WANAKA Town full of ideas
ANYONE in Wanaka looking for evidence of traffic congestion, a lack of parking and inconsiderate tourists in camper vans should avoid lunchtime on the first Thursday in November.
On the most recent first Thursday in November, the town was the perfect example of a quiet, welloiled lakeside tourist town with not a care in the world.
Cars whispered through town, politely giving way to tourists with pushchairs.
Pedestrians chatted quietly at cafe tables.
There were dozens of empty car parks within a stroll of the shops.
And the sun shone on the lake and the snowy mountains.
It could hardly have been better.
But that was not the view taken by nearly 800 Wanaka residents who presented their ideas on how the town’s CBD could indeed be better.
Aware that November is between the ski and summer seasons and the madness of the holidays is only eight weeks away, aware of the sprawl of residential development in Upper Clutha, and aware of the prospect of a huge development of Wanaka Airport, they flooded the
Queenstown Lakes District Council with ideas.
Some with long memories did point out the council had asked the same questions several times in the past.
‘‘These themes are basically the same as those consulted on for the lakefront development plan,’’ one said.
‘‘[Explain] why you are spending a lot of ratepayers’ money and time doing it all again, rather than implementing what has already been agreed by the community and approved by the community board and council.’’
And said another: ‘‘I would get on and implement the town centre part of the approved lakefront development plan rather than spend $900,000 and at least 12 months relitigating what the community has already agreed.’’
Who made these criticisms is not apparent because while the council has published the submissions, it has maintained the privacy of those who made them.
But, aside from questions over the essence of the exercise, submitters generally tried to help by pointing out where the problems are and what the solutions might be.
Far and away the biggest problem was what to do with the cars and camper vans.
Should they be shut out of lower Helwick St?
Should they be banned from part of Ardmore St?
Should someone build a car parking building?
Two submissions in favour of eliminating vehicles from the CBD:
‘‘The town centre and lake front would be hugely enhanced by becoming pedestrian only.’’
‘‘Removal of all vehicles and parking from the town centre and lakefront should be a core principle of the masterplan.’’
Two of several submissions against the idea:
‘‘Vehiclefree roads are only OK if there [is] alternate access for those for which walking is difficult.’’
‘‘Vehiclefree roads and cycleways just end up frustrating 90% of people. Don’t stuff it up like Christchurch has.’’
And some compromises:
‘‘Just do what they do in many European towns — access for deliveries and vehicle restrictions for a certain time of the day like the afternoons and evenings.’’
‘‘Rather then eliminating traffic from the lakefront and main street, it would be better to implement a oneway system.’’
And for every car problem and solution, there was also a parking problem and solution.
One submitter suggested shifting parking ‘‘to the edges of the town centre’’ while another pointed out not all people were ‘‘fit and well enough’’ to bike or walk longer distances.’’
Said another: ‘‘It would be nice to keep the smalltown feel that you can pop in to shops without it taking 10 minutes to walk after parking.’’
And one submitter, claiming removing cars would ‘‘kill retail’’, suggested the council take a look at the carfree Cashel St Mall in Christchurch.
Parking on the lakefront was the most contentious issue.
‘‘Remove the pathetic lakefront parks to a wider more expansive area for cars,’’ said one submitter while another pointed out: ‘‘Placing parking on the outskirts of town basically tells people that you cannot cart your paddleboard or young children and all the picnic gear to the beach. Dumbest idea ever.’’
Campervans were singled out by several submitters.
‘‘[They] should not be parked up next to the lake as the lake is not a motor camp. It sure looked like one last summer.’’
But one submitter found a positive reason to allow campervans to overnight on the lakefront.
‘‘Allow people who may have ended up having too much to drink to sleep it off in their vehicles rather than moving drunk drivers on so they are on our roads.’’
There were several suggestions for a car parking building, and there was a call for accommodation providers to ‘‘provide their own onsite parking rather than using the public parking spaces or the street parking’’.
In place of cars and campervans on the lakefront, submitters called for more seats, toilets, picnic tables, windbreaks, trees, activities for children, a boardwalk to the marina, water features, a ban on boats and jet skis and an end to new lakefront buildings.
‘‘At the moment the lakefront is ugly; it needs to be beautifully landscaped with walkways, seating, etc,’’ one submitter suggested.
The look of the buildings in the CBD came in for attention, too.
‘‘We need to do something about the terrible Toytown architecture in lower Helwick St.’’
‘‘Give the town centre a bit of a makeover. It is a bit drab and dull.’’
‘‘The architecture on lower Helwick St is embarrassing when you compare it to Queenstown and Arrowtown.’’
Changes submitters would like to see in the CBD included wider footpaths, an end to the Ardmore St speed bumps, no ‘‘conglomeration of bars’’, no 4am closing, better space for a market, more businesses, more food trucks, more alfresco dining, more buskers and street performers, more rubbish bins, more restaurants, a 30kmh speed limit, a 20kmh speed limit, no building over two storeys and more provision for cyclists.
A couple of submissions suggested the Wanaka golf course be relocated and the land used for gardens and an art centre.
All the ideas will be ‘‘fed into a vision and key outcomes workshop’’ this month involving the community, a council project team and consultants.
That will include calls for a native bird sanctuary, stables, edible landscapes, trampolines, an ice rink, amphitheatre, public art gallery, a playground with a hamster wheel and two flying foxes, a gaming arcade, an inline skating rink, a water park and ‘‘free ice cream’’.
[Note: Mark Price made a submission, and would have gone for the free ice cream if only he had thought of it].