I can't believe it's not a post about cycleways!
Spoiler alert: it actually is a post about cycleways. Maybe a different topic next time.
A warm welcome to subscribers who have joined recently š Iām slightly rearranging my online presence and hope that this occasional newsletter continues be a helpful way to keep in touch.
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Read on for some updates on cycleways in the Christchurch area, whatās been happening with our Community Board, and some other news and updates from me.
Council
Northern Lineās green light changes to amber š¦š
In my May newsletter I wrote that construction of missing sections of the Northern Line cycleway could start in June, and that crossing upgrades at Harewood, Langdons, and Sawyers Arms Roads are due to commence in late 2023. Sadly, here we are in July and thereās no sign yet of action between Sturrocks and Tuckers Roads, or between Barnes & Main North Roads.
I posted an update on Think Papanui in June (KiwiRail cancels Councilās cycleway construction) to advise that June work on the missing sections had been cancelled by KiwiRail, and pushed back to July or August. Council staff advise of āa number of factorsā around the timing of the anticipated crossing upgrades, however they remain provisionally booked with KiwiRail for November 2023 at this stage.
Council gets grim news on four cycleways ā
The Northern Line, as well as the NorāWest Arc, South Express Route, and Heathcote Expressway, are all recipients of Shovel Ready funding, but all are also facing budget shortfalls. The projects are being impacted by construction cost escalation (exacerbated by delays), discovery of ground contamination and poor ground conditions, and higher than expected costs associated with KiwiRail works. The total shortfall across the four projects is in the order of $25m (ie the same amount Council will spend building 250m of road in Islington). This is an issue that will need to be considered during the upcoming Long Term Plan process. For more information see item 15 in the agenda of the 31 May Finance and Performance Committee meeting and/or watch the video of this item being discussed.
Annual Plan decided, Wheels to Wings deferral clarified š“āāļøš¦š¢
Better news: further to the strong cycleway support I wrote about in May, the official analysis of Annual Plan submissions is now available. This confirms that of 816 submissions received on the Annual Plan in total, 304 give feedback on the proposal ānot to begin construction on the Wheels to Wings cycleway for 12 monthsā. 236 submissions oppose a delay, while just 27 submissions support. Read my article about this on my website. Councillors appear to have noted this - in their recent Annual Plan decision-making meeting, Councillors unanimously agreed to start construction on the Wheels to Wings cycleway āas soon as staff and local Councillors have completed further work with the affected communities to address previously identified concerns as part of the detailed design processā.
Park Terrace: staff criticized for doing what they said they would š§
Councillors running amock? I hesitate to write too much about the Park Terrace cycleway situation given the amount of press coverage itās occupied already. If youāre not familiar, or would like to catch up on the latest, I recommend this article by David Williams on Newsroom, which includes some comment from me, and I also suggest checking out a staff memo recently circulated to our Community Board, which includes as appendices two very interesting previous memos which had been shared with Councillors but not (until now) with Community Board members such as myself. As I said to David, I remain disappointed that:
Council's decision-making in March overrode our Community Board's delegations and breached the Governance Partnership Agreement between the Council and our Board;
our Board's request that the Chief Executive decline the 7 June Notice of Motion regarding Park Terrace be declined (on the basis that it was a breach of process and negated our Board's voice) was not even acknowledged, let alone agreed to;
that my request that the 7 June Notice of Motion be withdrawn from the agenda was not acted on; and
that no apology has been forthcoming from the elected Council for making decisions in March that were the Board's responsibility to make.
Community Board
15 June Community Board meeting outcomes
Our Community Board has held one ordinary meeting since my last newsletter. Weāre continuing to fill the space available for public forum submissions - five-minute slots for members of the public to speak to the Board about almost any issue. Our Thursday afternoon meeting time seems to be much more convenient for public participation than the Papanui-Innes Boardās Friday mornings last term. See my summary of the meeting on Think Papanui, and click through from there for the minutes.
Some of what Iāve been up to
Itās AGM season, and Iāve recently attended AGMs of both the Neighbourhood Trust and also the Edgeware Pool group (St Albans Pavilion and Pool Incorporated).
During June I attended a Papanui Bush planting day, which had strong support from the Rotary Club of Papanui as well as elected members and other members of the public. See my Facebook page for a brief video.
I headed out to Rolleston recently with my Te Tahi Youth colleagues to support the opening of the Selwyn Youth Hub - a community space that provides a base for a range of services supporting the large & growing youth population in Selwyn District. The youth employment programme I lead at Te Tahi Youth is growing rapidly, and just this past week Seven Sharp ran a good news story from the programme - see below (and watch very closely to see if you can spot me):
Coming up in July:
Our July Community Board meeting is scheduled for 13 July at 4pm, however weāre setting aside all of the 12th of July for a full day of hearing submissions on the Park Terrace cycleway. At this meeting we should also receive a staff report on the 4,000+ written submissions received from the public and be asked to make a recommendation to Council on the future of the project.
At the end of July Iāll don my CBEC hat and attend the Local Government New Zealand AGM & annual conference.
Thanks for reading! Please get in touch if youād like to discuss anything related to my Community Board role, or anything else mentioned above or that you know or think I might be interested in. You can also just hit āreplyā if youāve received this newsletter by email. If you just canāt wait to hear what Iām up to, follow me on Facebook and Instagram for more immediate updates, and keep an eye on my website for longer-form content.