Marlborough District Council Roading Assets - Activity Management Plan 2015 - 2018 SECTION 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Other industry in the region is mainly focussed on the Blenheim area and includes small-scale manufacturing and production at the Riverlands Industrial area south of Blenheim. Minimal impact or growth is forecast from these activities. 1.4.4.8 Changes in traffic patterns. Although a ‘bypass’ has been proposed for Blenheim this has no ranking in future NZTA programmes. The recent Blenheim & Wairau Plains Strategic Study has suggested some options in the interim although the net effect should not impact on Council’s infrastructure to any large extent. The possibility of KiwiRail moving its Cook Straight ferry operations to Clifford Bay (south of Seddon) has been removed for the foreseeable future following a recent review by Treasury. Resource Consents have lapsed. Marlborough District Council confirms that the contracting industry will require future gravel extraction for construction purposes to be relocated further up the Wairau River to maintain the profile of the river. This will have an impact on the demand with Heavy Vehicle numbers utilising various local roads as extraction points are changed over the life of this plan. 1.4.4.9 Other Factors Other demand and growth factors can include: Creation of new assets placing increased demands on maintenance and future renewal. New assets can be created in the following ways: Council Capital Work Programmes Developers/Subdividers building new roads. These are typically local streets. Growth in the retail sector and new commercial developments including CBD upgrades. Both Blenheim and Picton have had major CBD upgrades in the period 1995 – 2004. Council is currently looking at proceeding with a major civic precinct development in the CBD that could have a minor effect on the traffic in the adjoining streets. New assets as a result of revoked State Highways. For example, if the NZTA determine that SH 63 is no longer a regional route and wish to revoke its status as a State Highway. This would then revert to local road under Council’s control and would become a Council liability. Conversely, Rapaura Road was recently created as SH 62 reducing Council’s asset base. Some earlier discussions have been held with a view to the New Zealand Transport Agency reclassifying Kent Street, Picton as state highway and revoking the state highway status of Auckland Street, Picton. Such a change would have minimal effect on the total net asset. Regulatory changes including increased weight limits for heavy vehicles. The Vehicle Dimension and Mass (VDM) Rule 2010 amendment allows the RCA to approve specific routes for High Productivity Vehicles. Council has identified several routes to date that the local industry propose to use and are investing in upgrades to pavements and bridges. Unformed Paper Roads - Demand for recreational use and increased level of service. National considerations will dictate the effects of this. Increasing community expectations. There is no doubt that the communities expectations on the quality of service they are paygor as increased. This is leading to a higher level of service being expected and therefore provided. Examples include smoother roads and high standards of street furniture in paved and landscaped streets, particularly in CBD areas. In rural areas, seal extension is being sought. 1.4.5 Demand Management Demand Management for roading is defined as being: “To manage the demand made on the local roading network, to minimize congestion and to ensure a pleasurable travelling experience by all road users.” Typical techniques used include: Regulation Incentives Education Demand substitution (providing alternatives) 30 September 2014 Page 21 of Section 1