A more pleasant place to be

Press, 24 July 1984, Page 14

A more pleasant place to be

Whether shopping or driving through Riccarton, the town centre, between Picton Avenue and Kauri Street, is becoming a more pleasant place to be. A major restyling is taking place with changes to Riccarton Road and the side roads, new shopping development, landscaping, new footpath surfaces and new street lights. The work is being done in three stages over three years to make it easier to finance. Because of the size of the project, the stages will also reduce disruption to a limited section of the road. Stage I, from' Picton Avenue to the intersection with Clarence Street and Straven Road, is now complete. It was started in October last year. Stage II will continue west to Rimu Street, and Stage 111 will complete the project through to Kauri Street. The development should be finished by July, 1985. The upgrading was commissioned by the Mayor of Riccarton, Mr R. W. J. Harrington, and councillors in June, 1983, after a series of studies into the traffic, parking and pedestrian needs of the area. The ideas and plans were presented at a public meeting where they were received with widespread support from both the community and the business association. One of the main features of the project is the landscaping and kerbline alterations which will clearly mark the eastern and western approaches to the town centre. The landscaping includes the planting of trees and the erection of decorative walls with the words “Riccarton Town Centre.” The trees, which are already four or five metres tall, will eveiitually be clear-stemmed to four metres above the pavement so that shop verandahs will remain visible with the lower branches clear of passing traffic. a.* For the comfort venience of pedestrians; the

footpaths have been enlarged and decorative brick panels inlaid. Landscaping of trees, plants and shrubs has been planned so that pedestrians are physically separated from the noise and speed of traffic. Rest areas have also been planned for shoppers. These will have grouped seating and raised planters. Street furniture to match the surroundings will be provided and shopkeepers will be encouraged to lease extra planters from the council. To provide better control, traffic signals will be linked to dispatch traffic through the town centre in groups and at an acceptable speed. The intersection of Riccaton and Straven Roads has been widened and rounded in Stage I. Straven Road has also been realigned with Clarence Street. A new shopping centre has been developed on the Straven Road northwest comer as part of Stage I. The land was purchased by the council for improvements some years ago and was held because of leases oii the properties. When the final lease had expired, the council decided to use the land in the town centre development for road widening and a new shopping area. The old building was demolished and a new modern block built. Gardens, trees, lighting and seats have been placed on this comer to" repeat the project landscaping style. The traffic functions of the intersections of Riccarton Road with Picton Avenue, Rotherham, Rimu and Kauri Streets, will be minimised by developing landscaped pedestrian areas around these junctions. Electric power cables are being placed underground, and the old overhead power lines will be removed. The visual improvement can be noticed in the completed Stage 1 Other underground services include a new stormwater drain and a new water main. New telephone connections have also been completed and the older connections renewed.

The cost to complete the town centre project will be $1,062,000. Of this total, some funds will come from National Roads Board subsidies and the council’s Water Renewal Account. The balance will come from an improvements loan which has been taken out over a 12-year term. It will be repaid from a differential rate levied on the land value of all properties in the Riccarton Town centre. The Mayor, Mr Harrington, said he was pleased with the development. “If the second stage goes as smoothly as the first, I will be more than happy with the result,” he said. Mr Harrington said that he had heard nothing but praise from the business community: “The public think it’s terrific and that is why we did it.” There were now places where the pedestrians could sit and watch the traffic go by and they could enjoy their shopping more than they had in the past, he said. The project was exciting as far as the council was concerned. It had been

widely publicised throughout New Zealand, and two North Island councils had sent representatives down to inspect the development. “They’ve gone back full of enthusiasm to do the same thing in their area,” Mr Harrington said. It was exciting to think that Riccarton was leading in the environmental area, he said. Planning had been a longterm process and “we would have liked to have been able to wave a magic wand and say ‘there it is,’ but much planning had been needed to keep disruption at a minium,” he said. The co-operation of local businessmen had been needed because of the disruption at the front of their businesses. This had been forthcoming and few complaints had been received. “What we did have cleared up straight away,” Mr Harrington said. There will be a break in the development from midNovember to just after New Year so that Christmas shopping will not be. disrupted.