Marlborough Sounds Resource Management Plan The construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure can cause adverse effects on the environment. The location of new road alignment is often limited by engineering factors but can scar the landscape or cause siltation of waterways. Adverse effects of transport infrastructure need to be considered in relation to community health, safety and wellbeing. The use of transport infrastructure and transportation activities can give rise to localised adverse effects including: reduced safety; loss of amenity due to noise, dust, and vehicle exhaust emissions; and contamination of resources from surface water run-off from roads, and discharges and spills from vehicles. Effects on the environment also include the global cumulative effect of vehicle emissions on components of the atmosphere and ozone depletion. There is considerable investment in the land transport infrastructure in the Sounds. The infrastructure includes roads, railway lines and facilities, pedestrian pathways and facilities, street lighting, vehicle parking facilities, and directional and safety signage. It is important to the wellbeing of the community that this infrastructure is able to function effectively. It is important that extensions are compatible with the existing infrastructure and have consistent design, construction and maintenance standards. Extensions to the roading network that unnecessarily duplicate existing roads or which create intersections with difficult safety conditions will not be compatible with the sustainable management of the transport infrastructure. Provision for vehicle parking is important to the sustainable management of the transport infrastructure. It is important to achieve a balance between parking clear of moving vehicles and the shared use of roads by moving and parked vehicles. In general, it is expected that on-site parking will accommodate the likely demand for parking resulting from activities on the site. The use of public passenger transport is not a feature of land transport in the Sounds. Most people use private vehicles and boats. Taxis and buses are important in Picton and Havelock. It is important to ensure that the land transport infrastructure continues to accommodate public passenger transport by making provision for taxi and bus stands, and shelters. The transport of primary products can place strain on the capacity of the local roading network and create conflicts with other users of the often narrow, metalled roads. Expansion in the forestry and shellfish industries give rise to particular needs for access, loading and storage areas close to the transport network. Changes in long-haul freight transport patterns and vehicles have also given rise to demands for new facilities in the transport infrastructure such as overnight parking areas for heavy goods vehicles, and stock effluent disposal facilities. Accessibility is a key factor in determining whether land should be subdivided and settled. The provision of land transport, particularly roading, strongly influences the demand for residential development throughout the Sounds. Areas which are conveniently accessible by roads experience strong pressure for further subdivision and residential development. More remote areas, with no or less convenient road access, experience less pressure for development. Managing the location of new roads and road upgrading is one factor of importance in managing the location and intensity of residential development throughout the Sounds. 18 - 2