Author: Simon Britten

Construction of the missing sections of the Northern Line Cycleway linking Papanui through to Northwood is due to commence on 21 August 2023. Unfortunately KiwiRail has advised there’ll be further delays to upgraded pedestrian & cycle crossings adjacent to the railway line on Sawyers Arms, Langdons, and Harewood Roads. See more in this post from Think Papanui curator Simon Britten:

Good news: construction is due to start later this month on missing sections of the Northern Line Cycleway, between Tuckers & Sturrocks Roads and from Barnes Road to Main North Road. A start work notice is due to be delivered to nearby residents and businesses, and can also be found at the link below.

Not so good news: railway crossing upgrades at Sawyers Arms, Langdons, and Harewood roads were provisionally booked for November 2023 but the Council has now been notified by KiwiRail that the earliest possible time for these upgrades will be July 2024.

https://ccc.govt.nz/transport/works-3/show/1264

The Papanui Community Toy Library is in need of a new space. Can you help? They’re after ⁺/_–60m² to store toys and rent them to members. Contract the toy library via their Facebook Page or papanuitoylibrary.co.nz.

The Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central Community Board will meet this Thursday 10 August at 4pm in the Papanui boardroom. The agenda includes:

• public participation;
• correspondence relating to naming of the lane that accesses Braintree off Langdons Road;
• the urban forest planting plan for Lancaster Park;
• no stopping restrictions for Pavitt Street and Moa Place;
• Innes Road street renewal (pic);
• stopping of 40m2 of road on Hendon Street;
• Strengthening Communities grants from the Board’s funding pool of $657,718;
• eight applications to the Board’s Discretionary Response Fund;
• one application to the Board’s Positive Youth Development Fund;
• and an area report on initiatives and issues within the Board area.

The meeting will be livestreamed on the Board’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. Click through for the full agenda:
https://christchurch.infocouncil.biz/Open/2023/08/PCBCC_20230810_AGN_9118_AT_WEB.htm

The pools at Graham Condon Recreation and Sport Centre are set to temporarily close from January 2024 for two significant maintenance projects, including replacing the pellet boiler used to head the pools with an electric system. The work is scheduled over summer as the Council’s outdoor pools are available at that time for the community to use as an alternative, in addition to year-round indoor pools. Click through to read more:

https://newsline.ccc.govt.nz/news/story/maintenance-closure-planned-for-pools-at-graham-condon-recreation-and-sport-centre

This week’s Nor’West News includes coverage of a collaborative initiative to promote safety and youth-friendly spaces in the Papanui community, with comment from several people involved including Think Papanui curator Simon Britten. Groups involved include Papanui Youth Development Trust – PYDT, Northlands Shopping Centre, Canterbury Police, Papanui High School, Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central Community Board, Christchurch City Council, and Te Ora Hou Ōtautahi. See the image for the article, or head to: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/68368586/norwest-news-july-27-2023

On 12 July 2023, the Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central Community Board:

• heard one public forum presentation and 36 deputations;
• approved no stopping restrictions at 519 Madras Street;
• received a report on issues and initiatives within the Board area;
• approved a road name for a development in Redwood;
• approved parking and stopping restrictions in Chester Street East;
• and recommended that the Council approves the cycle lane changes on Rolleston Ave and Park Tce for a five=year period, with the in-lane bus stop on Park Tce to be replaced with an indented stop.

The Board will next meet on Thursday 10 August. Click through to read the full minutes:
https://christchurch.infocouncil.biz/Open/2023/07/PCBCC_20230712_MIN_9557_AT.PDF

Summer with your Neighbours was started as Neighbourhood Week by the then Shirley-Papanui Community Board in 1998. The initiative is about bringing people closer together and celebrating the unique and diverse mix of each neighbourhood. Small subsidies are available towards costs to help support Summer with your Neighbours events. Click through for more information and suggestions for events. Applications close on 11 August.

Thank you to the Christchurch City Council for supplying a higher-resolution map of speed limit changes in the Papanui, Northcote, and Redwood areas. See these two images – following recent Council approval, streets highlighted will change to a 30km/h limit. Dashed lines indicate variable 30km/h limits at school times.

There are still spaces available for Term 3 courses with Papanui High School Adult and Community Education. See this Facebook page or papanui.school.nz/adult-education for more info.

Last week the Council adopted an Interim Speed Management Plan, with the objective to make it safer around all our schools and surrounding neighbourhoods. The plan will now be submitted to Waka Kotahi for certification and the new speed limits will then be formalised and implemented.

Some additional changes that were requested through consultation feedback will be addressed in the future as part of a long-term Speed Management Plan. A possible inclusion of Winters and Grimseys Roads (and their side streets) in Redwood in the plan was not recommended to be included in the interim plan, as feedback “indicated that the community was not ready for these changes”. Other local streets (such as Barnes Rd & Sturrocks Rd, and the area south of Prestons Road) may be considered in the future.

Previously speed limit changes were set by operational speeds and infrastructure (eg physical changes to the road) was required to support a lower speed limit. Under a new setting of speed limits rule, safe speed limits can be set without requiring the installation of new design and infrastructure, which could be a costly barrier to achieving safe speed limits. Where necessary, the need for infrastructure will still be assessed through separate projects and programmes.

See the overview map for changes made in the Waipapa Community Board area. Note that these are additional to the Slow Speeds Neighbourhood changes already implemented in the Papanui area. Apologies for the low-resolution of the map.