Think Papanui

On Thursday 10 October, the Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central Community Board:

• received presentations from members of the public;
• received briefings from staff on the Council’s customer service system and from New Zealand Police;
• approved parking restrictions on Somme Street, Vagues Road, St Asaph Street, Cornwall Street, and Madras Street;
• approved three grants from the Board’s Discretionary Response Fund;
• allocated funding towards Community Pride Garden Awards for 2025;
• and received an area report with an overview of initiatives and issues within the Board area.

A motion to refer the Board’s delegation as final decision-maker on the option for a peak-hour clearway on Cranford Street (between Innes Road and Berwick Street) to the Council was lost.

The Board will next meet on Thursday 14 November at 10am (note the variation to the usual meeting day & time).

Click through to read the full minutes:
https://christchurch.infocouncil.biz/Open/2024/10/PCBCC_20241010_MIN_9131_AT_WEB.htm

Papanui Ward will form part of ECan’s Christchurch Central/Ōhoko constituency at the October 2025 local body elections if the final proposal adopted this month is confirmed by the Local Government Commission. The Council’s final proposal is open for appeals and objections until 25 November 2024.

Click through for more information:
https://haveyoursay.ecan.govt.nz/representation-review

From Tuesday 5 November 2024 traffic on Sawyers Arms Road at the railway line will be reduced to one lane and controlled by temporary traffic lights between approximately 7am and 5pm, for approximately one week. This is to undertake work on the foundation of the railway tracks where a new railway pedestrian/cycleway crossings will be installed early in 2025. For more information see the work notice.

Turning in and out of Langdons Road at Greers Road just got a whole lot easier, with traffic lights commissioned a month ahead of schedule. The intersection of Reynolds Avenue and Greers Road was closed when Think Papanui visited this morning, but was looking very ready to reopen. Minor works at this intersection are likely to continue over the next week or so.

The Neighbourhood Trust’s Light Party is a free family-friendly event that runs every year at Halloween. This year the event runs from 4:30pm to 7pm on Thursday 31 October, with a disco, sausage sizzle, face painting, inflatable playground, and more. See the Facebook event or www.nht.org.nz for more info.

The sixth annual free Halloween in the Park kids’ community event is coming up on Thursday 31 October from 4:30pm to 5:30pm at St James Park, with the support of Ray White Papanui, Rotary Ōtautahi Passport and the Rotary Club of Papanui. This event is for kids 12 years and under accompanied by a caregiver. The event is free but tickets are required to manage numbers. See the Ray White Papanui Facebook page for details, or head to eventbrite.com.

The Council yesterday voted to approve the detailed traffic resolutions and tree removal/relocations associated with the final stages of the Nor’West Arc Major Cycleway.

The approval covers the design from the Ilam/Aorangi intersection through to Harewood Road, including significant changes to the Wairakei Road / Aorangi Road intersection (pic).

This Saturday 19 October from 8am to 1pm there’ll be a “Spring Fling” garage sale, plant sale, book sale, baking sale, and pre-loved clothing sale at St Silas church hall in Redwood. See this flyer for more info:

Braintree Wellness Centre has an information expo this Saturday 19 October from 10am to 12:30pm. Presentations and information will be provided by a range of organisations.

For more information about the expo see this Facebook post, and to learn more about Braintree, see their Facebook page or head to https://www.canterburybraincollective.org/.

The Government has confirmed that there is no government funding contribution in their 2024–2027 programme for the Wheels to Wings – Papanui ki Waiwhetū major cycle route. While there is budget for the project in the Council’s Long Term Plan, latest estimates are higher than is provided for in that budget.

“Without a funding contribution from government, the Council cannot deliver the design approved in 2022 within the total available budget of $18.5 million”, says Council. “We’re putting forward seven options for elected members to consider, to keep this project moving forward. Several of these alternative design options could be delivered at a lower cost than the approved design.”

Options include increasing the project budget through the upcoming Annual Plan process, only building part of the cycle route until further funding becomes available, or changing the design from physical separation between cyclists & vehicles to instead use ‘buffered painted cycle lanes’ – an approach which Council says has “significant safety concerns”.

Councillors will discuss these options during briefings this month.

Read more on the Council’s Newsline site:
https://www.newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/next-steps-for-wheels-to-wings-cycle-route