Queenstown Town Centre Masterplan reaches a major milestone

The Queenstown Town Centre Masterplan has reached a significant milestone with Queenstown Lakes District Council considering indicative business cases this week.

Indicative business cases for the overall Masterplan programme, a new arterial road and public and passenger transport facilities will be considered at a full Council meeting on Thursday, and if approved will move forward into a detailed planning phase.

QLDC General Manager Property & Infrastructure, Peter Hansby says the project has made significant progress since the informal community engagement earlier this year.
“We received a lot of detailed feedback through our last conversations with the community. We’ve now taken that and worked closely with NZTA, ORC and many local stakeholders to refine designs, compare options and update expected costs,” he said.

“We now have an indicative programme that supports our vision for a people-focussed, thriving and vibrant heart of Queenstown, now and into the future.”
The 35-year, $385m Queenstown Town Centre Masterplan programme would see:

• A new town centre arterial route from Melbourne Street to One Mile Roundabout, which allows the town centre to grow, shifts cars out to the fringes and provides better access for public and passenger transport.
• Improved parking supply and management through new parking buildings on the town centre fringes, expansion of the town centre paid parking area, development of new park and ride facilities, introduction of parking management technology and demand management to optimise occupancy levels.
• A new public transport hub with up to eight bays on Stanley Street, which supports the growth in bus services and forecast passenger increases.
• Fast tracking of the planning for mass transit corridor options, such as light rail or high-capacity gondola operations, to future proof the Frankton Road corridor.
• Improved arrangements for passenger transport, providing improved spaces for coaches, tourist operations and taxis to operate across the town centre.
• Development of wharf facilities to support greater use of the lake for transport.
• Improved walking and cycling routes and facilities in the town centre, including better connections to attractions and the wider active transport network.
• Many public space improvements to improve the visitor and local experience in the town centre through enhancing streets and lanes, better connections between attractions, improving accessibility for those with disabilities or mobility challenges and celebrating Queenstown’s unique heritage and culture.
• Development of “Smart Cities” tools and technology to better manage and connect people with things like public transport and parking options.
• A commitment to further investigate a Community Heart to better meet our growing needs for cultural, heritage and arts facilities.
• Improved communications to better inform our customers and improve their experiences.

“We are very conscious of the significant investment required over the 35-year horizon and we have other needs to balance against this programme through our Long-Term Plan budget. But, we can’t keep putting this off and collectively, we will keep working hard to find the best value solutions while pursuing a range of funding streams”.

If endorsed by the Council on Thursday, the project will progress to a detailed planning phase and a series of projects will be included for the community’s consideration as part of the Ten Year Plan consultation process.

ENDS

Indicative business cases can be read online as part of the Council agenda here

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