The Press THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1976. New tourist roads

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34099, 11 March 1976, Page 16

The Press THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 1976. New tourist roads

A speaker at a meeting of local body and Government representatives held at Te Anau last week noted a drop in enthusiasm for new tourist roads tn the south of the South Island He attributed this change to caution about the effects of new roads. But the advocates of such projects as roads through the Greenstone \ alley or down the Hollyford River and on to Haast are probably aware that pressing for this work is a waste of effort when the Government is clamping down on public spending. When the money is available again the arguments will be revived that, without this or that road, particular areas or even the whole tourist industry will suffer: and the conservation groups can be expected to challenge the proposals as hotly as ever.

Some improvements to the tourist routes in the South Island is desirable and they could be achieved without great harm to the interests of people who, do not have a direct stake in the tourist trade or those who like t drive their cars when on holiday. But even when money is available for major roading projects again, the improvement of existing tourist routes should take precedence over the construction of new roads. The unpleasantness of driving over the unsealed section of the road through the Lindis Pass is a telling reminder of how bad roads can spoil a holiday. On the other hand, the new road to Mount Cook has added pleasure to a journey that was once irksome. The tourist industry was served far better by the reconstruction of this road than by adding miles of unsealed new road to the existing network.

A good argument can be put up against building roads for tourists until existing roads are being used to capacity. This need not mean that cars must be travelling bumper to bumper all summer over the Haast Pass before the Greenstone road is built. The capacity of the roads may be measured by the satisfaction of the tourists while on the move. So far the volume of traffic on the most heavily travelled South Island tourist roads cannot be said to diminish the satisfaction of tourists. Another element. however, must be considered. This is the capacity of the resorts served by the roads. Too great a pressure on resorts will spoil tours and holidays, and it must be remembered that much of the appeal of holidays in New Zealand is quite unlike that of large, densely populated resorts and tourist cities in other countries. New resorts can be established along existing roads, and this may be a better course than enlarging the roading system to find new' ground for the tourists and holidaymakers.

Although this argument does not dispose of plans for such extensions as the Greenstone Valley route, care must be taken to protect the interests of those who prefer to spend their holidays tramping or walking through unspoiled country. People who seek some solitude and who want to escape from cars and buildings must be respected. They should not be pushed back into ever more rugged wilderness which only the strongest and very fit can enjoy with safety’. The demand for walking tracks through relatively easy country must not be denied by over-enthusiastic road-building. With this in mind, the building of two new roads in particular must be considered very carefully: one is the road through the Copland Valley, linking the Mount Cook and Westland National Parks: the other is the road between Collingwood and Karamea along the line of the Heaphy Track.