KEY POINTS:
Skiers are being encouraged to car-pool, rather than driving alone in a plan to reduce demand for car parking at Queenstown's Coronet Peak skifield this winter.
Parking facilities are being sourced at the base of the Coronet Peak road and at Arthurs Point to facilitate car-pooling, and "hitching posts" will be established on the outskirts of Queenstown and at the base of the access road.
Ski area manager Hamish McCrostie said as an incentive for people to car-pool or pick up hitchhikers, single drivers arriving after 8.30am will be required to park in a lower car park and will need to use the carpark shuttle to get to the skifield base building.
The strategy was intended to manage available resources in the most efficient and environmentally friendly way, Mr McCrostie said.
"Thousands of people each winter day leave Queenstown for Coronet Peak," he said.
"We need to take pressure off our car parks and we need to encourage our visitors to use energy efficiently."
Coronet Peak is scheduled to open on June 7.
- NZPA
