Aquatic Playground Visualised

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30143, 29 May 1963, Page 17

Aquatic Playground Visualised

The Estuary could well become the aquatic playground of Canterbury if a barrage was built and there was extensive dredging, said Mr E. F. Scott, the chief engineer (planning) in his report to the Christchurch Drainage Board last evening.

Mr Scott’s report emphasised that the board was interested in drainage and its related problems, and in these alone; but he said the board’s own interests might well fit in with other interests ol Christchurch in the Estuary as an asset for all its people. It would be logical to arrange with the city council that when a barrage was built it should also be the foundations for a highway bridge, and that the dykes or embankments connecting the ends at the barrages with the shore be sufficiently wide to provide a roadway connecting the Spit with the Sumner shore at BeachviUe road, he said.

“Nat only will this provide an excellent link between New Brighton and the Sumner-Redcliffls area, but also it will provide a scenic drive and round trip of ■ the Estuary,” he said. As the area available in the Estuary for future flood storage might not fully meet needs, reclamation of parts of the Estuary itself was not desirable, he continued. However, the reclamation of McCormacks Bay inside the causeway was already approved. Reclamation

One other reclamation ■worth considering and recommended by Mr Scott as a safety measure against ••piping” of the New Brighton spit—was along the Estuary frontage from about Caspian street to beyond Tern street, and it should be wide enough to enable Estuary road to be continued directly to join with the roadiway over the barrage. The reclaimed land could provide further residential

areas on the Rockinghorse road side of Estuary road extension and for aquatic reserves, power-boating, and water ski-ing on the waterfront side. No other major reclamation should be permitted within the Estuary, but much of the low-lying and swampy areas around the Estuary and near the river mouths could be filled as an offset against the cost of the dredging that would be required in the great body of water in the Estuary. • Removal of sandbanks will do much to eliminate the lowtide aroma that comes, from decaying sea lettuce and other marine life,” he said. Discussing the need for an aquatic sports area, Mr Scott said the sea coast was rather too exposed to be developed into a really good aquatic area. With proper development, the Estuary could be one of the finest still-water areas near any centre of population in New Zealand. Estuary Park

A park of preferably more than 200 acres might be formed with a good Estuary frontage and would be served by a good traffic route. It could contain a fun-fair and amusement park, rollerskating rink, sound shell, paddling pools, and dressing sheds.

When it was fully planted with trees and landscaped, the wildlife sanctuary of the sewage treatment plants oxidation ponds would also be a valuable Estuary amenity. v

A suitable Olympic rowing course was a necessity if Christchurch was to seek the Empire Games, and a deepened Estuary could provide this. “The erection of a barrage will not in itself facilitate the full use of the Estuary, but it seems an essential prerequisite,” Mr Scott said. “If dredging of a large portion of the Estuary follows this, then the low tides will not be the deterrent they are today. Boating in all its phases could be catered for, and a marina with landing stages, slipways, ramps, jetties and moorings could serve yachtsmen and power-boat enthusiasts at all stages of the tide. Water ski-ing would possibly be in a separate area with its own facilities.”