Ashburton residents say road quality is their biggest gripe
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Ashburton residents say the region's roads are their biggest gripe, but a research expert says people are just choosing it as a “default’’ response.
Two-thirds (66%) of respondents, of the 873 residents surveyed, listed roading as the primary reason for dissatisfaction.
Key Research managing director Mike Hooker, who presented the results of the annual residents' survey, questioned the response.
“It’s a perennial issue for the council and it’s also what we refer to as a default attribute,” Hooker said.
“When residents are struggling to give a reason for dissatisfaction, they are defaulting to the roading network.”
The residents’ road satisfaction levels were the opposite of the council’s end-of-year performance report, which recorded the district's sealed local road network as being 98% smooth.
Councillor Carolyn Cameron said she was “fascinated” by that figure, and asked for an explanation.
Roading manager Mark Chamberlain said the smoothness figure was produced “by a machine that goes round and measures roughness”.
“While there are faults on it, the overall network is very good,” he said.
Chief executive Hamish Riach said the council knew the community was dissatisfied with the state of the roads, especially the number of potholes.
The roading network suffered from back-to-back wet winters and now, coming off a drier winter, the contractors hope to get ahead of the problems, Riach said.
“With additional resources, additional attention, and a little bit of luck from the weather, we are optimistic we can improve perceptions of the network.”
The satisfaction with the sealed roads increased up 2% to 26%. Last year's result was the lowest it had, with pothole issues.
The residents’ survey asked what the council should spend more on.
Hooker said this resulted in the “default attribute”, with 61% pointing to roading.
The council resealed 4.9% (75km) of the network in 2022/23, which came down to funding, Chamberlain said.
The survey also highlighted that Ashburton residents were more satisfied than those outside the town boundary, Hooker said.
“If you live in the Ashburton township, you are much more likely to be satisfied with every attribute that we measure than those that live in the rest of the district.”
Again, roading was the example, with Ashburton having a 33% satisfaction level with the state of the roads, while the rest of the district was at 15%.
Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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48.6% Yes
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49.4% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
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