Nelson Square and inappropriate Truck Parking in Picton

This Picton Business Group submission is one of four regarding the presentation and economic wellbeing of Picton, for the benefit of residents, businesses, and visitor experience, as well as flow-on benefit to the wider Marlborough community.

The key submissions this year relate to a long-term strategic plan for Picton, better presentation of the town and specific promised projects not yet completed.

Picton’s iconic Nelson Square used to be a lovely green space welcoming to visitors to Picton, reflecting the local community’s pride in our town and proximity to the natural environment.

Now, however, it has become an industrial-level eyesore due to massive articulated and freight trucks parking long term, sometimes days, on the sealed areas next to the grassed domain, causing ongoing huge damage to the tarseal, creating massive potholes requiring regular repair and maintenance.

These parking areas were not designed to take the weight of trucks of this scale. Some trucks are also leaving their trailers propped up for several days or more in this area without any truck, presumably to avoid storage charges elsewhere.

Picton Business Group has been advised that the areas in question are not part of the State Highway One network but are on council land. Thus, the repair is at the expense of Marlborough ratepayers, not Waka Kotahi – and it would appear the truck companies and drivers are not being charged for this damage and repair. We are advised any restriction to trucks parking there would require a bylaw by Marlborough District Council.

Picton Business Group therefore asks MDC to enact a bylaw restricting parking around Nelson Square to light vehicles. We suggest it institutes angle parking, or defined parking spaces, which would allow cars, SUVs, and campervans etc to park there while using the park, which was the intention of these parking areas. Possibly a restriction banning overnight parking could also be helpful. The angle parking marked on the East side of Nelson Square successfully achieves this, and makes the intention clear.

We recognise that freight trucks need to have places to park when held up due to ferry delays, and the MDC has attempted to provide a solution with a truck park at Waitohi Domain for this purpose. We ask the council to investigate why the truckies are persisting in not fully utilising the Waitohi Domain truck park as we understand it has not been operating at capacity. Is it due to cost, distance to their accommodation etc? Should there be a shuttle available (provided by ferries or motels)?

If the truck park is insufficient i.e. when ferries are held up, can the MDC work with the ferry companies to find a suitable or supplementary solution. Other options the trucks are using, such as parking on the sides of streets surrounding their preferred motels and hotels, are known to cause issues regarding safety of pedestrians including children at Picton School because of the obstruction to visibility.

The visual amenity of Nelson Square is an important part of the welcome to Picton, and the community – both business and residential – would like to see this worsening situation resolved. An enforceable bylaw would at least provide a simple solution – and if not, then the truck companies causing the continual damage to the road surface should be noted and required to pay for it.

Investigating the longer-term issue of resolving truck parking issues may be something for the 2-3 year plan, but we ask that Nelson Square be sorted in the 2025 year.

This proposal addresses the damage and diminished appeal of Nelson Square caused by heavy freight trucks parking inappropriately.  By removing the heavy freight trucks from Nelson Square the council will reduce the road maintenance costs in this area.

A bylaw restricting parking to light vehicles and redesigning the area with clear layouts would restore the square as an attractive space for visitors and the community.  Restoring Nelson Square enhances Picton’s visual appeal, safety, and community pride.

Encouraging the use of the Waitohi Domain truck park and investigating its underutilization will help resolve broader truck parking issues while reducing repair costs for ratepayers.