Nor'West News: March 21, 2017
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NOR’WEST NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi<br />
Tuesday <strong>March</strong> <strong>21</strong> <strong>2017</strong> 5<br />
<strong>News</strong><br />
Playground plans to go ahead<br />
• By Julia Evans<br />
PLAYGROUND upgrades at<br />
a suburban park are set to go<br />
ahead in spite of a community<br />
group lobbying against them.<br />
The Fendalton-Waimairi-<br />
Harewood Community Board<br />
approved the $150,000 upgrades<br />
to the Abberley Park playground<br />
that will see it take up twice the<br />
amount of space it is now.<br />
But Friends of Abberley Park,<br />
a volunteer<br />
group that does<br />
maintenance<br />
around the<br />
park, were<br />
against the concept.<br />
They lost<br />
Aaron Keown<br />
their bid to see<br />
the footprint of<br />
the playground<br />
move in order to take up less of<br />
the park’s green space.<br />
The board decided to stick<br />
with the original upgrade<br />
plans approved last year by the<br />
Shirley/Papanui Community<br />
Board.<br />
City council staff, councillor<br />
Aaron Keown and the group<br />
met at the park after a deputation<br />
was made to the board in<br />
order to see if they could find a<br />
compromise.<br />
KIP0018KiwiBubsPres <strong>2017</strong>-03-10T16:50:42+13:00<br />
A week after this meeting city<br />
council parks project manager<br />
PARK: The Abberley Park playground which will soon be<br />
upgraded to take up almost twice the amount of green space<br />
shown here. <br />
Steven Gray went back to the<br />
group with a proposed change<br />
to the upgrade.<br />
The playground had been<br />
moved 12m to the west to save<br />
some of the park’s versatile<br />
greenspace that was to be taken<br />
up by the new equipment.<br />
The plans were presented<br />
to members of Friends of<br />
Abberley Park who said they<br />
were satisfied with the new<br />
proposal.<br />
“It entirely won over the last<br />
friends who had remained dubious,”<br />
the group said.<br />
However, at their last meeting<br />
the board moved to maintain<br />
the status quo by supporting<br />
the initial plan approved by the<br />
Shirley/Papanui board.<br />
City councillor Jamie Gough<br />
voted against the motion and<br />
fellow city councillor Aaron<br />
Keown said he thought the matter<br />
was coming back for further<br />
discussion.<br />
The secondary consultation<br />
worried members of the old<br />
Shirley/Papanui board who<br />
did not want to see the project<br />
delayed any further.<br />
City councillor and former<br />
board member Pauline Cotter<br />
said it had a very robust and<br />
thorough consultation process<br />
last year.<br />
“The existing equipment is beyond<br />
its use-by date and safety<br />
quota so we really need to get on<br />
with it,” she said.<br />
Friends of Abberley Park<br />
said it is disappointed with the<br />
outcome.<br />
It said it hopes to grow in<br />
strength so it can be heard when<br />
issues around paddling pool<br />
retention are eventually raised.<br />
$30k funding remains for centre<br />
Last week Nor’West <strong>News</strong><br />
reported $30,000 was being<br />
taken from the repair of the<br />
Shirley Community Centre<br />
rebuild and to go towards<br />
repairing the Redwood Plunket<br />
rooms. The information came<br />
Refuge islands to<br />
improve safety<br />
PEDESTRIAN safety has been<br />
prioritised for Grampian St in<br />
Casebrook.<br />
The installation of two refuge<br />
islands between Jocelyn St and<br />
Veitches Rd was approved by the<br />
Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood<br />
Community Board at its last<br />
meeting.<br />
The upgrades come off the<br />
back of several complaints from<br />
residents regarding cars speeding<br />
down the wide and straight<br />
street.<br />
Narrowing road markings<br />
will create a natural desire for<br />
drivers to slow down, alongside<br />
the proposed pedestrian islands<br />
and no-stopping restrictions, city<br />
council staff said.<br />
More than 100 leaflets were<br />
hand delivered to residents<br />
and businesses in Jocelyn and<br />
Grampian Sts between Veitches<br />
from a city council press<br />
release.<br />
However, the funds are not<br />
related to the permanent facility<br />
but are coming from a budget<br />
set aside for the relocation of a<br />
temporary facility.<br />
and Calridges Rds .<br />
Staff received feedback<br />
on the proposal from three<br />
organisations including the<br />
AA, Canterbury District<br />
Health Board and Christchurch<br />
Disability group, which all<br />
supported the upgrade.<br />
Five residents also provided<br />
feedback, including one petition<br />
containing seven signatories, all<br />
of who opposed the proposal but<br />
acknowledged speeding vehicles<br />
are a problem.<br />
One resident said refuge<br />
islands were not suitable to cross<br />
with their guide dog and they<br />
would need a signalised crossing<br />
to be installed.<br />
The project will be carried<br />
out under the city council’s<br />
Safety Improvements<br />
Programme and is estimated to<br />
cost $66,530.<br />
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