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The Star: April 20, 2017

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12 Thursday <strong>April</strong> <strong>20</strong> <strong>20</strong>17<br />

Latest Christchurch news at www. .kiwi<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong><br />

News<br />

Free weekend car parks<br />

in central city mooted<br />

• By Bridget Rutherford<br />

FREE CAR parking in<br />

the weekends is being<br />

investigated in a bid to<br />

bring more people back<br />

into the central city.<br />

<strong>The</strong> city council is looking<br />

into whether free car<br />

parking could be offered<br />

on the weekends in the<br />

central city as an enticement.<br />

City council transport<br />

operations manager Aaron<br />

Haymes said it was considering<br />

temporary free parking,<br />

but it had not made a<br />

final decision.<br />

“<strong>The</strong> car parks would be<br />

council controlled parks<br />

but the locations are still<br />

under consideration.”<br />

He said it would make<br />

a decision within the next<br />

Aaron Haymes<br />

few weeks after consultation<br />

with businesses and<br />

other parking stakeholders.<br />

<strong>The</strong>re had been substantial<br />

private investment in<br />

car parking buildings, so<br />

it was important not to<br />

undermine that, he said.<br />

City councillor Deon<br />

Swiggs asked staff to<br />

look into it.<br />

“It’s about getting people<br />

back to the central city to<br />

try it out. If they have a<br />

good experience, they will<br />

come back again.”<br />

Central City Business<br />

Association chairman<br />

Brendan Chase said the<br />

idea came up at a summit<br />

the association held and<br />

it would be good for business.<br />

He said another idea was<br />

if someone bought something<br />

at a shop or cafe, they<br />

could be reimbursed for<br />

their car parking fee, or<br />

could get a free ride home<br />

on public transport.<br />

More people were returning<br />

to the central city,<br />

and it was only going to<br />

improve, he said.<br />

Students study life on Mars<br />

• By Ashleigh Monk<br />

WHEN THE time comes<br />

to pack our bags and head<br />

for Mars, Christchurch<br />

youths will be wellprepared.<br />

<strong>The</strong> Ara Institute of Canterbury<br />

is hosting a series<br />

of workshops to teach high<br />

school students how to get<br />

to Mars, and how to survive<br />

when they’re there.<br />

And though it may raise<br />

a few eyebrows, living on<br />

Mars is not that far off<br />

according to National<br />

Aeronautics and Space<br />

Administration.<br />

NASA predicts a crew,<br />

called Daedalus, will<br />

make the nine-month trip<br />

to Mars in the <strong>20</strong>30s to<br />

establish shelter, food and<br />

water sources for future<br />

newcomers.<br />

So in New Zealand’s July<br />

holidays, Ara will be teaching<br />

high school students all<br />

the necessary knowledge<br />

on how to be a good Mars<br />

resident.<br />

At 96 per cent carbon<br />

dioxide and just one per<br />

cent oxygen, the air on<br />

Mars is unbreathable, so<br />

the Daedalus crew will use<br />

electrolosis to convert carbon<br />

dioxide into oxygen.<br />

<strong>The</strong>y will also establish a<br />

hospitable shelter to protect<br />

humans from the temperature<br />

extremes Mars<br />

displays, along with hydroponic<br />

farming and other<br />

methods to grow food.

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