time . The high increments in travel costs dampened business operations in French Pass .
Kenepuru
RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS A total of 910 survey precipitants who live ( 80 % of the survey sample ) or operate business ( 20 % of the survey sample ) in the Sounds responded to the survey in February 2023 . The survey responses were classified into three themes : impacts on road network productivity and utilisation , impacts on income , spending , and property value , as well as impacts on mental and physical well-being . The results are summarised as follows .
Impacts on road network productivity and utilisation To supplement the limitations of available traffic data questions also related to travel needs , albeit this data was subjective and later analyses needed to be based on
actual traffic counts . These were analysed to reflect the likely direct impacts of the storm events on the local road transport network ’ s efficiency , mainly in terms of changes in Travel Time ( TT ) and Travel Costs ( TCs ).
It was determined from the survey that the severely damaged local road network and compromised access resulted in impacts varying across community groups ( resident or business ) and sub-areas ( shown by figure 2 ). Post storm events , business spent more money and time on transport than residents , with Kenepuru being the exception where average business trip delay was lower than personal trip delay . Among the four study areas , Kenepuru experienced the worst changes in travel
It was noted that additional travel costs were far more than vehicle operating costs , typically related to road surface conditions or speed change . The damaged road network compelled the use of alternative travel and transport approaches like purchasing four-wheeled vehicles and relying on water taxi or barge . This substantially increased business operational costs across several local industries . For instance , the farming and aquaculture industries bore high costs of purchasing raw materials and delivering fresh produce ( i . e ., livestock ) and marine produce .
Impacts on income , spending , and property value The survey demonstrated that the rise in outflows and reduction in inflows delivered a two-punch blow to the local economy and Sounds community , indicating that many households or businesses appear to have been living or operating beyond income ( at least as of the time when the survey was completed ).
As shown in figure 3 , when measured on the same basis – as a proportion of the annual income , the percentage decrease in household income was less significant than the percent increase in household spending across all 4 study areas . Kenepuru witnessed the largest reduction in household income and increase in household spending .
Figure 3 . Changes in income , spending and property value experienced by the local community in the four study areas in the Sounds
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