The Star: January 25, 2018

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8 Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Thursday January 25 2018 News Local News Now The Star Fire rages, homes at risk No winners when tackling heavy Heavy trucks are more prevalent on residential streets following the February 22, 2011, earthquake – and some residents aren’t happy. Bridget Rutherford looks at why it is happening, and what can be done about it IT’S A catch-22 situation. They can be big, noisy and shake homes as they drive past. But they also deliver services and goods to different neighbourhoods, and they are a big part of the rebuild. So what are the rules around heavy vehicles using residential streets? And can they be banned? The city council has always had the ability to restrict heavy vehicles from using particular streets, but only under the Land Transport Act. Aaron Haymes City council transport operations manager Aaron Haymes said it required the police to enforce the ban and take every breach to court, which was “time consuming and inefficient.” He said the new Traffic and Parking Bylaw 2017, which comes into force on March 1 would make it easier to do. Under the new bylaw, the city council can prohibit or restrict any specified class of vehicle for its size or the goods carried if it is unsuitable on a particular road. “The bylaw changes make a breach of the heavy vehicle ban an offence against the bylaw for which the police can issue an instant infringement notice,” Mr Haymes said. Some residential streets already had bans on them, including Hornby’s Seymour and Branston Sts, and St Johns St in Woolston. Trucks are allowed to use them if they are servicing residents. Retirees living on Wigram’s Lodestar Ave have campaigned for more than a year for trucks to stop using the route. Lady Wigram Retirement Village residents put up signs asking drivers to use another route as the trucks were noisy and rattled everything in their units. DIFFERENCE: While many trucks stick to arterial roads (above) in Christchurch, some have increased the use of residential streets such as Wigram’s Lodestar Ave (left). PHOTOS: MARTIN HUNTER It resulted in a group of them being verbally abused by the retirement village’s owner John Tooby, who told them to “grow up” and “get a f***king life”. They had already approached Wigram MP Megan Woods and the Hornby-Halswell-Riccarton Community Board about the problem to no avail. Mr Haymes said for the last 25 years, the city council had worked to a four per cent rule when determining whether to put a ban in place or not. If the city council received a complaint about heavy vehicles, it would need to be verified by a heavy vehicle count. If the number of heavy vehicles was higher than four per cent of the daily total, a ban could be imposed by the relevant community board, Mr Haymes said. Less than four per cent was considered normal, he said. “These HV bans are not put in place to prevent legitimate HVs using a street to service a dairy, shopping complex or deliver furniture or building supplies, but to stop the HV through movement of rat running/short cutting through a residential area.” City council staff have done a traffic and speed count of Lodestar Ave. The count found on average there were 1943 vehicles using the road each day, which was at the “higher end” of traffic volumes. But it found there 32 heavy vehicles or buses using the road each day, which equated to 1.6 per cent of all traffic – less than the four per cent threshold. The city council plans on doing another traffic volume and speed count midway through the year to compare. It did find there was a speeding problem on Lodestar Ave, with about 300 vehicles a day going at or above 60km/h when the speed limit was 50km/h. The city council asked police to patrol the area more. Fendalton’s Glandovey and Idris Rds are facing a similar problem with trucks. The Glandovey, Idris and Straven Residents’ Association had been trying to get heavy vehicles and trailers off Idris and Glandovey Rds since the intersection was upgraded in 2013. They say the trucks are noisy and made the roads unsafe for pedestrians, cyclists and other motorists. The association commissioned a report that found trucks could not go through the intersection without cutting into other lanes due to its design. SUMMER SALE Grab a bargain with ends of line, discontinued stock & one offs PLUS all other lines discounted 20-50 % OFF 12 MONTHS INTEREST FREE | *CONDITIONS APPLY LIMITED TIME WHILE STOCKS LAST 0800 836 587 www.venluree.co.nz Mobile Showroom Service * Blinds Curtains Shutters Awnings Screens
The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Thursday January 25 2018 9 vehicle issue Resident Steve Purcell has written to Mayor Lianne Dalziel asking for trucks to be banned. In the letter he said they operated from 4.30am-10.30pm daily. The engine brakes and acceleration was noisy and made his house shake. His letter is to be discussed by the Fendalton-Waimairi- Harewood Community Board on Monday. New Zealand Trucking Association chief executive David Boyce said trucks needed to use some streets to deliver goods to each area, such as fuel to service stations and goods to supermarkets and stores. “If they’re in an area it’s because they are providing services to these areas.” He said there was a lot of construction near Lodestar Ave the area, requiring trucks. Idris Rd was a common route between supplies being dropped off at Northlands Shopping Centre and Westfield Riccarton, he said. “These trucks need to service these places. It is an arterial road that people would go down,” he said. “It’s not that the industry is unsympathetic to people, they certainly are, but I don’t think anyone goes down these streets without good reason.” He said there would be examples where restrictions could be put on streets, and the new bylaw would allow for that. “You wouldn’t take a 20m truck down some streets. But you might need to take six or seven metre trucks down there to load your furniture, or pick up your wheelie bin.” Mr Haymes said because of the rebuild following the February 22, 2011, earthquake, most roads had seen an increase in trucks. He said nationally heavy vehicle movements were increasing, which was a sign of an active economy. “NZTA is predicting an increase of approximately 30 per CATCH-22: New Zealand Trucking Association chief executive David Boyce says trucks would not go down residential streets without good reason. cent over the next 15-20 years.” Other cities have banned trucks from using some routes. Hamilton has stopped freight from passing through on certain streets, while Cromwell had also put in heavy vehicle restrictions. A heavy vehicle has a gross mass of greater than three tonnes, and does not exceed 44 tonnes. NZTA journey manager Lee Wright said heavy trucks that exceeded general access limits, such as those carrying a house, needed to apply for a permit to use highways. “Given the rebuild not only of houses but essential piping infrastructure, it is inevitable that locally-employed truck drivers have to use some residential streets to get to work sites and deliver resources to work sites,” she said. “The trucking industry is generally very responsive to the need to keep trucks off residential streets and on highways and key arterial routes.” •HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think heavy vehicles should be banned from more residential streets in Christchurch? Email bridget. rutherford@starmedia.kiwi SIT OPEN NIGHT CHRISTCHURCH CAMPUS 60 Waterloo Road, Hornby, Christchurch TUESDAY, 30 JANUARY 2018, 5:00PM - 7:00PM CHECK OUT 2018 STUDY OPTIONS Come and talk to our experienced staff and tutors about your career options! Maddie’s recovery from kidney surgery going better than expected • By Emily O’Connell WEST MELTON teen Maddie Collins is exceeding expectations by taking her first steps alone, only days after a potentially life-saving kidney transplant. Maddie, 14, and her family were told on January 16 their five-year wait for a kidney match had been found. They flew from Christchurch to Auckland early the following day and Maddie underwent the initial operation at 1pm at Starship Children’s Health. Maddie’s mother Sarah Manson-Collins said hospital staff are “gobsmacked” by her recovery. She said Maddie may be discharged to Ronald McDonald House, Auckland, on Friday. Mrs Manson-Collins said some of the almost $300,000 raised for Maddie will be used to cover transplant expenses and the rest will be saved for future medical costs. She isn’t sure how long this kidney will last but hopes it’s “quite a few years.” Complications following the transplant meant it was a long night for the family. Maddie’s new kidney was not working and had no blood flow to it due to a kink in an artery. The surgery was expected to take four to six hours. But after Maddie was taken out of theatre, she was later rushed back in. Surgeons reopened her and unsuccessfully tried to restitch the artery to remove the kink. They then tried to shorten the artery, but that did not work either. Maddie’s new kidney was then removed and surgeons re-positioned it in a higher position. GOOD TIMES THIS SUMMER MIRACLE KIDNEY: Maddie Collins is doing well at Starship Children’s Health after a potentially life-saving kidney transplant last week. Her second surgery lasted for more than seven hours. Mrs Manson-Collins said Maddie’s kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome, had not returned yet. Maddie will now spend a few months in Auckland resting and regaining her strength. She received a kidney transplant from her father Adam Collins five years ago but her body rejected it. With only a two per cent chance, the family did not expect to find another kidney match in New Zealand. They were planning a trip to The John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, United States, which had been looking at new kinds of transplants, to find a match. Mrs Manson-Collins said they feel for the family of the donator who lost their loved one, but they were also really thankful for the donation. “We’re so grateful to the family who has donated their family member’s organs so that our daughter can live. We’ll forever be in their debt,” she said. •To donate an organ, get in touch with Organ Donation NZ on 0800 4 DONOR (0800 436 667) or the Ministry of Health on 0800 LIVE DONOR 0800 5483 3666 0800 TO STUDY www.sit.ac.nz
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