GISBORNE DISTRICT COUNCIL BUSINESS CASE PROPOSAL Eastland Port Access Pedestrian Safety Rakaiatane Rd Page 1 of 4
Introduction This proposal has been developed by Gisborne District Council (GDC) to provide rationale to New Zealand Transport Association (NZTA) to include safe pedestrian use of Rakaiatane Road and pedestrian links to adjoining areas, as a requirement of the Eastland Port Access Project (EPAP). The information in this document should prove timely to ensure the scope of the EPAP includes safe pedestrian access for the benefit of the community, visitors and Rakaiatane Road users. Council and other stakeholders have invested several million dollars through the Tairāwhiti Navigations Project to enhance areas on either side of Rakaiatane Road, recognizing these places as culturally and historically significant on a national and international scale. Tairāwhiti Navigations includes major enhancement of the Inner Harbour and Tītīrangi Reserve achieved through ten million dollars investment from Council, Eastland Community Trust and Eastland Port. Rakaiatane Road dissects through these major visitor destinations. This road is busy with heavy truck traffic from around the region converging on this short stretch of road to deliver logs to Eastland Port. The benefits of Tairāwhiti Navigations and Tītīrangi Restoration projects are at risk if a safe pedestrian linkage across Rakaiatane Road to these places is not ensured. Background There has been substantial planning undertaken in the Inner Harbour/Port area to consider some of the issues raised in the Introduction. Documents informing this report are: 1. Tairāwhiti Regional Economic Action Plan (pre-draft), April 2016 2. Gisborne Strategic Case, June 2015, Tairāwhiti Roads 3. Kaiti Beach Road Logging Truck Queues at the Port Entrance (16-185), report to Council, 28 April 2016, Tairāwhiti Roads 4. Tairāwhiti Navigations Programme Plan, Nov 2015, GDC 5. Draft Tītīrangi Co-Management Plan, April 2016, GDC 1. Tairawhiti Economic Action Plan Tairāwhiti is one of five regions that is part of central government s Regional Growth Programme to stimulate economic development in underdeveloped areas. The Programme is an opportunity for key stakeholders to identify the most important actions to stimulate local growth and to negotiate with cabinet how we can make this happen together. A Governance Group of Chief Executives, local stakeholder agencies including NZTA, and businesses have prepared a list of potential actions. Council staff are currently engaging business and economic interests on the priorities for action. The following relate to Port Access and tourism for this area: Page 1
Project Description and Outcomes Investment Funding Time Tourism Activity Development Description: Development of key heritage tourism products including Tairawhiti Navigations, Hawaiiki Turanga, the potential repatriation of Te Hau ki Turanga to Tairawhiti, Sesstercentennial and Cook Landing Site. This programme comprises a high quality, community/iwi driven cultural heritage experience through the Gisborne Inner Harbour area, Titirangi Reserve, and key sites throughout the district and wider region (Mohaka ki Potaka). Tourism development is a high priority for Maori and a key pillar in the Maori Economic Strategy. Local investment in Navigations sits at around $10m to date. The areas that we would look to seek government support for include: pedestrian clip-on Gladstone Road Bridge SH35; restoration of nationally significant Cook Landing Site; and support for staging of Sestercentennial in 2019. There are other activities of interest to Maori which are likely to emerge through the development of the Maori Economic Strategy. Strong links with the regional master value proposition, tourism industry development and cycleways actions. Inner Harbour development Navigations Project Sesstercentennial. Cook Landing Site Pedestrian clip-on for Gladstone Bridge. Funding secure $10m from GDC and ECT for inner harbour development and Navigations. Funding required $10m from central government for Cook Landing Site, $5m for Sesstercentennial, <$2m for pedestrian clip-on. By October 2019. Outcomes: Unique opportunity which cannot be replicated elsewhere. Development of other business opportunities. NPV of $4.5m, positive BCR of 1.71 for the programme. Overall economic impact of $1.8m-$2.3m per year, assuming direct value added at 40% of direct output and a type II multiplier of 1.5. Equates to 20-40 new FTEs. The intangible benefits: public wellbeing (enhancing social cohesion; improving local image; promoting interest in the local environment; developing self-confidence; exploring identities and exploring visions of the future); recreational benefits; increasing the validity of cultural capital; community reconciliation; enhanced sense of place; and enhanced natural beauty. Tourism Industry Development Description: Tourism Eastland values the Tairawhiti Visitor industry currently at $136m pa with $20m pa from international visitors. Studies suggest the tourism industry in Tairawhiti is relatively under-developed and has significant scope for growth. Would involve the development and delivery of a Destination Development Plan that would identify gaps and opportunities for future growth, specific tourism activities and packages, creation of a tourism chain and regional tourism offer and the delivery of specific actions. One stream of work within the DDP would be growth in East Coast tourism opportunities. This would need to happen alongside (and be consistent with) the Regional Master Value Proposition (Air NZ Initiative). Development of Destination Development Plan. Delivery of DDP. Funding required $1m from government for Destination Development Plan development and delivery. Plan by June 2016. Deliver by June 2019. Outcomes: Provide the District with an understanding of where to focus investment in tourism to achieve the best results and clarity around the Tairāwhiti tourism offer. Increase in quality of tourism services and visitor numbers. Transport Improvements Description: Primary exports out of the region s port (Eastland Port) have increased by 100% over the past three years. Most of this export product goes to the Eastland Port via road so roading infrastructure is crucial to the region s primary export sector. Council is seeking increases for roading infrastructure from central government for maintenance, improvements and a reinvestment of Tairawhiti Roads annual savings into roading in the region. Increase capital works to upgrade road network Increase maintenance of roading network. Funding required $18m pa from central government for 6 years for capital improvements. Outcomes: Forestry alone employs 10% of the Gisborne workforce. Forestry and related activities generate direct revenue of $234m into the local economy. The multiplier of 2.7 suggest this has a regional impact of $631m annually. With projected growth figures, this will increase to $1.5b by 2020. Other primary industries employ another 20% of our workforce. Funding required $1.5m pa from central government for improved road maintenance. Funding required $2.4m pa from central government for improved road maintenance funded from Tairawhiti Roads savings. 2. Gisborne Strategic Case Tairāwhiti Roads Strategic Case provides strong rationale to drive further consideration of safe and controlled access to Eastland Port while ensuring safe community access to Kaiti Beach, as well as pedestrian access to Tītīrangi and the Inner Harbour. The report references evidence based problems and benefits of solving these issues. Two key problems identified through a key stakeholder workshop in 2014 are: Growing heavy traffic volumes and capacity to access the Port Conflict between active modes of transport and trucks The strategic case reports that should these problems not be resolved, we will expect to have: increasing conflict between users within the transport corridor, meaning the increasingly hostile environment will continue to inhibit the delivery of GDC walking and cycling policy/strategy. This is a particular concern in the urban area where progressive cities are looking to, and delivering, ways to increase footfall and directly increase economic activity. 3. Kaiti Beach Road Logging Truck Report A report to Council, Kaiti Beach Road Logging Truck Queues at the Port Entrance (April, 2016) acknowledges the traffic and capacity issues of Rakaiatane Road leading to the Port. The report identifies that staff are aware of the problems road users are encountering when confronted with long queues of logging trucks along Rakaiatane Road, as well as safety risks for pedestrian and cyclists. Page 2
Photos 1 & 2: pedestrians crossing from existing parking area near the Port Office, to Titirangi crossing Rakaitane Road between logging traffic. Photo 3 of the existing pedestrian acessway, opposite the Port Office. The entranceway has minimal treatment, is not well signposted, with limited sight lines in both directions. It also identifies management of queueing logging trucks results in back to back trucks along the straight stretch of Rakaiatane Road. pedestrians to cross here, as proposed in the Management Plan. This wall of trucks will make it impossible for 4. Tairawhiti Navigations Tairāwhiti Navigations is a significant regional tourism project that has at the centre of it the unique culture and heritage of Tairāwhiti. Council has invested $5m in the Inner Harbour and Tītīrangi Reserve and Eastland Community Trust and Eastland Group will also invest up to $5m as part of Tairāwhiti Navigations. The Tairāwhiti region is rich in navigational history and culture and is nationally significant being the first landing place of the Horouta, and Te Ikaroa-a-Rauru waka (canoes) and the site of Captain James Cook's first New Zealand landfall in 1769. The inner harbour area (where the project is focussed) holds within it the actual landing site of Cook and the site where the first significant meeting between Māori and Europeans took place. Page 3
These significant and historic interactions are the basis of the Tairāwhiti Navigations project and will be bought to life through a Heritage Trail that will link Tītīrangi to the Inner Harbour, and across the Turanganui River to the Slipway. There are hundreds of pedestrians that access Titirangi every week, with Tītīrangi being the most visited reserve in the district. It is expected there will be substantial increase in visitor numbers and users of this reserve and the Inner Harbour once the restoration and upgrade projects are implemented in the build up to 2019. 5. Tītīrangi Co-Management Plan (Draft) 2016 The Plan prepared in collaboration with Ngati Oneone considers recognises the need to provide direct access between Tītīrangi and the Inner Harbour. It is proposed that safe pedestrian access, crossing Rakaiatane Road, to the Inner Harbour is developed where there are optimum sightlines (given the volume and density of heavy truck traffic). The existing pedestrian connection from Rakaiatane Road to Titirangi is opposite Cooks Landing site. This is poorly located due to the bend in the road with poor sightlines in both directions. The proposed access point (as agreed by Ngati Oneone), is identified in the Plan. This location will be safer, with clear visibility and improved lines of sight, as well as being more direct to the Inner Harbour (see Appendix 1 - Titirangi Proposed Projects Map ). As well as improving access, there are a number of Council funded reserve enhancements proposed for Titirangi. These enhancements include: track network upgrade, interpretive story boards, re-vegetation and weed control. Historical Interpretations will also be provided as part of the Tairawhiti Navigations Project (3.6 million budget funded by ECT). Many visitors to Tītīrangi will also want to physically connect to the Inner Harbour and visa-versa as part of Tairāwhiti Navigations infrastructure and historic interpretations link. The Issues Rakaiatane Road access to the Port has the highest number of heavy trucks from around the region converging on this one stretch of road. In 2013 there were 695 heavy trucks per week (Monday to Friday) or 139 per day accessing this stretch of road to the Port. 12% or 16 of these Page 4
heavy trucks were travelling over the 50km speed limit, each day. Two trucks during this study were travelling between 100-200kmph 1. Since that time, when the data was collected in 2013, logging truck numbers to the Port has grown. The Regional Economic Action Plan states that regional exports from the Port has increased by 100% in the last three years. If logging exports continue to grow by 60% in 2020-2035 as forecasted, this increase in logging trucks will result in 3.9 logging trucks per minute, or one truck per 15 seconds. This will also have an impact on trucks queueing along the length of Rakaiatane Road to access the Port. The Kaiti Beach Road Logging Truck Queuing report to Council has recommended a layby queueing lane be created, and the centre line shifted to ensure there are still two lanes available for other traffic (Kaiti beach road residents, Port staff) to improve safety. Although this may improve vehicle movement, the queueing of trucks along the left hand side of Rakaiatane Road will result in a wall of logging trucks during peak times (5 hours per day) inhibiting pedestrian crossing to Titirangi 2. This is not currently an issue, but if the proposed pedestrian access is implemented, as a safety precaution and to provide more direct access between the Inner Harbour and Titirangi, a safe zone for crossing the road will need to be provided 3. There is minimal vehicle parking along Rakaiatane Road (3 4 spaces). Pedestrian movement should consider where visitors will park to access Titirangi, Inner Harbour and Cooks Landing site. Some parking is provided in the Inner Harbour (to be increased during upgrades) and on Tītīrangi. If pedestrian access solutions across Rakaiatane Road are provided, including direct and safe linkage between Tītīrangi and the Inner harbour, the parking within these areas should be able to cater for the majority of parking requirements in this area. Including those that want to access Cooks Landing site, off Rakaiatane Road. Council has invested 5 million dollars and Eastland Community Trust have invested a further 5 million dollars to implement Tairāwhiti Navigations. The benefits of these projects are at considerable risk if visitors cannot safely access and move between these sites. A basic requirement for NZTA and Council must be that people can move safely from one key destination area to another. Rakaiatane Road dissects two very significant sites and solutions must be considered and safer solutions implemented. Issues Summary: Very high numbers of heavy traffic (logging trucks) converge on Rakaiatane Road. This will grow to one truck per 15 seconds by 2020. Crossing Rakaiatane Road is a daunting proposition for pedestrians. It feels unsafe due to traffic volumes and marginal pedestrian access ways. Significant funds (in excess of $10 m) will be spent on Tairawhiti Navigations and Tītīrangi Restoration projects. Historical interpretation and pedestrian linkages will demand connections between the Inner Harbour, Titirangi and Cooks Landing site, on either side of Rakaiatane Road. There is very little parking on Rakaiatane Road. The main areas of parking are provided at Titirangi and the Inner Harbour. Good pedestrian linkages will encourage visitors to park at those sites where there is reasonable parking, reducing visitor traffic on Rakaiatane Road. 1 1 NZTA Data Count in 2013, Rakaiatane Rd 1_Class Speed Matrix 13, Tairawhiti Roads 2 Peak times are usually between 7:30-10am and 2:30-5pm, Tairawhiti Roads, verbal reference. 3 Discussion with Tairawhiti Roads staff has considered a wide zone (20-30m) where trucks cannot queue, as well as the potential to set up crossing lights that are activated once a pedestrian is waiting. Page 5
Recommendation It is timely that NZTA undertakes the Eastland Port Access Project to assess current and future needs to ensure safe access to the Port. The recommendation from Council is to include the following as part of the project: 1. To provide a safe pedestrian access linkage, for a growing number of visitors, between the Inner Harbour and Tītīrangi crossing Rakaiatane Road. Also, giving consideration to connections with Cooks Landing site. Finding solutions to this critical issue will be significant to realizing the benefits of the Tairāwhiti Navigations and Titirangi Restoration Projects ($10 million dollar investment). Some options have been considered and are shown on the attached map [to be completed!]. One options considers developing a crossing zone, potentially managed by lights, with a wide 20-30m margin, to ensure a section of road pedestrians can claim back to support safe movement between key tourism sites. The Navigations Project Team are available to provide further information and support to assist NZTA in considering these issues and options as part of the Eastland Port Access Project. References Gisborne Strategic Case July 2015 (A582123) Kaiti Beach Rd Logging Truck Queues at the Port Entrance (A654319) Programme Plan - Tairāwhiti Navigations - November 2015 (A609958).docx Gisborne District Council» Draft Reserve Management Plan for Titirangi (Kaiti Hill) Page 6
APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 Titirangi Management Plan Map (2016) (See Inner Habour Link (pedestrian) near top of Kaiti Beach Road (Rakaiatane Road). Page 7
APPENDIX 2 Logging Truck Queueing Layby Page 8
APPENDIX 2 - Tairawhiti Navigation Programme Plan APPENDIX 3 Titirangi Co-Management Plan 2016 (Draft) APPENDIX 4 Titirangi Co-Management Plan 2016 (Draft) Page 9
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