Council apologises to our Board, approves cycleway
Council, Board, and community update August 2023
A warm welcome to subscribers who have joined recently đ Iâm slightly rearranging my online presence and hope that this occasional newsletter continues be a helpful way to keep in touch.
Iâve you havenât already, please subscribe to get my latest news and updates direct to your mailbox and in the Substack reader. Subscription to this newsletter is free, and always will be.
Park Terrace
Council apology to our Community Board
In my last newsletter I noted my disappointment that no apology has been forthcoming from the elected Council for making decisions in March that were the Board's responsibility to make, in relation to changes associated with the Rolleston Ave / Park Tce cycleway. Just days later, in an open meeting, the Council noted ââŠthat pursuant to the decision-making authority delegated to Community Boards, the Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central Community Board should have considered the Parking Changes on Gloucester Street & Hereford Street report than was inadvertently heard by Council at its 14 March 2023 meeting, and that Council apologise for the errorâ. I thank the Council for this and consider the matter closed.
Community Board hears deputations & makes recommendation
At our Community Board meeting on 12 July we heard from 36 residents and groups who came to speak to us about the changes on Rolleston Avenue and Park Terrace, as well as from staff and independent consultants. After considering what we heard on the day as well as the detailed report in our meeting agenda, our Board recommended that the Council approves the changes for a five-year period. As was recommended by staff, the Board has also recommended indenting the northbound bus stop on Park Terrace so that busses will not stop in the traffic lane. The Board also requested staff brief the Community Board on an annual basis in relation to reviews of the Temporary Traffic Management Plan under which the works have been carried out.
Council approves Rolleston Ave & Park Tce changes
On 2 August, the Council voted in support of our Boardâs recommendation that both the Rolleston Avenue and Park Terrace sections of cycleway remain for the five-year duration of redevelopment of the museum. See the Council minutes (item 9) for a detailed voting record of the various parts of the recommendation. The retention of the Park Terrace section passed with 9 votes in support and 7 votes against.
John MacDonald on cycleway opponents
I was a little surprised to find myself being roasted live on air by NewstalkZBâs John MacDonald the day after our Board meeting, for supposed impropriety in my decision-making on Park Terrace (no link to this, sorry). Imagine my further surprise then, when I read Mr MacDonaldâs 3 August column in which he appears to step back and take more of a big-picture view, writing that âCycleway opponents need to get a gripâ.
âBecause, while theyâre banging on about a blimminâ cycleway, people on the other side of town in Bromley are being told that itâs going to take even longer to sort out that stench from that stinking compost plant.â
Coming up next
When passing by the museum at the weekend I saw that the site fencing has now extended almost to the kerb. Within days of this newsletter being published we can expect to see a couple of trees removed and the whole area at the front of the museum become a worksite. At that point the rationale for the cycle lane may become clearer to those who protested that there was plenty of room without it - watch this space.
Council
Speed limits to drop across much of Christchurch
On 5 July the Council voted to adopt an interim speed management plan, which drops speeds across much of the city to either 30km/h or 40km/h. The plan will now be submitted to Waka Kotahi for certification and the new speed limits will then be formalised and implemented. I posted about this on Think Papanui and subsequently shared more detailed maps showing changes in the Papanui, Northcote, and Redwood area.
Cranford St bus lanes to stay for now
On 2 August the Council voted (item 12) to approve the continued operation and enforcement of the bus priority lanes on Cranford Street between Innes Road and Berwick Street. We can expect public consultation on three possible long-term options (bus lanes, clearways, and high-occupancy vehicle lanes) during September with a report to then come to our Board and then Council.
Council declines to consider the possibility of change to electoral system
A report to the 2 August Council meeting (item 16) covers electoral matters, including a recommendation that the Council notes âthat First Past the Post is the electoral system that will be in place for the next general election of the Council in 2025.â An amendment to âRequest a report on the cost and logistics of a poll [on the options of either first past the post (FPP) or single transferable vote (STV)] at the time of the next local body electionâ resulted in a tied vote and was therefore declared lost. The staff recommendation was then carried.
Hospital parking: Council removes traffic lane to test impact
Also on 2 August the Council (item 18) authorised staff to trial temporary lane closures Hagley Avenue and Riccarton Avenue near the hospital, to test potential options for increasing on-street carparking on those streets. This initiative was declared by the Council to be of âmetropolitan significanceâ, meaning that our Community Board has no formal say in the process, however the Council also required staff to consult our Board before making any recommendations, and to include us in any future memos or briefings on the topic.
Community Board
12 July Community Board meeting outcomes
Our July meeting was mostly taken up with cycleway deputations and deliberations, however we also dealt with some other minor roading issues, and received a report on issues and initiatives in the Board area. See my post on Think Papanui for more information
10 August agenda
Our August Community Board meeting is coming up this Thursday. The single biggest-ticket item on the agenda is the renewal of a section of Innes Road (pic), which will cost in excess of $5m to implement (including associated three waters works). Weâll also make decisions on around $500k in community funding, consider an urban forest planting plan for Lancaster Park, and deal with a number of other matters. See my post on Think Papanui for more information.
Some of what Iâve been up to
I enjoyed taking in the TÄ«rama Mai light festival over Matariki - one of a number of events in our Community Board area.
In my capacity as Co-chair of the Community Boards Executive Committee I attended the Local Government New Zealand AGM and conference at Te Pae. Highlights included: the passing of a remit relating to KiwiSaver for elected members that our committee had been involved in developing & promoting; hearing from a range of informative & inspiring speakers; and the opportunity to meet and discuss issues with elected members from across the motu. See my Facebook post for photos.
In response to questions and discussion on the future further development of the Northlink retail centre and the anticipated traffic lights at the Greers Road / Langdons Road intersection, I published an update on my website explaining whatâs been happening in the background, including the unlinking of these two projects.
Iâm involved in some work to address a need for more youth-friendly public spaces in the Papanui area. This was picked up by the NorâWest News recently and while Iâm not in love with the headline, the article itself covers the issue reasonably well. Watch this space!
Last week Emma Norrish and I presented our monthly Community Board report to the Council, outlining decisions made and other activities and events of interest in our Board area:
Coming up
Tomorrow night Iâm off to the WEA to hear about Making Room for Rivers. If you read this newsletter in time, please consider joining me, and if not, you can find future events on the Forest & Bird Facebook page.
Later this month Iâm heading to Auckland with some of my team for the INVOLVE national conference for youth development in Aotearoa. Iâm looking forward to some information & inspiration and to catching up with colleagues from the youth sector around the country.
Later this month Iâm off to a session at the WORD Christchurch festival to hear from 2023 Young New Zealander of the Year Shaneel Lal. Head to wordchristchurch.co.nz for the full festival programme.
Thanks for reading! Please get in touch if youâd like to discuss anything related to my Community Board role, or anything else mentioned above or that I might be interested in. You can also just hit âreplyâ if youâve received this newsletter by email. If you just canât wait to hear what Iâm up to, follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more immediate updates, and keep an eye on my website for longer-form content.