Some Fendalton Rd options unrealistic, expert says

Press, 22 July 1988, Page 5

Some Fendalton Rd options unrealistic, expert says

By

RICHARD CRESSWELL

Certain options in the Waimairi District Council report on widening Fendalton Road were “totally unrealistic,” an Austra-lian-based road and transport expert, Dr Alec Fisher, told a Planning Tribunal hearing yesterday. He said options two to five of the District Council report were based on the assumed allowance of present uses such as parking, and right-hand and Uturns at any time. “We find these assumptions to be totally unrealistic," he said. “They are also very demanding of road space.” „ 'f Fendalton regents’

convenience was lessened by restricted parking and the possibility of denial of right turns, Dr Fisher said.

He said that he and Mr Theo Brummelaar, who had helped compile the report, recommended Fendalton Road be a fourlane divided road, with a clearway during peak periods, and that the intersection with Straven Road be improved. Their only reservation was that a median would stretch unbroken for just under a kilometre between Straven Road and Clyde Road, a long stretch to deny right turns, Dr Fisher said.

Under questioning, Mr Fisher said that

ing right turns was a major limitation. He said in his evidence that the recommendations were aimed at a compromise between the conflicting functions of Fendalton Road as a traffic route and as a neighbourhood road. “I do not see lack of parking as a great problem,” he said. Dr Fisher said roundabouts as detailed in the report would help curb speeding during off-peak periods. Mr Donald Miskell, in evidence on behalf of the District Council, said he had been engaged by the council in 1986 to assess the visual impact of alternative widening lay-

outs. The proposals which threatened the present character of the area were the loss of some important trees and the introduction of a median strip, he said. Landscape measures to ensure a “sense of place” could include street lighting from the roadside, not the median; replacing large lost trees; and careful tree surgery. Counsel for the Fendalton Residents’ Association, Mr John Milligan, asked whether median strip planting was crucial to the landscaping, Mr Miskell proposed. Mr Miskell: In general terms, yes.

JWr Graeme Nind, superintendent of

reserves for the District Council, said he expected the present landscape in the area to change. Many trees had been changed by pruning and “pollarding,” reducing life expectancy because of disease.

The council would have shrubs and tree specimens available for planting, he said. In cross-examination by Mr Milligan, Mr Nind agreed that roadworks themselves would mean a dramatic change in the area’s character.

The council is expected to finish its evidence today and the tribunal will then hear evidence by the Canterbury United Council and the Fendalton Residents’ Association.