Community issues simmer in Christchurch suburbs

Tuesday, 8 October 2019

Christchurch communities each have their own set of issues.

While rates, chlorination, cycleways, and climate change have been hot topics in this year's Christchurch elections, other important issues have been simmering in neighbourhoods across the city.

Our reporters talk to some residents about what is concerning them in the lead-up to the ballot boxes closing at noon on Saturday.

BOY RACERS

Communities across Christchurch have their own issues as residents cast their votes.

During the seven years Per Jacobsen has lived on Cashmere Hill he has experienced boy racers speeding, yelling abuse and throwing glass bottles out windows.

The issue came to a head in August when his family's beloved jack russell terrier, Jack Sparrow, was killed in a hit and run on Dyers Pass Rd. Since then Jacobsen has been working to rid his suburb of 'reckless' boy racers.

'Next time it will be a kid that is going to get killed.

'They have no regard for locals whatsoever. I just want the boy racers to understand they can't do this.'

Per Jacobsen is concerned at the behaviour of boy racers on Dyers Pass R, where his dog Jack was killed in a hit and run in August. He still walks his remaining dog, Andy.

Dyers Pass Rd is a well-known boy racer hotspot and residents have been calling for a solution for years.

Proposals to implement a cruising ban on the road and a night-time vehicle ban, were unsuccessful.

In 2018, the Christchurch City Council approved changing the speed limit along the non-residential stretch of the road from 70kmh and 100kmh to 60kmh.

But Jacobsen says while it was good to see the council doing something, the limit has not deterred speeding drivers and he was disappointed the issue seemed to have been put in the too hard basket.

'I'm just so frustrated, about what is going on.'

Boy racers continue to trouble residents in Christchurch.

According to NZ Transport Agency data, there have been 39 serious and five fatal crashes on the road since January 1, 2000.

Jacobsen wants the council and police to do more to prevent boy racers from speeding on the road. He says cameras could be installed along with speed bumps.

Cashmere Residents' Association trustee David Morrell also wants to see the council consider speed bumps, but he acknowledges resolving the boy racer problem was not an easy issue to solve.

However, it is not just the boy racers driving too fast on the road, Morrell says he often sees 'men and women in suits' speeding too.

COASTAL COMMUNITIES

Simon Watts loves living by the beach but he and his Southshore neighbours would like a local cafe, shops, and other amenities residents enjoy elsewhere.

'What's happened since the earthquakes is all the local businesses have gone - the cafes where people met and the venues where people connected with each other were lost,' he says.

Southshore Residents Association chairwoman Lynda Burdekin.

Since the quakes and the creation of hazard zones based on erosion and flooding maps, shops and a cafe / bar have sat vacant on Caspian St and the Estuary Rd/ Bridge St cafe and shops have been demolished leaving only a dairy with reduced opening hours.

In August the city council approved repairs to the area's estuary shoreline, and Southshore Residents Association chair Linda Burdekin says other issues were neglected during the battle to get that done.

'People have a long way to go to get things they need.'

Watts, an environmental climate scientist, says the city council needs to get the balance right while trying to protect coastal communities from climate change.

The estuary shoreline from Bridge St to South Brighton Domain and along the front of the domain.

He says that while those at the council table understandably take a low-risk approach and consider worst-case scenarios, killing off neighbourhood amenity can harm the community in other ways.

'The result is it becomes too difficult to for businesses to go in and start again. Some of the requirements now make it impossible.'

When identifying hazards and setting building rules, authorities need to provide clarity as even the worst climate change outcomes would still allow for decades of coastal residency, he says.

'People know the risks and they are buying and building (homes) down here, and we still need community infrastructure. Not major infrastructure, just what a community needs.'

In New Brighton, private property developments residents hoped would help revitalise the area have fallen by the wayside, Watts says.

Sumner residents want more facilities for when visitors flock to use the beach.

'There's been a number of time down here where people were unable to get things going. Investors have been ready go, but nothing has happened.

'The area has so much potential. It needs regeneration.'

Residents are not looking for money from the council, but for other things a council can provide, and a can-do attitude, Watts says.

Over at Sumner, as well as coastal concerns the residents are facing pressure from the large number of beach visitors of summer days.

Sumner Community Residents' Association chair Tanya Michael believes with the Coastal Pathway approaching completion, things will only get busier.

'Moving forward, the Sumner community is concerned about keeping up with infrastructure for the area, she says.

Barrington Mall entrance on Barrington St. Residents say it is unsafe.

'We do need more toilets, we do need to have really good consistent rubbish facilities out where we are.

'When Sumner's chock-a-block on a sunny day, those things are an issue.'

MALL SUBURBS

Papanui resident Margaret Howley likes the convenience of having so many shops in her suburb, and says they are a boon for local employment.

But the traffic is troublesome and with the new Langdons Rd shopping centre open and a new KMart to come, things will only worsen until the city's northern corridor motorway is ready, she says.

'There's really going to be increased traffic with the new businesses going in there. There are safety issues with all the vehicles and pedestrians and cyclists, especially with the school children.'

Howley says there is a 'big bottleneck of activity' in the congested streets and intersections behind Northlands Mall, where Papanui High School and the Graham Condon pool and recreation centre are.

Traffic rush hour on Papanui Rd, Christchurch.

Already, safety concerns have led to lower speed limits around the mall, while on-street parking problems have led to time limits.

'I actually think they could have gone out further with the speed restrictions into a bigger area,' Howley says.

'On some of those streets they should be down to 30 or 35km to make it safer for people.'

While shoppers generally park in off-street parks, staff tend to park in surrounding streets and better public transport would discourage that, Howley says.

Residents around The Palms mall in Shirley have restricted parking too. Some are upset to have been ticketed for parking outside their homes, especially where higher density housing is adding pressure to on-street parking.

Residents can avoid the time limits with a $54 residential parking permit, but with permit numbers capped even those prepared to pay aren't guaranteed access to street parking.

The parking and speed changes follow a report identifying the problems around malls of clogged streets, traffic delays, pedestrian safety, loss of parks due to bus and cycle lanes, lack of space for large vehicles and emergency services, and residents unable to park near home.

Roadworks in Riccarton are stressing residents there too, as shoppers in and out of Westfield mall and other shops compete with cyclists, pedestrians, and 800 buses a day on Riccarton Rd.

Olliviers Rd, Phillipstown, where housing densities are increasing as new units go in.

The two-year project to replace underground pipes and build median strips is not due for completion until late 2020.

Over in Spreydon, residents are frustrated that work has yet to start on making Barrington Mall's main entrance safer for pedestrians, motorists and cyclists.

The work will stop the right turn out of the mall into Barrington St and add a footpath across the entrance to highlight a pedestrian route.

Spreydon Neighbourhood Network secretary Sonya Hodder says the work was supposed to have been finished by now and she is worried the project could be further delayed once a new council was elected.

The area is unsafe and she is worried someone will be injured in the meantime.

Council transport planning and delivery manager Lynette Ellis says the plan, approved late last year, affects the mall's resource consent and it needs a new one before the council can do the work.

The council is now 'anticipating' work will start in early 2020, Ellis says.

INTENSIFIED HOUSING

Carly McCall, a resident of Phillipstown for about five years, says that with so many new units going in, the inner suburb is showing the strain.

'If you're going to essentially ghettoise Phillipstown by allowing a lot of high-density low housing, don't then wall it off and leave it unsupported, because you're cramming a lot of social issues into a small space,' she says.

McCall points to side effects she says are already showing - alcohol harm, drug use, public disorder, and rubbish.

'We have a chronic issue with fly tipping illegal dumping of waste. I think our area is suffering at probably one of the worst epidemics of that.'

Council staff or contractors clean it up, but it doesn't stop it happening again, she says.

'The council have been reasonably vigilant about trying to clear the reported issues. … but I think there are policies that need to be applied more stringently.'

But the community has had its own recent success, fighting against alcohol abuse by keeping a proposed Liquorland store out of their suburb.

'The alcohol thing, that highlights it in such a nice way, there's a strong community with a strong heart here and that's not going anywhere,' McCall says.

'But we want the support to continue what we have started.'

The newly-formed Inner City Action Network (Ican) represents residents on the fringes of the central city and surrounding suburbs such as Richmond, Addington and Phillipstown.

The residents who formed the group say new housing developments are overstepping the boundaries of the city council's district plan, causing environmental issues and destroying neighbourhood amenity.

Recently, property developer James Cooney complained that his plans to build seven units with off-street parking in Spreydon were turned down, despite council staff having recommended that consent be given.

High density housing is also causing concern for some residents in Somerfield, says resident Julie Tobbell.

Tobbell says character homes are increasingly being demolished and replaced with multiple townhouses on the same site.

She says such developments have the potential to change communities, and not for the better.

A CITY SNAPSHOT

(population stats mid-2018)

Christchurch: 388,500 residents, average home value $500,229, annual rates take $520.9 million (2019-20).

Banks Peninsula - population 8710, 4 public libraries, 145 parks, 5 shopping areas, 7 schools, 4 marae, 1400 businesses, council candidates: Howard Needham, Andrew Turner.

Coastal-Burwood - population 52,300, 4 libraries, 134 parks, 4 shopping centres, 15 schools, 1 public hospital, 1 marae, 3200 businesses, council candidates: Glenn Livingstone, Phil Mauger, Kelly Barber, James Daniels, David East.

Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood - population 71,600, 2 libraries, 123 parks, 7 shopping centres, 29 schools, 2 hospitals, 9300 businesses, council candidates: David Benson, James Gough, Peter Wakeman, Zahra Hussaini, Sam MacDonald, Scott Franicevic, Aaron Keown.

Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton - population 79,600, 3 libraries, 266 parks, 7 shopping centres, 24 schools, 9500 businesses, council candidates: Anne Galloway, Paul Lonsdale, Sam Yau, Jimmy Chen, Mark Peters, Luke Chandler, Catherine Chu, John Connelly, Peter Laloli, Anthony Rimell.

Linwood-Central-Heathcote - population 77,800, 3 libraries, 226 parks, 14 shopping centres, 34 schools, 4 hospitals, 1 marae, 13,250 businesses, council candidates: Clive Antony, Jake McLellan, Deon Swiggs, Darrell Latham, Sara Templeton, Alexandra Davids, Yani Johanson.

Papanui-Innes - population 49,800, 2 libraries, 81 parks, 6 shopping centres, 21 schools, 4150 businesses, council candidates: Mike Davidson, Nathan McCluskey, Peter McDougall, John Stringer, Lindon Boyce, Pauline Cotter, Nigel Hau, Cam Parsonson, Mark Wilson.

Spreydon-Cashmere: population - 48,700, 2 libraries, 92 parks, 5 shopping centres, 18 schools, 2 hospitals, 4750 businesses. council candidates: Melanie Coker, Scott Esdaile, Peter Gatonyi, Lee Sampson, Tim Scandrett, Joe Sullivan.