Previews of town’s future look

NEW artists’ impressions are giving residents a view of how Queenstown’s town centre might look in 10 years’ time.

The images, created for the Queenstown Lakes District Council by its planning consultants as detailed work continues on the Queenstown Town Centre Masterplan, give a glimpse of a more pedestrianfriendly town in which providing visitors with an ‘‘authentic’’ experience is the overriding goal.

Speaking at a Transportation Group conference in the resort yesterday, council infrastructure manager Peter Hansby said the catalyst for the masterplan had been the longmooted ‘‘Inner Links’’ arterial route around the town centre.

The masterplan had since become the umbrella for three other major challenges: parking, public transport and general enhancement of the town centre.

Momentum had come from a new council responding to a growing frustration among residents about the resort’s worsening road congestion and the difficulty of finding parks.

A crucial goal was to encourage residents to keep coming into the town centre, which had to be compact, walkable and give visitors a diversity of retail, civic, arts, entertainment and cultural experiences, Mr Hansby said.

The council unanimously agreed in December to advance the master plan to the detailed planning. Costed at $385 million, it will be be done in stages between 2019 and 2027.

IMAGES: QLDC Key crossing . . . An artist’s impression of the intersection of Stanley and Ballarat Sts. A bus interchange, featuring covered bus stops on both sides of the road, extends down Stanley St between Ballarat and Shotover Sts.

Pedestrianfriendly . . . A view from Rees St across the intersection with Shotover St, towards the Brecon St stairs.