Minutes of Regional Transport Committee

1. Welcome/Apologies/Notices

The Chairman, Cr Martin Williams welcomed everyone to the meeting and opened with a karakia.

Resolution

That the apologies for absence from Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, Mayor Alex Walker, Emma Speight and Paul Michaelson (AA) be accepted.

Price/Nixon

CARRIED

2. Conflict of Interest Declarations

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

Call for Minor Items of Business not on the Agenda

Recommendations

That the Regional Transport Committee accepts the following “Minor Items of Business Not on the Agenda” for discussion as Item12:

Topic	Raised by
Napier to Gisborne rail link	Mr Guy Wellwood
KiwiRail possibility of introducing a weigh bridge to Bridge Street	Cr Keith Price
Sealing of SH 38 (late item) – verbal update	Cr Craig Little

Appointments and Terms of Reference for the Regional Transport Committee

Cr Martin Williams introduced the item, noting that the Terms of Reference was adopted by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council on 6 November, pending confirmation by this committee. Further discussions confirmed the appointments as formalised by the resolutions.

RTC37/19

Resolutions

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1. Receives and notes the “Appointments and Terms of Reference for the Regional Transport Committee” staff report.

2. Receives the Elected Representative appointments by the region’s Territorial Local Authorities and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, and appointments by the NZ Transport Agency, being:

2.1. For Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, appointees are Councillor Martin Williams as Chairman and Councillor Charles Lambert as Deputy Chairman

2.2. For Napier City Council, appointees are Councillor Keith Price and Mayor Kirsten Wise as alternate

2.3. For Hastings District Council, appointees are Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, and Councillor Tania Kerr as alternate

2.4. For Wairoa District Council, appointees are Mayor Craig Little, and Councillor Jeremy Harker as alternate

2.5. For Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, appointees are Mayor Alex Walker, and Councillor Kate Taylor as alternate

2.6. For NZ Transport Agency, appointees are Ms Emma Speight, and Mr Oliver Postings as alternate

3. Thanks retiring members of the Committee for their contributions and wishes them well for future endeavours.

4. Confirms the Terms of Reference for the Committee as adopted by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council on 6 November 2019.

The Regional Transport Committee recommends that Hawke’s Bay Regional Council:

5. Agrees that the decisions to be made are not significant under the criteria contained in Council’s adopted Significance and Engagement Policy, and that Council can exercise its discretion 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.

6. Confirms the Elected Representative appointments by the region’s Territorial Local Authorities to the Regional Transport Committee, being:

6.1. For Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, appointees are Councillor Martin Williams as Chairman and Councillor Charles Lambert as Deputy Chairman

6.2. For Napier City Council, appointees are Councillor Keith Price and Mayor Kirsten Wise as alternate

6.3. For Hastings District Council, appointees are Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst, and Councillor Tania Kerr as alternate

6.4. For Wairoa District Council, appointees are Mayor Craig Little, and Councillor Jeremy Harker as alternate

6.5. For Central Hawke’s Bay District Council, appointees are Mayor Alex Walker, and Councillor Kate Taylor as alternate

6.6. For NZ Transport Agency, appointees are Ms Emma Speight, and Mr Oliver Postings as alternate.

Little/Nixon

CARRIED

Sealing of SH38

Mayor Craig Little made a presentation on the SH38 with discussions traversing:

· State Highway 38 has been on the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) Activities list for quite a long time

· Wairoa District Council has signed an MOU with NZTA to have the larger sections of the road sealed, however there has been no further progress to date

· A strategic agreement has been signed between Wairoa District Council, Te Uru Taumatua – Ngai Tuhoe Iwi, Whakatane District Council and NZTA

· A Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) application has been made for the sealing the road and all parties were consulted through the application process, including iwi, Genesis Power and the community.

· Tuhoe has consulted with Te Uru Taumatua to stop the work

· A community meeting to discuss the road options was attended by 100 out of 400 community members with 65 voting for the sealing to be done and 4 objections received

· Mayor Craig Little met with Minister Shane Jones last week to discuss the situation – urged NZTA to have work completed

· Mr Oliver Postings, NZTA, advised that the role of the Regional Transport Committee is to prioritise work in the region through the RLTP

· Mayor Little is seeking the Committee’s support to get SH38 sealed, further to previous letters of support prior to the PGF application, and proposed that a letter be drafted and circulated by email in support of the PGF funding for sealing the 6.62 km of SH38 between Mangapapa Bridge and Kaitawa, noting that the remaining section between Kaitawa and Onepoto should remain a subject for future discussion and resolution.

RTC38/19

Resolutions

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the “Sealing of State Highway 38” staff report and requests that the HBRC Chief Executive drafts a letter in support of the PGF funding application for sealing the 6.62km of SH38 between Mangapapa Bridge and Kaitawa, for confirmation by the Committee via email.

Little/Price

Abstained: Postings

CARRIED

Introduction to the Regional Transport Committee

Anne Redgrave presented an introduction to the transport sector and the role of the Regional Transport Committee which covered:

· key players in transport in New Zealand, NZTA and local government roles and responsibilities, the role and functions of the Regional Transport Committee, Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) overview and key issues, current priority projects and the RTC work programme for the next 3 years.

Discussions traversed:

· The Land Transport Management Act 2003 governs the role of the Regional Transport Committee including membership and purpose

· The RLTP has two parts, being (1) setting out strategic transport objectives, policies and measures for at least 10 years; and (2) preparing a funding request to the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) for 6 years (local road and state highway maintenance, renewals, capital works, public transport, walking and cycling, road safety education)

· The RTC can decide to include major transport improvements in the RLTP, which must be prioritised

· Key issues identified for the upcoming HB RLTP review include (1) parts of transport system lack capability, limiting opportunities for improved economic and social development; (2) Limited shared view of cross-boundary issues increases to risk of misaligned investment and/or management of the network; and (3) how people use the transport network is leading to an unacceptable number of deaths and serious injuries

· RTC work programme includes completing the HB Transport Study, reviewing the RLTP (April 2021), input into Central Government legislative reviews, and input to other policy reviews as necessary

· RTC has the opportunity to use its mana and mandate as a strong regional voice advocating to Central Government for the needs or the Region and to use the regional strategy to drive transport behaviour change, including a response to climate change.

RTC39/19

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the “Introduction to the Regional Transport Committee” staff report and presentation.

Lambert/Williams

CARRIED

NZTA Central Region - Regional Relationships Director's Report December 2019

Oliver Postings presented the Director’s report, highlighting:

· NZTA is currently developing 10 regional relationship teams to work collaboratively with each region, to be operational from early 2020

· Working with the Special Interest Group to develop guidance around key dates for the RLTP 2021-24 documents – expected to be out by Christmas 2019

· NZTA has completed the Investment Decision-Making Framework (IDMF) investigation stage and expects to release a consultation document in December 2019.

· NZTA is identifying roads where speed limits to be reviewed, as well as undertaking a review of the public transport fare policy

· Working collaboratively with NZ Police to support school road patrols – latest videos available at https://education.nzta.govt.nz

· HB Transportation Study Business Case is a key strategic initiative for the region and its future transport investment. HBRC is leading the business case development, working with all councils and NZTA. The Network Operating Framework will be procured early 2020, and the Business Case will feed into the development of Long Term Plans and the Regional Land Transport Plan.

· SH2 Clive to Awatoto cycle connection design is close to completion and construction due to commence in early 2020

· construction of the cycleway between Waipawa and Waipukurau is to commence in second quarter of 2020

· All median barrier work on the HB Expressway should be completed by Feb-March 2020. Work between Longlands and Pakipaki is programmed for 2020 and community engagement has been undertaken.

· A re-evaluation of the SH50 Prebensen Hyderabad project scope and benefits is underway and a way forward will be known in 2020

· State Highway numbers changed as from 1 Aug 2019 and contractors have been systematically changing signage over the past few weeks

· Resealing programme for State Highways is underway and due for completion end of March 2020.

RTC40/19

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives the ”NZTA Central Region – Regional Relationships Director’s Report for December 2019”.

Muggeridge/Price

CARRIED

December 2019 HBRC Transport Manager's Report

Anne Redgrave provided a snapshot of relevant transport matters. Discussions traversed:

· The HB Transport Study is proceeding, with data collection completed and a model update to commence soon, through GHD Limited. The second stage of the project is to prepare a network operating framework and scope of work and stage three will be to develop a business case for a programme of future improvements to the transport network and services

· A draft of the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2021, and an NZ Rail Plan are expected to be released soon

· The final Road to Zero road safety strategy and first action plan will be released end of 2019, which will introduce speed management plans

· The Walking and Cycling Summit is being hosted by Hawke’s Bay on 13 March 2020 and Associate Minister Julie Anne Gender will be presenting

· It was proposed that a discussion on the HB transport network be held after the next Committee meeting, perhaps as a workshop. The aim of the workshop being to hear about and discuss innovative ideas for transport and personal mobility in HB.

RTC41/19

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the “December 2019 HBRC Transport Manager's report”.

Little/Price

CARRIED

Mayor Kirsten Wise left the meeting at 11.23am

Roadsafe Hawke's Bay December 2019 Update

Anne Redgrave introduced the item, with discussions covering:

· Feedback from attendees at a Roadsafe presentation held at HB Regional Prison was mainly positive. This programme will continue to be built and focuses on influencing the behaviour of offenders (and their whanau).

· A 6 week road safety graphic design project run in the Youth Unit focusses on high risk road safety issues, and will be run again in the Māori Focus Unit in the next few months.

· Alcohol checkpoints will be held across HB during the Christmas period.

RTC42/19

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the “RoadSafe Hawke's Bay December 2019 Update” staff report.

Williams/Postings

CARRIED

10.

December 2019 Public Transport Update

Anne Redgrave introduced the item and provided background on public transport operations.

· New bus ticketing and smartcard system for nine regional councils across NZ is now well into the implementation phase – provisional date set for April 2020

· The system will allow passengers to use their cards nationally and cards can be topped up manually, online or using EFTPOS

· Recent cost increases and lower patronage are putting pressure on the bus service.

· The Regional Council is enthusiastic about the role that public transport could play in reducing carbon emissions

· The Transport team has investigated options for increasing the patronage of public transport network in Hawke’s Bay, and the preferred proposal is for a lower flat fare system. This would see all one-zone trips reduced to $1, smartcard only and two-zone trips to cost $2. It is also proposed that concessions are removed from cash fares and set at $3 (two-zone trip) and $2 (one-zone trip).

· Currently, staff are working to quantify the scale and cost of peak service increases that would be necessary and developing a business case for the proposal for presenting to HBRC for consideration for inclusion in the next Long Term Plan.

RTC43/19

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the “December 2019 Public Transport Update” report.

Nixon/Lambert

CARRIED

11.

Verbal Updates by Advisory Representatives

· David Murray (Automobile Association) – more drivers running red lights and AA is seeking greater enforcement

· Ian Emmerson (Regional Transport Association) – RTA is concerned that SH5 resealing has not been undertaken

· Erin Harford-Wright (Napier Port) – wharf 6 project commences January 2020, slow and steady increase in water exports, continue to develop land in Whakatu, working with HDC on options, team is working with KiwiRail on possible solutions to resolve increased noise complaints.

RTC44/19

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives the “Verbal Updates by Advisory Representatives”.

Lambert/Williams

CARRIED

12.

Discussion of Minor Items Not on the Agenda

Topic

Raised by

Napier to Gisborne rail link – Tarawhiti Rail Limited:

· The BERL report is completed but not yet released.

· Tairawhiti Rail Ltd will reapply to the Provincial Growth Fund for an additional $30mil to reinstate the line, including repairing the original washout and maintenance on the bridges, signs and providing capital for the service going forward

· Reinstating the line will remove trucks from the road

· Tairawhiti Rail is seeking RTC support for the PGF application.

Mr Guy Wellwood

KiwiRail – possibly introducing a weigh bridge to Bridge Street

· Owners of the land want commercial rent for the site

· Napier Port has sought information through its KiwiRail contacts, but has been unable to determine whether this is in fact proceeding

· Noted that HBRC is writing to KiwiRail to reiterate the request for nomination of a representative on the RTC.

Cr Keith Price

Cr Charles Lambert closed the meeting with a karakia.

Closure:

There being no further business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 12.04pm on Friday 13 December 2019.

Signed as a true and correct record.

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