Ashburton carpark do-up U-turn

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:

Tinwald businesses which have only just seen the end of a sea of road cones have told Ashburton's council they don't want to see the orange markers return.

The shops along State Highway 1 had road cones from July until last month while traffic signals were installed for the Tinwald corridor improvement project.

The Ashburton District Council had then planned to come in and resurface the main Tinwald car park.

Infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said work has been deferred following some objections.

“We reached out to shop owners in the Tinwald shopping centre, and they said they would like a breather after the disruption caused by NZTA’s Tinwald traffic light installation and corridor improvements.

“We will check in with shop owners again to determine an appropriate time to commence the upgrade.”

Roading manager Mark Chamberlain said the resurfacing will wait “until there is a bit less going on, and maybe look at when it really needs the work”.

“I think it needs it now, but they are happy with just pothole patching and things like that.”

With the Tinwald carpark project being deferred, the $100,000 assigned to it will be used for another project on the council's list.

“We’ve brought forward the installation of around 200m of new footpath, and kerb and channel on Tinwald Westerfield Rd, from Lagmhor Rd to Tarbottons Rd,” McCann said.

“This section was in the original list approved but was left out of the contract because the estimated cost was more than the available budget.”


Another key project on the list is replacing the kerb and channel at the Ashburton Domain along Walnut Ave between SH1 and Oak Grove.
The only issue is the timing.

Councillors had previously raised concerns about the height and depth of the existing kerb and channel but mayor Neil Brown had noted the height was a deterrent to people being able to drive into the domain.

The current kerb height, about 50mm higher than the standard, WAs similar to the proposed replacement but has a dish channel rather than the proposed flat channel, which made it less accessible, McCann said.

But there is a potential timing issue, as the work could clash with the council’s major event in the domain.

The Glow in the Park light festival will be held in the domain at Kings Birthday weekend this year with thousands expected to attend over the three days.

The work did not have a scheduled start time yet, McCann said,

“It will be programmed and managed so that access and parking for Glow in the Park will not be adversely affected.”