Council report says fix existing footpaths before making new ones

May 31st, 2010

At the May 27 2010 meeting of the TDC Engineering Services Committee meeting, committee chair Trevor Norriss asked the Council to consider reinstating the Footpath Rehabilitation Budget to $100,000 district wide. He said the present budget of $50,000 was not enough, given the age of some of the district's footpaths.

"The increasing use of footpaths (increasing use of mobility scooters, more people walking etc) is putting pressure on this budget," he reported. "I would be happy if the new footpath budget was reduced for a number of years to accommodate this increase."

Councillor Norriss also spoke of the controversy around road works and traffic on High Street. "Once again it is disappointing that a bypass or new bridge are years away," he wrote.

He said meetings with Motueka leaders led to a majority (but not unanimous) decision that new designs would lead to "a course of action that should improve traffic flows (not speed) on the Tudor Street / High Street intersection".

He said that regarding the removal of the three trees and footpath furniture, "at one stage I was accused of being an 'environmental vandal' .... Further suggestions have also been signalled in the recently released Motueka Transportation Study and hopefully some of these will be investigated to make further improvements."

He also commented on the current work being done on High Street North between Motueka and the bridge, which became a major problem area during the recent storms. Calling the timing of the project "the biggest balls up since Dunkirk" (the middle of the fruit picking season, more trucks and more people), he warned that "the roadside drains in this area will prove inadequate as they are only soak holes and are not connected to any stormwater system." Council staff will be alerting NZTA of these concerns.

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