Committee makes High St recommendation

The committee overseeing delivery of the An Accessible City programme is recommending Christchurch City Council begin engaging immediately with High Street stakeholders about the planned upgrade of the street.

Under the original 10-year work programme for An Accessible City the upgrade of High Street was not scheduled to occur until 2023.

However, with the refurbishment of many of the heritage buildings along High Street now under way, some property owners and developers want the road upgrade brought forward so it can be done at the same time as their own developments and, potentially, the extension of the city’s heritage tramway.

High Street.
This section of High Street is in line for an upgrade.

This morning the Council’s Infrastructure, Transport and Environment (ITE) Committee voted to recommend the Council engage with the High Street property owners and other key stakeholders on the proposed changes to High Street ahead of the 2018-28 Long Term Plan (LTP) being approved.

The objective of the engagement will be to establish whether it is physically possible to align the proposed upgrade of High Street with the other developments happening in the area.

“It makes sense for our proposed works on High Street to be aligned with the private development work,’’ says ITE Committee Chair Cr Pauline Cotter.

“Before we can commit to that though we need to have a better understanding of the timeframes the developers are working to and how we might be able to dove-tail in with their plans.

“There are some practical considerations that need to be looked at. For instance, at the moment there are some building facades that are being propped up by temporary structures which intrude onto the roadway. We need to find out how long they are likely to remain in place as their presence limits our ability to proceed with the streetscape improvements,’’ Cr Cotter says.

The ITE Committee also voted to recommend that prior to the LTP being approved, the Council engage with the community on:

The proposed works on Kilmore Street between Colombo and Durham streets so that section of Kilmore Street can be completed within the same time frame as the Town Hall restoration.
The introduction of a 30km an hour speed limit on St Asaph Street.
The Committee is also recommending some other modifications are made to the AAC programme. It is recommending the Council:

Proceeds with the work on Ferry Road, between Fitzgerald Avenue and St Asaph Street, so the central city connection for the Heathcote Expressway cycleway can be completed.

Continues work to complete the section of Antigua Street (between St Asaph Street and Moorhouse Avenue) to connect the Quarryman’s Trail Major Cycle Route.

Brings forward budget to complete the section of Colombo Street (between Bealey Avenue and Kilmore Street) to connect the Papanui Parallel Major Cycle Route.

Continues with minor enhancements to St Asaph Street as agreed by the Council in December 2017.

Continues to work on the design for Hereford Street (between Manchester Street and Cambridge Terrace).

Continues to work on the design for High Street, from Hereford Street to Manchester Street.

Continues with the slow speed zone and wayfinding projects in the central city.

Delays work on the remainder of Kilmore Street and Salisbury Street until the 2022/23 financial year, although design work will continue in the interim.
A separate report on the design and timing of the proposed Victoria Street upgrade will be presented to the ITE Committee once the Council has engaged with stakeholders.

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