Chapter 18 - Land Transport 18.0 Land Transport 18.1 Introduction The land transport infrastructure of Marlborough forms a significant component of the physical resources of the District. The network of roads, rail, cycleways, and pedestrian pathways and the movement of vehicles, goods, and people through that network is essential to the District’s economic activity and to the convenience and wellbeing of the people of Marlborough. The resource management issues associated with land transport focus on the sustainable management of the physical infrastructure of transport networks, as a resource, rather than on the services that use them and the adverse environmental effects that arise from the network. The Marlborough Sounds land transport infrastructure is dominated by national networks. The main north - south State Highway, with connections to Nelson and the West Coast, and the South Island main trunk railway line pass through the Marlborough Sounds. There is an extensive network of roads connecting the small outer Sounds settlements. However, the small population and distances mean that these roads carry relatively few vehicles. These networks combine to produce a hierarchy of roads within the land transport infrastructure. Picton and Havelock are the two port entrances to the District. Picton is the principal gateway to Marlborough and the South Island. Havelock provides a key point of access to the Pelorus and Kenepuru Sounds. A key characteristic of transport in the Sounds is a reliance on water transport because of the large distances between parts of the Sounds and the main towns of Picton and Havelock, and the standard of local roading. Water transportation is addressed in Chapter19. Rail has a significant role in freight and passenger movement through the District. Responsibility for the provision and maintenance of the land transport infrastructure is shared between a number of organisations including: • Marlborough District Council (for local roads, pedestrian paths and facilities, cycle ways and facilities); • Transit New Zealand (for the State Highways); • Tranz Rail Limited (for the main trunk railway and rail yards); and • Individual land developers (in creating new public and private roads and transport facilities). Achieving an appropriate mix of land transport infrastructure requires the combined efforts of all agencies. The safe and efficient transport of people and produce relies on appropriate interaction between land and water modes of transport. 18.2 Issue The adverse effects from the development, maintenance and use of the transport infrastructure on the resources of the Sounds. 18 - 1