MINUTES

of the

Joint Nelson Tasman Regional Transport Committee MEETING

Komiti Te Kawenga Rohe o Nelson Tasman

held

1:00pm, Friday, 6 December 2024

at

Tasman Council Chamber, 189 Queen Street, Richmond

The video recording of this meeting is available on the Council’s YouTube channel.

Present:                  Tasman District Council: Deputy Mayor S Bryant (Chair) and Councillors B Dowler, C Butler, and J Ellis.

                                 Nelson City Council: Deputy Mayor R O’Neill-Stevens, Councillors M Courtney, and J Hodgson.

                                 NZTA Waka Kotahi Representative: E Speight.

In Attendance:       Councillor Glen Daikee, Group Manager - Service and Strategy (J Ridd), Group Manager – Community Infrastructure (R Kirby), Group Manager Infrastructure - Alec Louverdis, Strategic Planning Manager (D Fletcher), Transportation Manager (J McPherson), Nelson City Council Transport Analyst (C Pawson), and Governance Advisor (G Dawson), Transport Activity Management Team Leader (L Hammond), Transport Asset Analyst (C Pawson).

1 OPENING, WELCOME

The Chair opened the meeting with a karakia.

2        APOLOGIES AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Moved Deputy Mayor O'Neill-Stevens/Councillor Courtney

NTRTC24-12-1

That the apology from Mayor Nick Smith be accepted.

CARRIED

3        Public Forum

Nil

4        DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Nil

5        LATE ITEMS

Nil

6        CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

Moved Councillor Dowler/Councillor Courtney

NTRTC24-12-2

That the minutes of the Joint Nelson Tasman Regional Transport Committee meeting held on Friday, 9 August 2024, be confirmed as a true and correct record of the meeting.

CARRIED

7        Reports

7.1     Ministry of Education - School Transport

Ministry of Education representatives, James Meffan and Niall Duncan, spoke about school transport.

Questions and discussions included:

· School transport was funded from Ministry of Education (MOE) budgets and considered separate from public transport options, with eligible students fully funded.

· Regular reviews took place as part of business-as-usual activities. There was no requirement to publicly consult. Once a decision was made to remove a service, MOE usually worked to align dates with public transport provision changes.   

· Policy evolved as conditions changed – changes were triggered by population growth, rezoning decisions, and the creation of new schools.

· The Ministry did all it could to develop routes which ensure the safety of users. There was also responsibility on parents/caregivers to ensure this, where the Ministry could not.

· A review of school bus services in Tasman had just been completed and concluded current provision of council provided public transport services was marginal in Wakefield and Brightwater and the status quo was being maintained for now.   

7.2    NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Update

New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) Director Regional Relationships, Greater Wellington and Top of the South, Emma Speight, spoke to her presentation, which is available on the Council’s website in the Minutes Attachment document.

Questions and discussions included:

· School speed limits and variable speed limits – there was a range of regulation and policy which determined the approach and process. The 30 km/h speed limit immediately outside schools did not require further consultation.

· Road types and speed limit setting – this varied according to the designation of the road and would influence the relevant regulatory processes.

· Safety camera location setting and use – Police had transferred responsibility for safety cameras to the NZTA. Installation and location criteria will apply to ensure that maximum safety results can be achieved.

· Governance arrangements for the agency – the role and function of the NZTA Board was explained in relation to speed setting processes and regulation.

· Maintenance of roundabouts and other roading infrastructure – there was a need to prioritise pavements treatment under the GPS. Current budgets for maintaining gardens were very strained and they were currently assessing options on how best to address gardens they could not afford to maintain.

7.3     Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-2024 Monitoring Report

Transportation Planning Advisor, Jane Murray, and Nelson City Council Transport Analyst, Chris Pawson presented the report, which was taken as read.

Questions and discussion included:

· eBus services – there had been an increase in patronage, which was encouraging.

· Bus bike racks – a national level working group had been created to look at technical aspects to investigate possible solutions and funding any related changes.

Moved Deputy Mayor O'Neill-Stevens/Councillor Dowler

NTRTC24-12-3

That the Joint Nelson Tasman Regional Transport Committee

1.   receives the Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-2024 Monitoring Report RNTRTC24-12-3.

CARRIED

7.4     Speed Limits Update

Senior Infrastructure Planning Advisor – Transportation, Bill Rice, and MS Murray, presented the report, which was taken as read.

Questions and discussion included:

· Funding was available from Central Government for further speed review processes.

· Speed limit planning and regulation – approaches would vary according to road type and final policy set by Central Government.

· The need to have a balanced and consistent approach meeting the speed limit review requirements for the Nelson/Tasman areas.

· The speed limit changes sought by Tasman only included changes that aligned with the new speed limit rule.   

Moved Councillor Courtney/Councillor Dowler

NTRTC24-12-4

That the Joint Nelson Tasman Regional Transport Committee

1.   receives the Speed Limits Update report RNTRTC24-12-4;

2.   approves the letter to the Minister of Transport (Attachment 1 to the agenda report) to ask for approval to implement speed limit changes previously consulted on and express concerns regarding the process and impact that it will have on the Nelson and Tasman regions; and

3.   authorises the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Joint Nelson Tasman Regional Transport Committee to sign the letter and to approve minor edits to the letter to the Minister of Transport.  

CARRIED

NZTA representative Emma Speight abstained.

7.5     Public Transport Review Update

Team Leader Transport Activity - Lyndon Hammond, spoke to the report and presentation, which is available on the Council’s website in the Minutes Attachment document.

Questions and discussion included:

· The NZTA had thanked council staff for working well together over the past year.

· Bus stop upgrades were allocated based on demand data and user feedback, with investigations and observations ongoing as the review progresses.

· eBus services were performing well.

· National ticketing roll-out.

· Monitoring - there was a clear understanding of network usage and council staff would continue to monitor what was occurring to gain more clarification on usage and costs.

· Contract arrangements were structured to ensure an efficient and effective transport network.

· Baseline measures were being established to provide for appropriate performance measures.

Moved Deputy Mayor O'Neill-Stevens/Councillor Dowler

NTRTC24-12-5

That the Joint Nelson Tasman Regional Transport Committee

1.   receives the Public Transport Review Update report RNTRTC24-12-5.

CARRIED

8          CONFIDENTIAL SESSION

           Nil

The meeting closed with a karakia.

The meeting concluded at 3.20 pm.

Confirmed as a correct record of proceedings by resolution on 10 March 2025.

Moved Councillor Dowler/Ms Speight

NTRTC25-03-2

That the minutes of the Joint Nelson Tasman Regional Transport Committee meeting held on Friday, 6 December 2024, be confirmed as a true and correct record of the meeting.