Minutes of Regional Transport Committee

1. Welcome/Karakia /Apologies/Notices

The Chair welcomed everyone and Api Robin offered a karakia to open the meeting.

Resolution

RTC13/23 That apologies for absence from Tania Kerr, Craig Little and Angus Hodgson be accepted.

Williams /Taylor

CARRIED

Councillor Marcus Buddo was nominated as a short term replacement for Councillor Tania Kerr (Hastings District Council) for this meeting.

2. Conflict of interest declarations

There were no conflicts of interest declared.

3. Confirmation of Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee meeting held on 4 August 2023

RTC14/23

Resolution

Minutes of the Regional Transport Committee held on Friday, 4 August 2023, a copy having been circulated prior to the meeting, were taken as read and confirmed as a true and correct record.

van Beek/Price

CARRIED

Follow-ups from previous Regional Transport Committee meetings

Rail and bus connections for CHB were briefly discussed.

RTC15/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the Follow-ups from previous Regional Transport Committee meetings.

van Beek/Williams

CARRIED

Draft Regional Freight Distribution Strategy

Ray Mudgway of RMC2 Consultancy gave a presentation, noting:

· The Strategy is a draft document that links to similar ones from adjacent regions and at a national level

· Shifting heavy road traffic to rail, particularly logging, perceived benefits for council roading authorities should be tempered by the reality that such trucks will always be using side roads to get products to a railhead.

· Freight in and around Ahuriri/port area is very complex. A long term improvement for port access is needed but this is not addressed in the Strategy at this stage.

· Key road route from Paki Paki to Napier airport remained intact during Cyclone Gabrielle.

· Strategy could include more emphasis on rail transport particularly with a major rail hub nearby in Palmerston North, as well as opportunities to have multi-modal transport options.

· There is no mention of reinstating the rail link from Wairoa to Gisborne. Road will likely remain the major freight mode there given the limited rail budgets available. The break-even minimum distance for rail freight is 150 kms.

· The Technical Advisory Group (TAG), along with 2 Committee members will be delegated to make a submission on the Strategy. The submission will focus on high level themes and raise the issues identified at this meeting.

RTC16/23

Resolutions

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1. Receives and notes the Regional Freight Distribution Strategy report.

2. Delegates two members of the Regional Transport Committee, being the Chair and one other, to work with the Transport Advisory Group to develop and finalise a submission on the Regional Freight Distribution Strategy ahead of the 9 November 2023 submission deadline date.

Williams/Taylor

CARRIED

Prioritisation of draft programme and significance policy for the Regional Land Transport Plan 2024-2027

The Chair, Martin Williams, introduced this item and Bryce Cullen led discussions which covered:

· The Regional Land Plan (RLTP) is the mechanism used by regions to present Waka Kotahi (WK) with projects the region wants to be considered and the funding for them.

· TAG and Committee members have developed a list of 12 projects that the Committee will be prioritising today. Capital projects expected to cost less than $2m are managed at the local Council level and not part of this prioritisation process.

· Two of these projects (Future Form and Function and Paki Paki to Napier median barrier) have recently been added to the priority list by TAG and have not yet been ranked.

· The prioritisation tool to ‘score’ each project has eight criteria including urgency, community impact, scale and ability to complete.

· The ‘Future Form and Function’ project is research into the future use of the HB roading network and the suitability of particular roads – viewed as a priority project as integral to all other projects.

· The total capital cost of the 12 projects is approx. $7b. Some of the projects qualify for several WK funding options including the SH2 expressway expansion.

· Mahia connectivity project has scored highly as it has been included in the RLTP for many years with the road again being impacted by recent weather events.

· The Waipawa Bridge shared pathway project is to complete a pedestrian and cycle traffic link (active transport) between Waipukurau and Waipawa. The SH2 expressway expansion may include also lane/s for active transport

· SH5 project incorporates current and planned safety improvements as well as cyclone recovery and resilience work.

RTC17/23

Resolutions

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1. Receives and considers the Prioritisation of draft programme and Significance Policy for the Regional Land Transport Plan 2024-2027 staff report.

2. 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 or persons likely to have an interest in the decision.

3. Adopts the Significance Policy for the Regional Land Transport Plan 2024-2027 as proposed.

4. Adopts the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) weightings of the evaluation criteria and project prioritisation as correct and reflecting the projects that will deliver the greatest regional benefit, and aligned with the strategic vision, objectives, and 10-year transport priorities for inclusion in the Regional Land Transport Plan 2024-2027. A table listing these weightings is below.

5. Confirms the inclusion of the Future Form and Function review and Programme Business Case (PBC) and the SIP SH2 Paki Paki to Napier – Median Barrier projects in the Regional Land Transport Plan as proposed, with TAG to complete the prioritisation process for these projects.

Price/van Beek

CARRIED

Transport emissions reduction actions

Pippa McKelvie-Sebileau introduced this item which was taken as read.

RTC18/23

Resolutions

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1. Receives and considers the Transport Emissions Reduction Actions staff report.

3. Endorses and adopts the actions proposed by the Regional Emissions Reduction Plan Working Group for inclusion in existing transport strategies and plans, such as the Regional Land Transport Plan and Regional Public Transport Plan, to maintain the momentum and progress actions and implement feasible actions in the short term.

Buddo/Taylor

CARRIED

Afternoon tea break at 3.38pm, returning at 3.48pm. Bridget Wilson and Cr. Jerf van Beek left the meeting at 3.38pm

Regional Transport Programme November 2023 update

Bryce Cullen introduced the item which was taken as read.

RTC19/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the Regional Transport Programme November 2023 update.

Williams/Buddo

CARRIED

Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) development and delivery update

Bryce Cullen introduced the item and discussions covered:

· Waka Kotahi has delayed the adoption date for RLTP to 31 August 2024

· The timeline for progressing the RLTP includes the Committee receiving a draft Plan in early February 2024 with community consultation shortly after that date and submission hearings in early-mid April 2024.

· The Committee deliberations are to be scheduled to enable the finalised RLTP to be recommended by RTC to HBRC for adoption within the timeframe required by Waka Kotahi.

RTC20/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the Regional Land Transport Plan development and delivery update report.

Buddo/Price

CARRIED

10.

Waka Kotahi / NZTA Regional Relationships Director's update

Linda Stewart introduced the item discussions included:

· Expect a new Government Policy Statement on roading from the incoming Government in early 2024. Until then major funding decisions through the NLTP are delayed, which will affect the timing of the RLTPs due from the regions. Other delays – the interim Speed Management Plan and the Transport Choices programme put on hold – will affect some major projects in Hastings, Napier and CHB.

· Over summer there are close to 190 road maintenance sites across HB.

· East Coast strategic response plans are a top priority for Waka Kotahi with a separate alliance of contractors (TREC) established to carry out road works. A large workforce from outside of HB is likely to be required and an accommodation village for that workforce is being established.

RTC21/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the Regional Relationships Director’s update and presentations.

Williams/Buddo

CARRIED

11.

Regional Speed Management Plan update

Bryce Cullen introduced this item which was taken as read. Comments included:

· Each council completes their own part of the Plan and then each of those are brought together to form the Regional Speed Management Plan, overseen by the Committee.

RTC22/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the Regional Speed Management Plan update report. Price/Taylor

CARRIED

12.

Regional road safety update

Bryce Cullen introduced this item which was taken as read. Discussions included:

· Road Safe HB rebrand has been launched and there is a summer safety campaign planned.

RTC23/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the RoadSafe Hawke’s Bay update

Buddo/Taylor

CARRIED

13.

Active Transport November 2023 update

Bryce Cullen introduced this item which was taken as read.

RTC24/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the Active Transport November 2023 update staff report.

Williams/Price

CARRIED

14.

Public Transport November 2023 update

Mark Allan introduced this item. Discussions and comments included:

· Bus services are still not fully operating and passenger numbers continue to decline.

· Total Mobility service is now 75% subsidised leading to an increasing number of users and longer journeys being taken.

· The revised Regional Public Transport Plan is being finalised and there may need to be some minor changes to the frequency of some bus services.

· Public transport opportunities between CHB communities and Hastings/Napier are being investigated.

RTC25/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives and notes the Public Transport November 2023 update staff report.

Williams/Buddo

CARRIED

15.

Verbal updates from advisory representatives

Advisory members provided updates including:

· Police – there is ongoing collaboration with Waka Kotahi about road conditions, accidents, issues and general information sharing. Other regions provide HB with staff during busy periods such as concert events which often involve road policing.

· Transport Assn. – heavy transport traffic across HB is 10% lower in the latest quarter.

· KiwiRail – $100m budget in place to repair and improve the line between Palmerston North and Napier. A business case is being prepared to look at reopening the Napier - Wairoa line.

RTC26/23

Resolution

That the Regional Transport Committee receives the Verbal updates from Advisory representatives.

Williams/Taylor

CARRIED

Api Robin offered a karakia to close the meeting.

Closure:

There being no further business, the Chair declared the meeting closed at 4.42pm on Friday 3 November 2023.

Signed as a true and correct record.

Date: 15 March 2024 by RTC resolution Chair: Martin Williams