Time for a clear-out?
Delve back into that garage or wardrobe! It's time to sell your gently-loved goods at The Neighbourly Winter (online!) Garage Sale
On Saturday 6th July, members will be online checking out the goods on offer so it's a great time to get rid of your winter clutter.
Maybe it's time to realise that you're never going to use that snowboard or ski jacket, and that you really do have one too many heaters. Whatever it is, take a picture and put it on Neighbourly for locals to see.
‘Excessive’ road cone use sparks cost concerns
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Mid Canterbury farmer Ray Logan says he's fed up with the "over-the-top" use of road cones.
Driving past road works at the Ashburton Domain, where a new replacement kerb and channel is being installed, he said he couldn’t understand why the road cones stretch the entire length of the worksite “almost touching each other".
“It’s just excessive, and I see it as having no respect for the ratepayer's money,” he said.
“It’s already fenced on both sides, so really you only need a few dozen cones as the fence is the barricade but then you have this long line of I don’t know how many road cones.
“The number of cones is completely unnecessary.”
He said he had no problems with the work being done, as the kerb and channel needed replacing, and the health and safety aspects were part of that - “but it needs to be within reason”.
Roading contractors were wasting too much money on over-the-top safety measures, especially road cones, he said.
“It certainly needs to be looked at.”
Ashburton District Council contractors have been renewing the kerb and channel on Walnut Ave, between Oak Grove and West St/SH1 since May 20.
Council infrastructure and open spaces group manager Neil McCann said the project costs of $180,000 included about $4000 (2.2%) for cones, fencing, and temporary pedestrian crossings.
“Given that this work involves large heavy machinery, an open trench, and is also well used by Ashburton College, domain users and a rest home, the thorough safety measures to protect the public and the construction are appropriate and necessary.”
The work is being carried out in three segments, starting at the Oak Grove end in late May.
The new kerb and channel are not as deep as the old one, but will be higher than a standard kerb to make it difficult for vehicles to be able to drive up onto the Ashburton Domain, McCann said.
Logan's observations come after Transport Minister Simeon Brown put NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) on notice over the cost of its traffic management.
Brown told a Budget scrutiny select committee last month it was "unacceptable" that NZTA did not know the costs of what is spent on temporary traffic management.
On top of making NZTA start to measure the costs from September, a new less prescriptive code was coming in that should be more efficient, he told MPs.
"I've received advice that in some cases where traffic management's been proscribed, it's actually more dangerous putting out the road cones than it is actually doing the work," Brown said.
"So we actually just have to take a safety at a reasonable cost approach, rather than a safety at any cost approach."
He added a recent NZTA study found that, at many sites lots of road cones were being left out unnecessarily, frustrating motorists.
"There's been an infestation."
Can you figure this one out, neighbours?
I have seas with no waters, coasts with no sand, towns without people and mountains with no land. What am I?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Prize Draw Tuesdays!
Congratulations to these winners who've each won $150...
Rachael Seed from Napier
Preeti Morgan from Palmerston North
Mark Mudgway from Addington
Charlotte Burr from Dunedin
Get in touch here before the 9th of July, winners!
We have a prize draw every Tuesday so make sure you come back every week and check whether you're a winner.
Loading…
