Eastbourne April Community Board Meeting

April’s Community Board meeting promised plenty to be discussed, as feedback on several projects and local organisations meant a long evening for those attending on the evening of April 7.

Points raised at the Community Board’s walkabout at Mahina Bay were submitted in a report by Mahina Bay Residents Association President Peter Hector. Key points for consideration revolved mainly around roading, bus access and drainage in the neighbourhood, which were duly noted by the board.

The board was informed that the plan to develop Whiorau Reserve was considered a small to medium priority by the HCC. Although funding for the project had not been confirmed in the LTCCP as yet, it was recommended by council officers that a request be made in the ECB’s submission to the plan.

The issue of boy racers gathering at Korohiwa was raised by Eastbourne community constable Anthony Harmer at the last board meeting in February. His request to enforce a ban on vehicles under 3.5 tonnes between 11:00pm and 5:00am resulted in the HCC’s recommendation that he seek further guidance on the matter from his superiors-given that the issue was already being dealt with city-wide by the Police.

Items outlined in the committee advisors report were noted and duly discussed by the ECB. These included an update the repairs being undertaken on the Seaview wastewater pipeline and any impact on the area, maintenance work on the Korohiwa bus barns, and the progress made on the suburban shopping centre improvement fund.

In regards to this issue, it was noted that Eastbourne was fourth on the list of priority areas to receive an upgrade of facilities by the HCC. The board’s spending on the 2008/2009 budget was also outlined, with the expenditure for the financial year pleasantly in the black.

via Petone Herald

Hutt Police Review – Project Awakairangi

Public meetings are being held in Lower Hutt next Tuesday the 28th April (7pm Little Theatre) and in Upper Hutt on Thursday 30th April (7pm Hapai Club, 879 Fergusson Drive).

The purpose of the meeting are to hear the publics view on Lower and Upper Hutt policing.

Currently there are numerous rumours circulating around this project (see www.twitter.com/HuttNZ). This opportunity presents the public to attend and offer their views on how policing can be improved in the Hutt Valley by presenting their concerns via this public consultation. Wellington District Commander Pieri Munro or one of his representatives will be in attedance. If you cannot attend you can email  (awakairangi.project@police.govt.nz ) or write to them at Awakairangi Project, Policing Development Office, P.O. Box 693, Wellington.

More details are at: www.police.govt.nz/district/wellington

Lower Hutt Riverbank Carpark Market does its success warrant a move?

There is no denying the success of the Lower Hutt Riverbank Market on each Saturday (see photos on sidebar or here http://huttnz.vodspot.tv/).

It is testament to the foresight of James Liu, the entrepreneur who launched the market five years ago, and built it to the success that it is, especially during the summer months with up to 100 stalls present.

Sandra Greig

Sandra Greig

It is with this success in mind, the current problems with the CBD  and traffic problems in Rutherford Street that the market causes that Sandra Greig Greater Wellington Regional councillor is suggesting that the market be moved to High Street to liven up the retail scene. She envisages closing High Street (from Waterloo Road to Laings Road) to through traffic.

“Trucks selling produce could line one side of the street and on wet days they could use the shop verandas and turn the truck selling point inwards. Stalls selling food and beverages use caravans, garage sale folk can use trestle tables and canopies. It would turn the Hutt into a vibrant carnival city at least on Saturdays” (via Hutt News 21 April).

David Kiddey, CEO of Business Hutt Valley is not in favour of closing off High Street to traffic ” for any reason at all” alternatives are suggested “With Dudley Street having fewer shops thats less difficult. Andrews Avenue is even better (for the market) because that can be closed off early without any real disruption. I think a better atmosphere could be created there” Some retailers get spin-off from marketstalls others see no benefit or regard them as unwanted competition. But Mr Kiddey believes a quality themed market for the Hutt CBD is “definitely worth debating” (via Hutt News 21 April).

There is no denying that the current situation around the CBD is one that the council and councillors need to address quickly give the current economy and the draw of Queensgate.

 Recent consultative processes are addressing long term strategies for the CBD (https://huttnz.co.nz/2009/04/16/lower-hutt-vision-cbd-2030/) but High Street retailers and the general public are well aware of the downturn this area is experiencing. The council as leaders in this area need a call to action, by giving the right economic incentive in this area other entrepreneurs like Mr Liu or himself will quickly change the landscape.

There is potential in creating a market, as the current Riverbank Market shows by its success, equally be aware such success did not occur overnight, the right environment occurred for it to suceed both from an economic and location point of view. The success of one does not automatically guarantee the success of the other if any of these factors are changed. Equally an investigation in how to tie the benefits of both to the CBD is well worth looking into, just make the process quick.

Hutt Region City Councils Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP)

Hutt City Draft Community LTCCP 2009-2019

Hutt City Draft Community LTCCP 2009-2019

Your submission is required by the 5pm Thursday 30th April.

There are several other draft plans that effect the Hutt Valley at present. Listed below are the times for submissions:

Upper Hutt City Councils Draft Plan 1 April – 13 May 2009

Greater Wgtn Regional Council Draft Plan 23 March-24 April at the same time they will also be undertaking separate consultation between 23 March and 24 April on the Regional Land Transport Programme for the Wgtn Region.

But lets look at the Hutt plan in a bit of detail. First its 325 pages long, thats right 325 pages. What are they talking about that takes that much material. Well each household would have received a summary via post.  This document is 14 pages long, and provides a blurb from the Mayor and CEO as to the purpose behind the LTCCP, which is to look ahead 10 years, an opportunity to provide your views on projects and activities they are proposing and how they will spend the money to fund this in the coming 10 years. The 325 page document gives far greater depth, in fact its frightening that it takes this much space to explain their goals / activities etc. One puts this up against the Greater Wgtn plan of the same agenda (Long term planning) it only runs to 223 pages, 100 pages less.

But the whole purpose of these documents is to provide greater accountability to you the ratepayer, you pay these guys to provide services. The document is loaded with facts and projections.

A cursory look unfolds a couple of  facts /harbingers

  • Rates  Expect these to be around 2-3% increase each year (includes inflation). If inflation is higher rates will be higher.               
  • Income Council gets approx 64% of its income from rates, property owners in the Hutt 
  • Debt The Council is $75m in debt (2009) and expects to get this down to $30m (2015)

Several projects (in excess of $1/2million) are listed for consideration on the submission form, and as democracy goes the only way you can have your say is via a submission, part of the  form survey. This leads to a chance to present your submission to the Mayor in early May, if you desire. The process is similar for the other LTCCP plans.

One has to dig quite depth to find specifics, but in line with current postings of interest in the Hutt Valley, the  railway line is one subject that crosses the boundaries of several of these plans. By searching through the plans available one can find some interesting points:

1.   Hutt LTCCP P.165 investigate with Greater Wgtn Regional Council opportunities to expand parking at Waterloo Railway station (Park & Ride).

2. Greater Wgtn LTCCP P.20 Introduce a charge for Park & Ride Parking. Investigate a levy for parking at Park & Ride areas that are currently experiencing high usage where demand exceeds supply. see  http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/1b30b368#/1b30b368/21

One could concur that the Waterloo interchange Park and Ride parking is to be one of these areas. It currently is the second highest use railway station (behind Porirua). It has 617 carparks, and on most days carparks are scarce. An interesting fact also is that 50% of people that use the park live within 1.85km of the parks.

I would think that in light of this, albeit from 2 seperate plans that consideration be given to the commuters who use rail, that this matter be brought to light sooner rather than later.

How come the current parking has been provided for many years without charge?

Is charging going to impact on other transport alternatives, is it  not part of Greater Wgtn Regional to ensure traffic corridors are sustained and maximised?

Would it not be courtesy to state within the Hutt Plan that charges are contemplated for this exercise?

Unfortunately the above can only be answered by the Councils involved in time, what I am more concerned about is a level of transparency in each councils agendas especially where councils have dual responsibility.

What else lies within these documents ?  

The only way is to look at these documents in greater depth especially around areas that concern you, or impact on your residence or livelihood. Find any let me know!

 

Lower Hutt Police Operation Minibar

One liquor store in Lower Hutt will face action over allegedly selling alcohol to a person under 18 after a police covert operation in the city on Friday.

Lower Hutt acting licensing sergeant James Patea said Operation Minibar targeted 14 premises in the southern suburbs, testing their compliance in relation to the sale of liquor to people under 18.

Only one store sold liquor to a minor and will face action under the provisions of the Sale of Liquor Act 1989.

“Police are pleased with the results of this operation,” Patea said.

“It shows the majority of off-licence holders are conscientious in their obligations under the act and serious about protecting our young people from liquor abuse.”

via http://tvnz.co.nz/content/2653414

see: https://huttnz.co.nz/2009/04/09/lower-hutt-five-caught-selling-liquor-to-minors/

Upper Hutts Maymorn Urban Development Plan

Mangaroa Valley - East looking

Mangaroa Valley - East looking

Open day on Saturdays at Upper Hutts Expression Centre (10am to 4pm) will give the public a chance to look at detailed planning options for Maymorn, an area in the Mangaroa Valley, Upper Hutt hosted by members of the Maymorn “structure team” within the council. This development is part of the identified Upper Hutt Urban Growth Strategy (see here: http://www.upperhuttcity.com/page/374/UrbanGrowth.boss)

The area centred around the railway station and defined to the north, south and east by ridgelines and the west by the Mangaroa River will be illustrated by 3 “land use zoning options” which vary in the number of proposed dwellings, from the smallest at 1347 to the largest at 1647. Long term plans include a primary school.

Consultation has taken place with landowners and residents over recent months.

A draft structure plan will then be worked up and used for formal public consultation in the mid-year. Final changes will be made before the plan is formally presented to the council.

The structure plan is a long term planning tool with a time horizon of 20 years or more.

Further details via Upper Hutt Council site here: http://www.upperhuttcity.com/page/904/MaymornStructurePlan.boss

This plan is not without controversy given the areas natural beauty and Upper Hutts projected population growth which is disputed by citizens living  in this area.

Silverstream Hulls Creek – Environment Restoration

Only a few years ago the section of Hulls Creek from Silverstream to the Hutt River was plagued with weeds and rubbish. But it’s come a long way in recent times, thanks to the work of dedicated volunteers .

It is the impressive achievements of the Forest and Bird Silverstream Care Group, who’ve been working hard to restore Hulls Creek and its surrounding environment back to health and create a walkway linking Silverstream to the Hutt River Trail.

Work was begun in 2003. The stream was heavily polluted and clogged with disintegrating willows, and the wider area was thick with rubbish and weeds that had migrated from people’s backyards and the resulting close proximity to the landfill.

The area has a new fish pass (designed to make it easier for migrating fish to swim upstream past weirs, the Hutt River one in particular), information panels, sites of native plantings, a wetland, and progress on the walkway.

It is a credit to this group and their efforts. Unfortunately the actions of a few seem to hinder their efforts. As a visit to this site today illustrated. I can only congratulate this group, but the area being used as a dumping ground by others must cause this group to wonder if the effort is worth it.

Hutt Valley Rail Upgrade Easter – NaeNae & Epuni Stations

As posted via Twitter the upgrade of two Railway stations on the Hutt line was undertaken over the Easter Break.

See http://www.gw.govt.nz/story31258.cfm

Naenae Station and subway will be closed for four days over Easter, so the subway can be cleaned and made safer.

The station and subway will be closed from 6am Friday 10 April, and will re-open at 4.50am Tuesday 14 April.
The 105m subway will be ice-blasted and painted, new lighting will be installed, parts of the subway stairwells with poor visibility will be blocked off and high impact CCTV cameras will be placed in the subway and on the platform to improve security and safety.

The work, which will cost about $150,000, will be paid for jointly by Greater Wellington and Hutt City Councils.
The improvements are the result of a working party, comprising representatives from local police, KiwiRail, Hutt City Council and Greater Wellington, that was formed out of increasing concern about incidents of crime and vandalism in the subway and on the station.

Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater Wellington’s Transport and Access Committee, said the work would help make the subway a brighter and more pleasant area for the hundreds of commuters, elderly people and school children who used it daily.

“People use this subway not only for the trains but to cross from Oxford to Cambridge Terraces and vice versa. You can’t expect people to take public transport or walk, instead of taking the car, if the environment isn’t safe or pleasant.”

Hutt City Mayor David Ogden said, “This work will significantly improve the safety of the subway for the many Naenae residents and commuters who use it each day.  The subway will be light and clean, and the visibility will be significantly improved.”

While the station and subway are closed, pedestrians are urged to use the Daysh Street bridge to get across the railway line. Walking over the lines is illegal and extremely dangerous.

$150,000 has been spent in this renovation. Was it well spent, given future desires for use of Public Transport?

Photos of upgrade

 

 

No doubt a significant cost of the upgrade was the removal of Epuni station due to asbestos and CCTV upgrade at stations. The question needs to be asked about adequate facilities for patrons of the Rail service, given it appears no regard has been given to shelter, in the case of Epuni, and now the distance to travel up access ramps at both stations with the removal of internal access. 

Given it is part of the Greater Wellington Regional Councils mandate to increase use of public transport this goes little way to helping that, in fact it probably encourages people to use main Stations like Waterloo which have better facilities. Equally it is noted that the Council has an intention to start to charge for parking at Waterloo, so it seems that the rail commuter is faced with either discomfort or increased costs.

The final word goes to a regular commuter who expresses his frustration  http://www.geekzone.co.nz/psycik/6423   

Your comments appreciated