Six weeks - that s how long Gore District Council has left to make peace with residents upset over a roading project trial in their Southland town.
Gore District Council roading asset manager Peter Standring squats next to a vandalised planter box.
Photo: LDR / Sandy Eggleston
Discontent has bubbled over following the rollout of a Streets Alive project two months ago. Street calming planter boxes have been repeatedly vandalised, more than 1000 people have signed a petition and a council meeting this week burst at the seams with vocal locals.
The nearly $1 million roading project aimed to make Gore s streets both safer and more accessible.
Rachael Kelly/Stuff
Gore residents Rosemary Heath and Christopher Scoles with their petition opposing the Gore District Councilâs Streets Alive programme.
Some of Gore’s elderly residents are too scared to leave their homes and drive in the town because of changes the council has made as parts of its Streets Alive initiative, councillor Glenys Dickson told a council meeting on Tuesday. And results to the council’s own survey about changes to the town’s streets found some initiatives were unpopular and there were concerns about safety issues. The council has rolled out a three-month trial of its Streets Alive project, which has changed some layouts for traffic throughout the town, by adding pocket parks, planters, roundabouts and courtesy crossings.
Rachael Kelly/Stuff
The Gore District Council has installed a pocket park at the end of Eccles Street at the intersection with State Highway 1, which has prompted concerns about ambulances travelling to Gore Hospital, which is further down the street.
The Gore District Council has received a petition asking for the removal of some of its Streets Alive initiatives, including more than 460 concrete troughs, from the towns streets. And the results of a survey commissioned by the council about the programme won’t be known until a council meeting on Tuesday. The council has rolled out a three-month trial of its Streets Alive project, which has changed some layouts for traffic around the town, by adding pocket parks, planters, roundabouts and courtesy crossings.