Latest issue

by Mayor John Glover

A few months ago, I convened a Mayoral Taskforce to Keep Queenstown Moving after it became clear that the only thing accelerating locally was the frequency of failure and gridlock on our roading network.

The taskforce is an independent and coordinated voice – its 20 members are focused on practical progress with a mission to be the Whatakipu’s independent champion for transport, connecting local insight to the agencies and investment needed for faster transformation.

They are using evidence based, local knowledge and strong community connections to advise me on how to remove barriers, testing new approaches, providing support for longer term solutions and to lead change for the basin.

One thing that has become clear is the limits of traffic signal phasing and that in a highly congested environment changes to traffic signal phasing generally provide only marginal benefits, as the intersection is already operating near or above capacity and delays are driven by demand rather than signal timing.

Further from home, Government and senior NZTA officials are very much aware of the taskforce and its mission and the need for urgent action. We are all aware of the problems, but the taskforce is trying to cut across silos and prioritise actions and accelerate solutions.

While there is a lot of work going on in the background, we can all start thinking about how we can respond to the realities of today and here’s my wish list:

1. Coming up is Marathon weekend which is one of the absolute peak demand times for our transport network. I encourage employers and staff in the basin to trial working from home where possible or to look at staggered start and finish times on the Thursday and Friday before marathon weekend.
2. Please slow down to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to cross SH6 and other local roads around bus stops and at crossing and pedestrian refuge points. Remember that people on bikes and on foot means one less car on the road, so let’s make them feel safe. Ironically when speed limits are reduced, we see traffic moving more efficiently and we will be working with NZTA on speed limit changes along our increasingly urban state highways.
3. Traffic stats tell us that up to one in five trips made in the peak period are discretionary or could be taken at a different time. Frankton congestion peaks around 4:30pm largely because there are simply too many vehicles for the road to carry. Right now, the best thing you can do is to avoid the peak and retime, combine or avoid non-essential journeys wherever possible.

The above are not in any way earthshattering interventions – but they will make a difference. There’s always a tendency to say “someone needs to do something” about the congestion. I agree fully and we can all start by being that ‘someone’.