the table for 1 month for the TAG to discuss at their meeting and report back to a special Regional transport Committee meeting if necessary.

Furlong/Probert

CARRIED

12.

NZTA Central Region - Regional Director's Report

Ms Myers gave the Committee an update on the region’s state highways capital works projects for 2012/15 and tabled a copy of a spreadsheet outlining the Region’s “R” funds allocation and spend since 2005, Ms Myers confirmed an update would be provided to the Committee every three months. The Committee noted that if projects which had a costs benefit ratio of above 4 and then dropped below 4, they would need to be reassessed.

Mr Dowdell updated the Committee on the maintenance and operations of the region’s state highways and noted that seasonal hot weather had resulted in active management of sticky road surfacing, in particular the Mohaka bridge where asphalt failure had occurred.

Resolution

1. That the Regional Transport Committee receives the Regional Director’s report.

Kerr/Furlong

CARRIED

13.

Verbal Reports from Objective Representatives

Dr Nick Jones – Public Health

Dr Jones reported that the HB District Health Board were considering developing a Transport Plan as a result of the introduction of charging for car parking on site and were seeking the assistance of HBRC public transport staff.

Mr M Mohi – Cultural Interest

Mr Mohi reported that the 60km/hr in the vicinity of Paki Paki school was not working in the first week of return to school and on further checking, it is still not working.

Resolution

That the verbal reports from the Objective Representatives be received.

Remmerswaal/Probert

CARRIED

14.

General Business

Transport Agency Community Involvement

Councillor Kingston expressed his thanks to Mr Dowdell, NZTA, for his positive contribution into the CHB transport projects.

Closure:

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 12.55pm on Friday, 15 February 2013.

Signed as a true and correct record.

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