Community input leads to Aranui street upgrade changes
Christchurch City Council Newsline: 20th March 2024
Early community feedback has seen changes to street upgrades throughout Aranui.
A trial is underway on Hampshire Street, Rowan Avenue, Breezes Road and Shortland Street to make the area safer and more people friendly, particularly around the schools.
Work includes new pedestrian crossings for local schools, speed humps, intersection upgrades, bollards outside the Hampshire Street shops and wider footpaths.
Construction on the upgrades finished on Monday with formal feedback now open until Monday 15th April.
“The community is really engaged with this project, which is great because we can make changes quickly based on their real time feedback and lived experience,” Christchurch City Council Transport Planning and Delivery Manager Jacob Bradbury said.
“They told us the bollards outside Wainoni Park weren’t working for them, so we’ve taken them out. We heard from nearby industrial businesses that the treatment at the Tahuna Street and Shortland Street intersection wasn’t quite right, so we engaged with them and changed that too.”
The project was funded through NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s Streets for People programme. The overall budget is $2.6 million with about $700,000 being spent to date.
Safety concerns were highlighted by local groups including schools Haeata Community Campus, St James School and Chisnallwood Intermediate, as well as ACTIS and community police.
Designs were then developed with input from students and the public gave feedback on these in September 2023. The work was approved by the Waitai Coastal-Burwood-Linwood Community Board and the Council late last year.
Mr Bradbury said the Council is encouraging everyone who lives in, or goes through the area, to let us know what they think.
“We want to get this right for the Aranui community, so tell us what you like, what could be done better and we’ll work on it together.”
In June, the Waitai Coastal-Burwood-Linwood Community Board will decide on what stays in the ground, what’s removed or what is changed.
Give feedback on the Aranui community street upgrades trial.