Regional Transport Committee

Open Minutes

Commencing:             Friday 19 February 2021, 1:30 pm

Venue:                         Council Chambers, Ground Floor, Regional House, 1 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga

Chairperson:               Cr Lyall Thurston - Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Deputy Chairperson:  Cr Jane Nees - Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Members:                    Mayor Garry Webber - Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Mayor Malcolm Campbell - Kawerau District Council, Mayor Steve Chadwick - Rotorua Lakes Council, Mayor Lyn Riesterer - Ōpōtiki District Council, David Speirs – Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Stephen Selwood - Tauranga City Council Commissioner, Deputy Mayor Faylene Tunui, Alternate – Kawerau District Council, Deputy Mayor Andrew Iles – Alternate, Whakatāne District Council, Cr David Moore – Alternate, Ōpōtiki District Council (via Zoom), Cr Norm Bruning – Alternate, Bay of Plenty Regional Council

In Attendance:            Dan Kneebone – Port of Tauranga Advisor, Glen Crowther – Environmental Sustainability Advisor; John Galbraith – Freight Advisor (via Zoom), Cole O’Keefe – Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

                                    Bay of Plenty Regional Council: Fiona McTavish, Chief Executive, Namouta Poutasi – General Manager, Strategy and Science, James Llewellyn – Transport and Urban Planning Manager, Rachel Pinn – Contractor, Toni Briggs – Project Manager (via Zoom), Amanda Namana – Committee Advisor

Councillors:                Cr Stuart Crosby, Cr Matemoana McDonald (via Zoom), Cr Paula Thompson (via Zoom), Cr Stacey Rose

Apologies:                  Mayor Judy Turner - Whakatāne District Council, Deputy Mayor Dave Donaldson – Rotorua Lakes Council, Inspector Brent Crowe – Road Safety Advisor, NZ Police, Chairman Doug Leeder – Bay of Plenty Regional Council

 

 

 

Please note that this meeting was recorded via Zoom and is available on Council’s YouTube channel for viewing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvGPTxXgDQ

1.     Apologies

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1           Accepts the apologies from Mayor Judy Turner - Whakatāne District Council, Chairman Doug Leeder – Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Inspector Brent Crowe – Road Safety Advisor, NZ Police tendered at the meeting.

Webber/Nees

CARRIED

2.     Declaration of Conflicts of Interest

None declared

3.     Minutes

Minutes to be Confirmed

3.1

Regional Transport Committee Minutes - 3 December 2020

 

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1           Confirms the Regional Transport Committee Minutes - 3 December 2020 as a true and correct record.

Riesterer/Nees

CARRIED

 

4.     Presentations

4.1

Climate Change/ transport emissions in the Bay of Plenty context

Presentation - Climate Change and Transport: Objective ID A3740108  

Glen Crowther - Environmental Sustainability Advisor to the Regional Transport Committee presented this item.

 

·         Referred to a previously circulated video to contextualise the presentation with a perspective of what was happening nationally and the implications for Regional Transport: Paul Winton - Climate Change and Business Conference November 2020

·         New Zealand had increased its net emissions by 57% since 1990

·         Advised that New Zealand should be trying to get closer to the net IPCC 2030 target – to cut CO2 by 55%

·         In planning for transport and emission reductions, more than just electric vehicles needed to be considered and the focus had to be more around modal shift.  It also needed to be a well thought through, integrated plan that met the needs of communities in order for people to reduce their use of cars

·         When discussing aspirational modal shift and dealing with climate change, there had to be significantly more investment into public transport in order to achieve higher patronage.

 

Key Points - Members:

·         There was a strong focus on modality, but the motorhome population on the roads at any one time should also be taken into consideration.  Electric vehicle charging facilities could be located at dumping stations to advocate the change to electrification of the private fleet

·         A factor in the electrification of buses was the size and weight which did not support travel outside major routes.  

Key Points - Staff:

·            Charging for motor vehicle costs such as parking and vehicle usage (through road pricing) would be an essential part of reaching these goals

·            Allocating priority lanes for buses was crucial in achieving the speed and reliability to make the services successful.  The timetables had to be favourable in comparison to making the same trip by car

·            The need to decarbonise quickly was because once carbon entered the atmosphere, it remained for a long time.  Action needed to be taken now for a target that was achievable and met climate change obligations

·            The key question was what trips people took that could be targeted for carbon reduction to work, and to focus on these for an achievable outcome e.g. school runs, sports/leisure or shopping.

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1           Receives the presentation, Climate Change/transport emissions in the Bay of Plenty context.

Thurston/Riesterer

CARRIED

 

 

 

5.     Reports

5.1

Chairperson's Report

Chair Cr Lyall Thurston and General Manager Strategy and Science Namouta Poutasi  presented this item.

Key Points:

·         When the next version of the Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) was released, the work programme would be updated to reflect roles, responsibilities and how the RLTP would be implemented to meet targets.

 

 

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1           Receives the report, Chairperson's Report;

2           Receives the attachment, Regional Road Safety Education and Promotion Update;

3           Approves the Regional Land Transport Committee Work Programme 2021.

Nees/Webber

CARRIED

 

5.2

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency update

Presentation - Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Quarterly Update: Objective ID A3740029

Tabled Document 1 - Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Action Register: Objective ID A3749666

Director Regional Relationships David Speirs and Lead Strategic Planner Cole O’Keefe presented this item.

Key Points:

·            Encouraged members to join the regular Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency updates provided by Chief Executive, Nicole Rosie  

·            Acknowledged that some of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency processes created a ‘bottleneck’ for some of the Regional Transport Committee’s processes, and was looking at opportunities to rectify this  

·            Decarbonising land transport was a significant challenge

·            The 30 year vision was a real opportunity to look at an integrated picture going forward

·            Covid-19 impacts on future demographics needed to be taken into consideration

·            Introduced the Action Register initiative for project-related queries and advised that it would be regularly updated and circulated.

Key Points - Members:

·            Lowering rural school speeds was progressing at an unacceptable pace for what should be a relatively simple process

·            Wording on the Action Register needed to be amended as ‘closed’ was not strictly accurate when an issue had been responded to, rather than actioned and completed

·            There was public appetite for an underpass at Ōkere Falls so suggested a costing exercise be initiated

·            There was strong council and community support for an underpass as part of the BayLink project, including some form of bus prioritisation

·            Clarity sought regarding Waka Kotahi requirements for larger, rather than smaller, electrified buses.

In Response to Questions:

·            Clarified moderation as being the process of going through the list of what needed to be done versus what could be afforded and ensuring the investment logic was sound in the context of future years

·            Since the draft Action Register was released, some activities had been added, including State Highway 2 Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki and State Highway 2 Waimana Gorge resilience project.

·     Explained there was a process to provide smaller buses and would look further into this.

 

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1           Receives the report, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Update.

Chadwick/Webber

CARRIED

Decisions Required

 

5.3

Approval of the draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 and Statement of Proposal for Public Consultation

Presentation - RLTP Approval for Public Consultation: Objective ID A3740109  

Transport and Urban Planning Manager James Llewellyn presented this item.

Key Points:

·            Noted that for the RLTP, Council was not consulting on specific projects and whether or not they should go ahead, rather were consulting with the public on the strategic direction of the RLTP and the programme contained within

·            Each consultation question would include a yes/no tick box and an area to explain or comment

·            Suggested the start of the public consultation period be postponed one week  to allow for incorporating the changes proposed by members.

Key Points - Members:

·            Suggested the ‘Economic Prosperity’ objective be renamed to ‘Economic and Regional Growth/Prosperity’ to include social issues, not solely economic ones

·            Queried the objectives in relation to including the statements beneath them in the numbering

·            Resilience associated with isolation and remoteness was an important consideration for rural communities in relation to public transport

·            Consider an alternative to yes/no answers as it was often not that simple.

Statement of Proposal and Consultation Question Amendments:

·            Note the importance of improving resilience in the consultation questions

·            Include more emphasis on climate change

·            Put buses first in Consultation Question 1

·            Remove the word ‘prioritised’ from Consultation Question 3 and ask the community what their most important transport priorities are

·            Ask if there were any big opportunities missed to be added to Consultation Question 4.

 

 

Resolved

That the Regional Transport Committee:

1           Receives the report - Approval of the draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 and Statement of Proposal for Public Consultation;

2           Approves the draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 document for public consultation in accordance with the requirements of the Land Transport Management Act 2003 and programme, with the following amendments:

·       Include a regional map showing local key projects in both the draft RLTP and consultation document;

·       Highlight the funding activity class lists and local priorities within draft RLTP;

·       Request Councils provide to BOPRC staff additional local contextual information to support the development of the draft RLTP by Friday 26 February 2021;

·       Staff to review and update draft RLTP text to emphasise the need for liveable communities, housing crisis, climate change and rail content;

·       Include a map showing transport connectivity between adjoining regions;

·       Includes Port of Tauranga information in the strategic context and transport priorities;

·       Colour codes activities within the prioritised list.

2 (a) Approves the tabled Chairperson’s Foreword, Executive Summary and Appendix 6 for inclusion in the draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 and Statement of Proposal for Public Consultation;

3           Undertakes a Special Consultative Procedure, as provided for by the Local Government Act, to consult on the draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021;

4           Approves the statement of proposal, including the consultation questions, including the amendments listed in the minutes as agreed at the meeting;

5           Authorises the General Manager Strategy and Science, in consultation with the Chair where appropriate, to make any necessary formatting and minor grammatical changes to the draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021 and statement of proposal prior to its release to the public;

6           Appoints a subcommittee to undertake hearings and deliberations on the draft Regional Land Transport Plan, comprised of the following representatives:  Deputy Mayor Iles, Deputy Mayor Donaldson, Cr Thurston, Cr Nees, David Speirs – Waka Kotahi and a Tauranga City Council Commissioner (to be advised);

 6  (a) Appoints Cr Thurston, as the Chair of the Regional Transport Committee, as the Chair of the Draft RLTP Hearings Subcommittee Chair; and

7           Notes that Waka Kotahi consider inclusion of the Katikati bypass as part of its transport investment proposal.

 

Chadwick/Webber

CARRIED

6.     Verbal Update Opportunity for Members and Advisors

Mayor Steve Chadwick – Rotorua Lakes Council

·            Supported smaller regulation sizes for electrified buses to gain better utilisation

·            Road signs in Te Reo were a small, but significant change.

David Speirs – Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

·            Would respond to the Public Transport Committee with the process for revisiting the standards for regulation electric bus sizes.

Deputy Mayor Andrew Iles – Whakatāne District Council

·            Council was considering locations for a second bridge in Whakatāne through their spatial plan

·            Plea for a smaller electronic noticeboard to advise travellers of the status of Waimana Gorge being open or closed.

Mayor Malcolm Campbell – Kawerau District Council

·            Speed limit signs were still required and at a reasonable cost

·            Supported Whakatāne District Council requirement of a new bridge.

Mayor Lyn Riesterer – Ōpōtiki District Council

·            Emphasized the transport need linked to resilience

·            Number 3 on the Action Register list was not closed, but had been responded to only in that the speed limits were under review.

Dan Kneebone – Port of Tauranga

·            The recent significant media coverage on congestion in the Port of Auckland and the effects to the Upper North Island supply chain highlighted the need for resilience in supply chain infrastructure

·            The consent approval for the Port of Tauranga Southern Berth extension was critical for the region.

Cr Jane Nees – Bay of Plenty Regional Council

·            Outlined the Long Term Plan consultation questions in relation to public transport which were based upon incentives.

3.23 pm – the meeting closed.

 

 

Confirmed 9 june 2021                                                                  

                                                                                   Cr Lyall Thurston

Chairperson, Regional Transport Committee