Chapter 19 - Land Transport In the interests of safety, the Council expects cul-de-sacs to have sufficient dimension to enable small vehicles and moderate sized trucks to enter and leave in a forward direction. It is considered that a larger design dimension to permit heavy vehicles to enter and leave in a forward direction would be unreasonable because heavy vehicles are expected to be less frequent users of cul-de-sacs except in industrial and commercial zones. Roads are public spaces heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists, as well as by vehicles. Roads have different safety characteristics at night compared to the daytime. It is important that roads be designed to maximise personal safety of all users. Street lighting and separation of road users enhance safety for all users of roads. Access along public roads is unrestricted and provides community-wide benefit. That community-wide benefit is reflected in the funding of road maintenance from District Council rates. Where new roads are extended specifically to connect new subdivisions or developments to the existing road network, the capital cost of that construction should be met by the principal beneficiary of the access being: the subdivider or developer. Public roads will be designed and maintained to enable their use by public passenger transport services and the Council will continue to provide facilities where demand necessitates. The current state of vehicle technology in New Zealand means that there are minimum levels of noise and vehicle emissions that must be expected from the operation of vehicles on roads. There is little the Plan can do to modify those conditions. The Plan can control the extent of these effects by adopting a roading hierarchy which encourages higher volumes of traffic and heavy traffic movements on certain routes and discourages them on others. 19.4 Issue The development of a sustainable road transportation network which allows the Community to function with minimal conflict between land use, traffic and people. The transportation of nearly all goods and people within the District is undertaken by vehicles using the road network and this situation is unlikely to change significantly in the medium term. It is therefore important to plan the road network to both facilitate accessibility and minimise effects on environments. It is also necessary to ensure that land use activities themselves do not detract from the proper functioning of the network. The Plan area is served by an existing transportation hierarchy. The hierarchy comprises National Routes, Primary Arterial Routes, Secondary Arterial Routes, Collector Routes and Local Routes. National Routes form part of a network of strategic importance and are a significant element in the national economy, for which a high level of user service must be provided on a continuous basis. Primary Arterial Routes are of strategic regional importance and are a significant element in the regional economy, for which an appropriate level of user service must be provided. Such roads include those giving access to important tourist areas, and those providing significant intra-urban links. Changes to the National Route may occur if the Clifford Bay Ferry Terminal proposal proceeds. 19 - 5