Section 4

Transportation. 21 SECTION4 • TRANSPORTATION

4. 1. l, PUBLICROADS ANO ACCESS

Public roads vary from being metalled to being unformed . The highest standard of roading is found on the main road from in the North, to Shoal Bay in the South. This road is maintained by the Ministry of Works and Development with the assista nce from the Forest Service on behalf of the Counci l. Other roads that are branches off the main road are al so of an acceptable standard: (a) Mabey' s Road (b) Blind Bay Road (c) Puriri Bay Road (d) Motairehe Road ~ · ·,er formed roads are to a lesser standard, either because of the i r width, or the level of maintenance that has been carried out over the last ten years.

These roads generally service small comnunities and are maintained to a lesser extent because of the l imited use by vehicular traff ic. Because of the lim i ted roading budget and the declining National Roads Board subsidy, like lih ood of the subsidiary roads being upgraded to the standard of the main arterial roads through the County in the plann in g period is remote. 4.1.2' · RECfiiT ROADFORMATIONS Extensive roading work has been carried out on th e Road to upgrade it for all weather access. On completion this road will provide . the centre of the :a nd with a sheltered anchorage where goods can be unloaded . The roads running into Katherine Bay through Motai rehe Block and Kawa Block have recently been upgraded.

4. 1.3 UNFORMEDAND PAPER ROADS Many of the subdivisions on the Is land during the period of 1890-1925, divided land i nto a variety of holdin gs, varying in size from .4 to 400 hectares. The bulk of these subdivisions are in the Southern part of the County and they contain many paper roads or unformed roads t hat follow the existing ridge systems in that area. In the early 1960' s many of these paper roads were used for further subdivision into 4 hectare blocks. Because of the topography, it is not practica l to form these roads for vehicular traffic. In the case of these, 22

Rosalie Bay Road, Cape Barrier Road, Schooner Bay Road, the physical fomation has not followed the legal surveyed boundaries. With the smal ler land holdings being progressively settled there are demands on the Council to extend the roading network to service these blocks. With the fa lling National Roads Board subsidy, it-will be difficult for the Council to extend the roading network. The extension of roads and new roads is funded out of Public Expenditure,vote Ministry of Works and Development as developmental roading backblock access.

4.1. 4 WALKING ACCESS Where unformed and paper roads exist on the Island, the possibility of opening the roads up for pedestrian use has been investigated. With the advent of an increase in petrol costs and t he possibility of recreational pursuits, the l ikely demand over the planning period for the use of paper roa ds for bridle trails or walking tracks is apparent. Within the centre of the Island, the New Zealand Forest Service has pr ovided extensive walkways through the State Forest, and because of the recreational pote ntia l in the Southern part of the County, it is felt that bridle trails and walkways could be created over public or private la nd. Where walkways exist over private lan d, the position and consent must be obtained from the land owner befo re the public have the right of use. The New Zealand Walkway Commission will be invited to explore the development of walkways on the Island.

4.1.5 MAINTENANCEPOLICY Currently the publ ic roads on the Island are maintai ned by the Ministry of Works and Development and the New Zealand Forest Service, with t he funds being provid ed by th e National Roads Board grants, and revenue set aside from the Council's rate collectio n. It is proposed that this system of maintenan ce of roads continue. The maintenance of existing roads wi 11 continue and the adjacent roads off the main roading system through the Is lan d will be maintai ned also as part of the Council's policy. Subdivision roads will be part of the maint enance programme wtthin t he period of the Distri ct Scheme. Within the planning per iod, roads will be maintained to an all weather standard, but will remain as metal roads. The Council "pursue a Policy of alleviating bli nd corners and improv i ng road shape and drainage, with the view to improving safety and reducing maintenance costs. A current programme of bridge renewals is being followed to upgrade existing structures to the rural bridge standards.

4.2 ROADINGSTANDARDS

4. 2 .1 EX!STING ROADS Existi'ng roads have been formed using base rock mater ial from the Isla nd, and over the last 20 years the surface metal has been imported to the Island from Karamuramu Island (McCallllllS Island ) in t he . 23

This metal provides a smooth finished surface to the road , but tends to be ground down to a fi ne powder. With the advent of new quarries opening on the Isl and, the Council wishes to see loca l metal used wherever possible on t he Is la nd' s roads. It is also the Council's policy to encourage the establ- i shment of quarries to produce not only roading metal but metal ·suitable for t he use of builders aggregate.

l. The Council encourage t he use of local metal in preference to imported metal for the use on the Island's roads. 2. That the Council encourage the establishment of new quarries in suitable locations so that metal does not have to be transported for great distances through the Island. 3. That the existing road standard be maintained throughout the Is land. 4. That the Ministry of Works and Development carry out the function of maintaining the roa ds on the Council's behalf.

4.2.2 NEWROADS The Council has set engineering standards for the formation and construction of new roads serving subdivisions within the County. Over the last ten years, subdiv i sions have occurred locate d at Okupu, Kai toke and Bl ackwe11 Ori ve; and in each case the roads have been metalled roads to the depth of 25()runwith open water tables and no storm water systems. This provided a minimum standard from which the Council has felt th at future roading must be to a higher standard so , .. ,at there is minimun maintenance required on newly fonned roads for a period of 10 years . To achieve this the following policies will prevail :-

1. That new roading be formed to the same standard as the main Port Fitzroy to Shoal Bay Road. 2. That complete storm water systems be provided to cat er for storm water runoff from the road and to prov ide for overflow storm water from each section within the subdivision . 3. That the new roads wil 1 be of a sufficient standard to incur minimum erosion on the road surface. 4. That the binding of surface materia l be to the standard requ i red by the County Engineer. 24

4.3..1WHARVES ANO WATER TRANSPORT

GENERAL Over the last fifteen years, water transport to the Is land both for passengers and freight has constantly changed, and at present there are t hree operators bringing freight to th e Island. The largest operator, Rope Shipping, brings f uel to four main locations on t he Island. These are :-

I. Whangaparapara 2. Port Fitzroy 3. Tryphena 4. Okupu The bulk of the cargo that this Company carries is offloaded at Okupu and Port Fitzroy. Okupu handles most goods but this will te nd to diminish when the Whangaparapara road becomes all weather access.

Because of the distinct conmunities on the Island, it is not practical to reduce the Ports of the lslard down to one centralised Port. Although Whangaparapara would make a logical choice as the central Port, the read ing cost of transporting goods to serve the Northern and Southern areas would not be economically viab le.

OBJECTIVE: It is Council's objective to encourage and ensure t hat the transport services to the I sl and for cargo be maintained, and that the existing Ports of Port Fitzroy, Whangaparapara , and Shoal Bay be maintained to sufficient standard to ensure the unloading of materials. POLICIES: I. On completion of the metalling and upgrading of the Whangaparapara Road to dispense with the Okupu Bay Wharf for all forms of corrmercial trade. 2. That Port Fitzroy will be maintained to serve the Northern ar eas. 3. Within the planning period tt i.s the Council's intention to repair and upgrade the wharf and ramp facilities at Shoal Bay Tryphena . 4. That all foreshore structures be fully justified . 5. That all structures to be built of sound materials and sited so as to minimise visual and environmental effects. 6. That structures must not cause a hazard to navigation or generate undesirable effects with respect to road t raffic or public recreation. 25

4.3.-Z- FUTURETRENDS There is no reason to suppose that the existing three operators supplying goods to the Barrier will continue to do so over the planning period. In fact the past in dications have been that operators and their modes of tra nsport constantly change, thus there is no guarantee of continued service to the Island for transportation of goods. Trans port systems wi 11 directly depend on the patronage from the Is l and residents, and from Government Departments. Passenger transport by water has been unprofitable in the past, and apart from ....._a few sailings over the peak summer tourist season, transport of passe ngers to ! Isla nd by boat is likely to diminish. The service provided by air transport is the regu la r transportation system to the Isla nd for passengers.

4,4 . AIRFIELDSAND AIR TRANSPORT The Is land has two airfields, the first is at Claris, this airfield is lo cated on Crown Land and is leased to the Auckland Aero Club. The second airfield is located on M.T.Burr ill's land at Okiwi. The Auckland Aero Club administers this airfield on the owner's behalf . The Auckland Aero Club runs a regu lar service to the Island every day with morning and afternoon flights, and takes passengers, small goods including all mail and bread supplies to the Island. With the constant daily trips and. ability to --, • •nsport quickly to the Island, the residents and visitors are usin g th is form of ., I transport rather than go by sea. The Auckland Aero Club maintains the air strip out of revenue obtained from landing fees .

4. 4. 1 SEA PLANES

Air transport is also provided to the Island by Sea Bee Air, using Mulberry Grove, Whangaparapara and Port Fitzroy as the three main landing bases. This service is also daily but is dependent on public patronage. This transport system complements that provided by Auckland Aero Club, in that passengers can get to the main holiday l oca ti ons namely Tryphena Harbour, Whangaparapara and Port Fitzroy without incurring a taxi journey from an airfield. Sea Bee Air's service over the summer months increases due to the transient population going to the I sland for vacation. : I 26

I 4.4.2 SUITABILITYOF AIR TRANSPORT The services provided by Auckland Aero Club and Sea Bee Air offer the only regular passenger transport link with the mainl and. Small goods and passengers are brought by the two companies to the Island. Without this Tin k the Is l and residents would be more isolated than they already ar e. With the increasing cost of fue l and the Government's Transport Levy ,costs of mai ntai ni ng this link are increasing. This is of concern to the Counci 1.

4.5 TRANSPORTATIONPOLICIES

1. The Council is i nvest igating taking over the control and administration of the Claris Airfield. 2. That the future alignment of the Claris Aerodrome be protected as required by the Civil Aviation Division. 3. That future development within the flight path and appr oaches of any new al i gnments be prohib i ted. 4. That protectio n of the landing approaches and foresh ores areas be provided where amphibian aircraft land and taxi on the Island. 5. That the Counci 1 investigate the possi bi 1 i ty of upgrading the Claris Airfield to a pennanent all weather surface to enable larger planes to use the airstr ip. 6. That the Council recognises the important service rendered by Okiwi Airfield to the residents of the Northern area and will encourage the land owner to make the facility available to all c011111ercial and private air services.