Speedsters worry county

Press, 12 September 1987, Page 7

Speedsters worry county

The Wairewa County Council is disappointed the Ministry of Transport will not allow a reduction in the speed limit through

Little River and neighbouring Cooptown.

A Ministry of Transport survey of motorists travelling through Cooptown showed more than 50 per cent of cars were exceed-

ing the 70km/h speed limit, said the County Clerk, Mr Kevin Harmer, at yesterday’s council meeting.

Wairewa would like to see the 70km/h speed limit reduced to 50km/h but has been told by a Ministry traffic service engineer officer that there is not a sufficiently built-up area to warrant a reduction in the speed limit. Policing the speed would also be difficult. Councillors are waiting

for a formal reply from the Ministry before taking any further action. Waikakahi Beach

The council hopes residents quarrelling over

land boundaries and building permits at Waikakahi Beach will agree to the formation of a subdivision.

All 57 co-owners of little more than sha of land at the troubled Birdlings Flat community have been invited to an

open meeting at Little River on October 7 to discuss the subdivision, which would allow tenants to hold individual titles to property. The meeting will be held at the Little River Community Centre at 7.30 p.m. The council hopes Christchurch people who own baches at the beach will also attend.

Overspending Wairewa has overspent its bridge repairs budget in the road maintenance programme, requiring a transfer of funds from a miscellaneous account. The council had overspent by $3900, out of a roads maintenance budget of $189,000. Miscellaneous funds had already been committed to other projects, however, and so the council decided to defer the resealing and relocating of signs north of the bridge on Western Valley Road until next year. The transfer of funds was necessary for the council to become eligible for a National Roads Board subsidy. Urgent construction of a 25m crib wall on Whites Road, a common site for dangerous slips during floods, and an extension of walls on two “tight

comers” on Peraki Road to enable large trucks to pass through safely had been the main reason for the overspending, said Mr Harmer. The $17,000 spent on those road repairs had originally been intended for the seal extensions, which would now be deferred. Cr Dave Cadman suggested the council could delay the resealing until next year as long as the Western Valley Road was adequately signposted. A further National Roads Board subsidy for the crib and extension walls was possible, since it was classified by the board as a special work category, said Mr Harmer. The council was in a “straitjacket” as far as funding was concerned, said the chairman, Mr Bill Thompson.