Ashburton councillor fires up over funding ‘tourist roads’
From local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
An Ashburton councillor is furious at the intention of spending more money on “tourist roads”.
Councillor Stuart Wilson slammed the proposed direction of the Ashburton District Council’s $1.7 million of additional roading funding, saying it was all going on just two roads.
“I’m very disappointed with where you are spending the money,” Wilson told the council's roading manager Mark Chamberlain.
“You are spreading $1.7m on [Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd], which is a damn tourist road.
“I know it’s a busy road but I thought we put $1.7m in to be spread across the district.
“The majority of our maintenance is going into those two roads.”
In the council’s subsidised road rehabilitation funding, Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd, part of the Inland Scenic Route 72, has $1.75m of works across five sections and Thompsons Track has $730,400.
That equates to 67% of the total $3.68m budget.
From the additional $1.7m taken from the forestry reserve for unsubsidised road funding, Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd ($492,200) and Thompsons Track ($424,200) combine for 53% of the spend.
Wilson said he knew the decisions were based on traffic volume but “there are roads just as important” to the district.
Chamberlain said that the two roads had the most work scheduled because they had most of the potholes and failures on the network.
“If we look 10 years down the track we shouldn’t have to be spending money there.”
He said they were the roads that, from a safety aspect, needed the work done.
In his report to the council, Chamberlain said the rehabilitation work would eliminate anything other than minor routine maintenance, second coat seals and reseals for at least 25 years. It would also avoid using resources for ongoing patching to hold the older failed sections of pavement.
But Wilson disagreed, suggesting the funding should be spread further across the district and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency should be stumping up more money for the two busy roads.
“Those [two] roads are semi-tourist roads and I think if NZTA don’t want to help us spend more money on those roads, I say stiff luck,” Wilson said.
“People can growl and you can say to NZTA, ‘you are not giving us enough money to maintain those roads’.”
Chamberlain said the proposed list of rehabilitation work would go to the council for final approval.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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62.3% Summer
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36.3% Winter
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
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