St Arnaud traffic tally weighs heavily
If residents of the alpine village of St Arnaud felt like the volume of heavy traffic was . . . well . . . heavy during 2017, they were correct.
St Arnaud’s location along State Highway 63 put it firmly on the main inland route that was used as an alternative to State Highway 1 between Picton and Canterbury for 13 months after the November 2016 Kaiko¯ ura earthquake.
The New Zealand Transport Agency has released the data from the telemetry site at St Arnaud, which shows the volume of traffic before and after the earthquake along with the level since SH1 around Kaiko¯ ura reopened in midDecember.
St Arnaud had the biggest percentage increase in both total and heavy traffic volumes of any site along the alternative SH1 route. Average daily total traffic volumes increased by as much as 600 per cent to 2333 in February 2017, up from 333 in the two months before the quake.
The percentage hike for average daily heavy traffic was even larger, up a whopping 1941 per cent in November 2017 compared with prequake levels – from 38 to 779.
Tasman District Council LakesMurchison Ward councillor Stuart Bryant, who covers the area, was not surprised by the numbers.
‘‘I just think it shows how critical that Kaiko¯ ura highway is and how much traffic there is actually diverted through SH63, 6 and 65,’’ Bryant said. ‘‘It’s pretty incredible isn’t it and I think that would be reflected by most of the business operators, in turnover and vehicles past their premises.’’
Post-quake traffic volumes were also significantly higher at Murchison on SH6, about 45 minutes from St Arnaud. The NZTA data shows average daily total traffic volumes were up 177 per cent in January 2017, from 1912 in the two months before the quake to 5294. Heavy traffic movements climbed 263 per cent, from 334 in the two months before the earthquake to 1214 in November 2017.
‘‘It was much more of an impact on St Arnaud because they hadn’t had such a large volume of traffic so it was quite a cultural change to them,’’ Bryant said. ‘‘Whereas in Murchison, they were used to the relatively high proportion of heavy traffic in the traffic mix.’’
The NZTA data shows that total and heavy traffic volumes at Murchison appear to be returning to prequake levels. However, while heavy traffic levels appear to be stabilising at St Arnaud, they are higher than the averages in the two months prior to the quake.
‘‘This could be an indication that a segment of heavy [vehicle users] may have developed a preference for the alternative route, even after the reopening of SH1 through Kaiko¯ ura,’’ NZTA says.
Bryant said that suggestion tied in with what he’d heard anecdotally.
‘‘I think, there’s possibly a preference by some operators to use that alternative route and maybe some of that’s through the night and just suits their timetables,’’ he said.
Temporary toilets installed at St Arnaud to cope with the additional travellers during the closure of SH1 through Kaiko¯ura were set to become permanent.
Bryant said a grant from the Government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund meant the toilets would be upgraded to become a permanent feature of the village.
Other long-term benefits for the settlement included a reduction in the speed limit and improved signage.
‘‘I just think it shows how critical that Kaiko¯ura highway is and how much traffic there is actually diverted through SH63, 6 and 65.’’ Stuart Bryant, Tasman District Council Lakes-Murchison Ward councillor