Queenstown cable car route changed after community feedback

Southern Infrastructure has revised the route of its proposed Queenstown Cable Car following feedback from the community and council.

The updated design moves the alignment alongside the Queenstown Events Centre instead of over its playing fields, and shifts the Frankton interchange to connect directly with the Frankton Bus Hub.

The revisions follow months of engagement with residents, community groups, businesses, landowners and Queenstown Lakes District Council. The process included four public webinars, dozens of meetings and a community survey that drew nearly 900 responses.

Southern Infrastructure has also worked with council staff on how the network would fit within the existing urban area and planned growth zones in Frankton.

Route changes

The revised layout affects four proposed stations across Frankton Flats. They are now positioned within precincts identified in the Te Kirikiri/Frankton Masterplan: Frankton Village, Queenstown Airport, the Five Mile Urban Corridor and Quail Rise.

The Frankton Bus Hub station is planned above the recently built Frankton golf course car park. Both cable car lines would meet there, creating a single interchange with the current bus network and links for travellers from Ladies Mile, Lake Hayes Estate and Shotover Country.

Another station is planned next to the new airport terminal. A third would sit on the edge of Hawthorne Drive to serve Queenstown Central, Five Mile and Frankton North. The Quail Rise station, near the Shotover Bridge, would serve planned development in that area and connect to cycle routes along the Shotover River.

Quail Rise is also identified as the location for maintenance activity and cabin storage buildings.

Southern Infrastructure Chief Executive Officer Ross Copland said the strongest and most consistent community feedback focused on the playing fields near the events centre.

"Council and residents gave us fairly consistent feedback - don't cross the playing fields. So we've worked with the engineers and found a way to make that work. The new alignment is slightly less direct, but it aligns better to the original Frankton Masterplan design," Copland said.

He said the revisions were intended to reflect concerns raised during consultation.

"These are practical changes that respond to what the community has asked for and I'm really grateful to our design team and suppliers for making it work within the myriad of constraints," Copland said.

Growth areas

The revised station locations were chosen to place stops within areas already identified for housing, employment and transport growth. The approach is intended to improve access on foot, by bike and by transfers to other forms of public transport.

"Station locations have been optimised to service the places people live, work, shop and where Queenstown is planning to grow. Our aim is to make the cable car integrate into the wider transport network.

"Both lines intersecting at Frankton Bus Hub has real benefits. It means people can easily transfer between the cable car and buses at one location, making journeys across the wider network easier," Copland said.

The proposal forms part of a wider transport debate in Queenstown, where congestion and population growth have added pressure to the existing road network. Southern Infrastructure has presented the cable car as a staged scheme, initially focused on the Town Centre and Ladies Mile lines.

Southern corridor

Feedback from residents in southern suburbs, including Jacks Point and Hanley's Farm, was less favourable, according to Southern Infrastructure. Those communities have raised concerns about worsening congestion and the lack of an immediate transport solution in their corridor.

Copland said the response had pushed the company to place more emphasis on explaining how later stages of the network could develop.

"We have to build the network in stages, and the Town Centre and Ladies Mile lines respond to the most pressing transport needs. But the survey feedback was clear - we need to accelerate our planning for a southern corridor transport solution. We're investigating options for expanding the cable car network and engaging with potential partners on their plans too - watch this space," Copland said.

The revised alignment will next be presented to the council, while the station locations and route remain indicative and subject to detailed design and approvals. Southern Infrastructure describes the proposed network as a fully electric passenger system that would operate above the road corridor and carry up to 3,000 people per hour in each direction, with a cabin arriving every 12 seconds.