The other night I went along to a local screening of the Lions vs All Blacks game. Afterwards, our thoughts naturally turned to things going on in our local area, and the economic question marks surrounding the future of Ōtaki.
An Arterial Town
Ōtaki is what I call an ‘arterial town’, equidistant between Wellington and Palmerston North (about one hour’s drive from each), along the State Highway 1.
My uncles supposedly saw this coming many years ago when they moved up here. The joke in the family was that they were for the most part simply in too early as the town stayed more or less the same for much of their lives.
Now it seems their predictions have come true, albeit a few decades too late. Property prices in Ōtaki have soared in recent times, and many new and interesting businesses have opened up.
Economic Question Marks
That being said, there are still some economic question marks surrounding the town, particularly relating to the development of the Expressway that should in theory make us far more accessible to Wellington, as it has already done for Paraparaumu and Waikanae.
The Demise (?) of Retail
The main reason this discussion came about was because one person started asking what would happen to the local coffee carts!
Coffee carts have been a fixture in Ōtaki thanks in part to Streetwise Coffee. Once the Expressway extension happens, however, traffic to the retail town may be reduced dramatically and the coffee carts might not be viable.
First what happens is the coffee gets taken away, then people stop shopping at factory shops, then stores shut down, etc etc. We’ve seen from the Wellington Sevens how contingent economic outcomes can be on one or two subtle factors.
The point is that coffee is closely tied to retail. Once people stop having the reason or ability to stop, it could be damaging for the town.
That being said though, I have personally noticed that people are very disinclined to stop when it’s bumper to bumper traffic. On the last day of a long weekend, nobody comes off the road to our motel, and the town is all but deserted.
Needless to say, there is a sword of Damacles hanging over this town, and it all hinges on how the Expressway development turns out.
The Effect of the Expressway
There will be an Expressway offramp to Ōtaki. I happen to know that the offramp is currently planned to travel right by our motel.
Historically, Ōtaki has profited (or by some accounts, suffered) from the transit bottleneck that meant every individual travelling up State Highway 1 would have to pass through Ōtaki. Once the new Expressway is in place, this will no longer be the case. Ōtaki will become a voluntary stopping point rather than a compulsory one.
The Market Garden Value Chain
In Ōtaki and surrounding regions, due to certain factors such as unique micro climates and good soil, there is a wide array of market garden enterprises and high quality produce available. But, as a friend points out, there is little in the way of industry to add to the produce value chain.
Perhaps some industry could spring up that allows local market garden produce from Ōtaki and the food bowl of the Horowhenua to ultimately reach more distant markets.
New Train Services
While I’m not privy to discussions on this, it has been suggested that the extension of the railway and opening up the railway for goods as well as for passengers could make a huge difference for the region. But vested interests in transport who have already invested in their truck fleet may oppose this.
Closer Links to other parts of Kāpiti
One thing not to be overlooked is the simple benefit of being more closely connected to other parts of Kāpiti and the services they offer.
In the old days, before the opening of the first part of the Expressway, I would avoid travelling to Paraparaumu after hours at all costs, due to the likelihood of getting hit by traffic. These days, it is much easier to get there, meaning Coastlands and Waikanae Beach are just a few minutes’ drive away.
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of the Expressway development will be fostering a more robust and interconnected local Kāpiti economy.
Greater Accessibility for Elderly Drivers
One of the interesting side effects of the Expressway expansion is that it has created a new and safe road for slow moving commuters to travel between different parts of Kāpiti. Since the new Expressway has opened up, elderly folks have reportedly started using the old State Highway 1 Road, which they never felt safe to drive on before, because the Expressway has stolen all the new fast moving traffic.
The Airport Question
If you ask me, and I admit that I do have a horse in this race, the decision to extend the runway at the Wellington Airport would be slightly mad.
Wellington Airport has a terrible reputation as being one prone to turbulence and potentially exposed to earthquake risk as well. The decision to extend the runway to allow for 747 style aircraft to land there would likely lead to enormous infrastructure costs, marginal benefit, as well the opposition from a large number of environmental groups.
Conversely, an extended airport in the Kāpiti Coast would likely be easier to achieve.
Having a major airport several kilometres out of town is not totally unusual – many places such as Melbourne have airports that are located a safe distance from the city centre.
Unfortunately, the prospect of a Paraparaumu runway extension is no longer being considered. This has been precluded by the development of the Expressway itself.
But there are lots of other areas of land around Kāpiti where an airport could be built.
Great People
What is most interesting about recent years is that it has pulled a newer and younger crowd of residents into Ōtaki and Kāpiti in general.
These residents often arrive as a result of lower rents and property prices, but soon take up roots here and form part of the town’s culture.
What is probably most interesting to me is how engaged everyone is. Simply by asking the question about the future of Ōtaki, it sparks off a debate where everybody has a well considered opinion to bring to the discussion.
So on that basis alone I would argue that the future in Ōtaki is as bright as one could imagine.
