Twenty-six car parks to go as consultation continues on $250m roading project

A first detailed glimpse of exactly how traffic engineers propose to free up congestion at one of the South Island's busiest intersections has been revealed, including the number of car parks to go and where they will disappear from.

Construction work has started to transform the roads in and around the roundabout adjacent to the BP fuel stop at Frankton, where State Highways 6 and 6A meet.

The roundabout will make way for traffic lights and road layouts will change to accommodate cycle and bus lanes, with 26 car parking spaces set to disappear as a result.

Parking at Frankton Village is flagged to drop by six spaces, from 33 to 27, to accommodate the increased footprint of the BP intersection, while over on McBride Street 11 parking spaces will need to go to make room for two cycle lanes, taking the total number of parking spaces there from 16 to five.

Gray Street is also set to lose nine parking spaces, taking the total there from 24 to 15.

More detailed plans of how this will look are being considered by the Queenstown Lakes District Council's Infrastructure Committee this week.

The specific topic of conversation - TCDs, or traffic control devices, like the no-stopping lines, bus stops, and parking markings needed to implement the engineers' plans.

Once signed off by members, consultation will begin with stakeholders and affected residents, lead by both the council and the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Consultation will start on September 9 and run for approximately five weeks.

"Consultation on the proposed changes will give stakeholders and affected residents an opportunity to provide feedback about any new or previously unknown significant issues that could affect the location of these TCD (traffic control devices)," QLDC civil engineer Lewis Grant writes in a report to the committee.

"Council and NZTA will consider this feedback and make any final changes before the bylaws are passed."

Two bylaws will require tweaking to allow the proposed changes to both local roads and state highways.

The report stresses that three consultations with the community on the overall plans have already happened at various stages of the project, starting in 2017.

The works form part of the Queenstown Package, formerly referred to as the New Zealand Upgrade Programme, being delivered by Kā Huanui a Tāhuna.

Kā Huanui a Tāhuna is an alliance comprised of NZTA and the council, along with four design and construction companies, Beca, WSP, Downer New Zealand and Fulton Hogan.

In May Minister for Transport Simeon Brown was in town to turn the first sod for the works, announcing at the same time a more than doubling of the budget for them.

However the $250 million of investment committed by the government will cover a project reduced in scope from when it was first announced.

So, what's still in the plans?

Installing traffic signals at the State Highway 6 and 6A intersection as well as the nearby State Highway 6 and Joe O’Connell Drive intersection
Realigning the Hansen Road intersection
Extending the bus hub and adding signals at the entry and exit to prioritise buses
New bus stops and cycle lanes
A shared use path along State Highway 6 Ladies Mile.
A new roundabout at the State Highway 6 and Howards Drive intersection