Ashburton mayor pleased NZTA abandons SH1 median barriers
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton’s mayor is celebrating NZTA abandoning plans to install median barriers on State Highway 1 between Ashburton and Rakaia.
Median barriers have been proposed along SH1 from Ashburton to Rolleston since 2021.
An NZTA spokesperson said the change was in response to government priorities outlined in the draft Government Policy Statement on land transport.
It’s a decision that has pleased Ashburton mayor Neil Brown, who has long voiced his opposition to the “wire ropes down the middle of the road”.
Brown met with NZTA representatives earlier this week and was informed that the median barriers won’t be happening now.
“They’ll be looking at putting in the wider median strips instead.
“It’s a good common sense approach to it and I’m happy they are going to do that.
“They have some in already at Hinds following a recent upgrade and it looks good.”
In August last year, NZTA’s relationship manager James Caygill had discussed with the Ashburton District Council how the SH1 improvement plan was focusing on widening the existing road corridor as the first step, and then adding median barriers if required.
A change of government has caused a change in direction.
Rangitata MP James Meager and Waitaki MP Miles Anderson had written to Transport Minister Simeon Brown on March 23 regarding the median barriers.
Minister Brown responded on Monday informing them that, following a review, it had been determined that the Rakaia to Ashburton and the Timaru to St Andrews sections will no longer progress.
“These safety improvements projects will now progress with lower cost safety interventions, including wide centre lines, road widening and resurfacing,” Brown said.
Meager said the wire median barriers were “unnecessarily costly and didn’t address what the local community saw as the main safety improvements needed on our roads”.
“Widening roads and introducing painted medians seem like sensible approaches, giving separation of the traffic without blocking agricultural equipment, emergency services or requiring long, and unproductive detours.”
NZTA is planning to widen SH1 where possible from the Rakaia River Bridge to Ashburton, with the aim of 11.5 metres side to side, increased from the existing 7.5-9.5m.
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Promoting scenic route could boost tourist dollars for Canterbury
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Turning drivers towards an Inland Scenic Route could be a cost-effective way to boost the economy, Ashburton councillors have been told.
Council economic development manager Simon Worthington detailed the promotion of the route in the Economic Development Strategy six monthly report last week.
The inland route, former State Highway 72, stretches from Amberley to Geraldine and runs the width of the Ashburton District from the Rakaia to the Rangitata River (as Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd) along the foothills.
A working group of representatives from the Ashburton, Selwyn and Waimakariri district councils is exploring opportunities for the development and better promotion of the scenic driving route.
The group may also expand to incorporate the Timaru and Mackenzie councils so the route can link from Geraldine through the Mackenzie basin to Central Otago.
Mayor Neil Brown was curious about the economic benefit of promoting the inland scenic route.
“Beautiful drive, but what else is there economically?”
Worthington said there is evidence around touring routes being large economic generators.
Attracting more people to drive that route would result in more visitors to the attractions along the way, Worthington said.
“Methven is really logically situated for a night one stay of people doing the route,” he said.
“The idea being that you slow them down and make it sticky as they come through the district, and bring them into elements like Ōpuke [Thermal Pools] or jetboating on the Rakaia.”
Brown had another money saving option to slow tourists.
“If we didn’t spend as much money on that road, then that would certainly slow them down and make it sticky for them."
His tongue in cheek remark refers to the historic issue the council has had funding road maintenance of the busy former state highway.
Former councillor Stu Wilson constantly referred to it as a “tourist route”, arguing on numerous occasions that while NZTA decided to remove the highway status it didn’t remove the traffic volumes, but the council was lumped with paying for its maintenance.
The maintenance costs for the 57km Arundel Rakaia Gorge Road for the last five years is $1.18 million, with rehabilitation costs of $2.86m.
Deputy mayor Liz McMillan took a brighter approach, saying that promoting the route fitted in with linking the dark sky areas in Oxford and Tekapo, and the fact the council is looking into getting dark sky status for the Hakatere Conservation Park.
Dark sky has quite a following and adds another element to promoting the route, Worthington said.
“Another reason for people to stop in our district and stay the night."
Scaling up: Rakaia’s Salmon statue needs a makeover
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
The iconic Rakaia Salmon needs a facelift - and cash to fund it.
Ashburton District Council’s open spaces manager Ian Soper said a structural and maintenance assessment showed the 12m high statue needs a lot of work.
The good news is the work can be done on-site, he said.
“The work can be done in situ so it won’t need to be cut down and transported.”
It will need scaffolding erected and plastic wrapped to contain the fibreglass work, he said.
The upgrade is unbudgeted work and once quotes have been obtained a report will come to the council “to see where that sits financially”.
The statue, built in 1991 with funding from the Rakaia Lions Club, was gifted to the council about 18 years ago.
The area around the salmon was redeveloped between 2020 and 2021.
The project received a $739,945 grant from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund, $20,000 from the Rakaia Lions, and the council funded the remaining $198,000.
The bulk of the project budget was spent on a new public toilet facility.
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