Fendalton Road

Press, 11 October 1986, Page 18

Fendalton Road

Sir,—Median strips may offer a haven of security to some jaywalkers, but to others they are definitely an obstacle. A. M. Simson (October 9) should try crossing a median strip with a toddler, or a pram or push-chair; or he could equip himself with a full shopping trundler, a pair of crutches, or a wheelchair. Obviously, it is advisable for pedestrians to cross only at traffic lights, but these may be a long way apart. If I was frail and old, and I lived on a widened Fendalton Road with a median strip, I might have to stop visiting my neighbour directly opposite. That is what motorways do to people. Fendalton Road should be left as it is.—Yours, etc.,

EMILY DAVIES. October 9, 1986.

Sir, —If the widening of Fendalton Road is not considered a fait accompli in some quarters of the Waimairi District Council, why does the District Engineer, Mr John Lamb, use the phrase “when the widening goes ahead,” and not “if” the widening goes ahead (October 10)? And why is the council continuing to purchase property and set back fences before a final plan has been agreed between the council and the residents? If the road is not to be widened, this seems a waste of the ratepayers’ money. Once again, residents are left wondering who is making the decisions on their behalf, and whether their democratic right to take part in planning for the future of the road will ever be fulfilled. Being told of our fate, at a public meeting or elsewhere, is not the same as participating in the decision-making.—Yours, etc.,

PETER EGDEN October 10, 1986.