Trucks waiting for ferries may have an alternative to parking on Picton streets if a facility in Waitohi Domain is built.
Marlborough District Council has set money aside in its long term plan to terminate Port Marlborough’s lease of the domain and use it for parking complete with a new ablutions block.
An ablutions block with a swipe card system, similar to that used at the Riverlands truck stop near Blenheim, could be installed with an estimated cost of $400,000. The cost of terminating the lease with Port Marlborough is $209,500.
After the Kaikōura earthquake, when State Highway One was closed, council obtained partial funding from the government to build a temporary truck park on Waitohi Domain which catered for up to 26 truck and trailer units.
Once the highway reopened, the land was leased to Port Marlborough.
Since then there have been increasing issues with trucks parking on Picton streets with council receiving complaints from residents regarding noise at night from refrigerated trucks and safety concerns.
Council surveys have found more than 50 trucks and trailer units parked in Picton streets when ferries are delayed.
Transporting New Zealand, the representative body, says the trucking industry needed toilets, showers, a laundry and a place to have a meal.
While the Riverlands truck stop provided that, a similar facility was needed closer to the ferry terminal, council says.
