Waimea Weekly Locally Owned and Operated
Wednesday 21 August 2024
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$70k for Hospice
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Junior rugby wraps up
No congestion charging, yet MAX FRETHEY
Local Democracy Reporter
Congestion charging could soon be coming to New Zealand streets, but it’s not on the cards for Nelson Tasman, not yet anyway. Last week, the Government announced that it plans to introduce new legislation allowing councils to introduce time-of-use charges later this year. Time-of-use charging would see motorists pay a fee to drive on the busiest streets at the busiest times. Drivers could avoid the fee by travelling on another route, by other means such as on the bus, or at a different time, which would see fewer vehicles on the road at peak times. If you’re unlucky enough to join traffic at the wrong time during peak hours, a journey of about 14 kilometres between Richmond and central Nelson can take 45 minutes or more. However, the region’s leaders say despite the challenging rush hours, it’s not something that Nelson Tasman should
adopt just yet. “I’m not sure that we are quite ready for it yet because peak congestion is only a relatively short time a day,” says Tasman’s deputy mayor Stuart Bryant. “If we were having people waiting in queues like they do in Auckland for an hour, that would be a whole different kettle of fish. “But currently, I can’t see people be very sympathetic to that at all.” Stuart, who is also the chair of the joint transport committee, suggested that the region should focus on other measures to take the pressure off the roading network. He highlights the eBus service, which has doubled the patronage numbers of its predecessor, and has been a long-time advocate of transit lanes in some “strategic point”. But the Hope Bypass, a Road of National Significance that would add capacity to the local road network, isn’t slated to begin construction until at least 2030.
SEE PAGE 3
Puppies point paws south Jan Rae, whose Wakefield property is a haven for rehomed dogs, is looking for foster homes for puppies and dogs that will soon come south along with a new charity. Photo: Anne Hardie. Full story page 2.
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