Resident Jennie Lodge, who has a broken leg and chronic back pain, says she has tripped "heaps of times" on the uplifted pavement. Pictured are Lodge (left) and fellow residents Cheryle Greaves and Jayden Soutar. Photo / Zoe Mills
Resident Jennie Lodge, who has a broken leg and chronic back pain, says she has tripped "heaps of times" on the uplifted pavement. Pictured are Lodge (left) and fellow residents Cheryle Greaves and Jayden Soutar. Photo / Zoe Mills
Residents of Gisborne’s Elsdon Best St say children have been injured by the street’s “dangerous” footpaths.
The roots of liquidambar trees, commonly known as sweetgums, have uplifted sections of concrete in the street located off Campion Rd in Riverdale.
Parts of the street’s drainage have also been uplifted, raisingconcern about potential flood risks.
Gisborne District Council says it is working on a plan to repair the footpath, but the “long-standing” damage will require “significant” work.
Resident Cheryle Greaves said people – particularly young children – had been injured after tripping on the jagged footpaths.
Greaves said she contacted the council three times over three months. She was told contractors would need to be organised to fix the footpaths, but she hadn’t heard back from the council since then.
“Even if they fix the footpath, the trees are still going to push their roots out and push the new footpaths up. Yeah, those trees need to be removed,” Greaves said. “For the kids’ sake, something needs to be done”.
Residents of Elsdon Best St want the footpaths fixed by Christmas. Photo / Zoe Mills
Herewini last year moved into his Elsdon Best St home, where he lives with his 3-year-old son.
Liquidambar tree roots had uplifted the footpath leading into his home and his son had tripped over these and hurt himself “quite a few times”, he said.
“There’s nothing worse than your young fella crying to you, and then it happens again, day after day.”
Herewini “hounded” the council with emails, but said it was like “talking to a brick wall”.
He also wants the trees removed.
“If I had it my way, I’d cut those things down instantly, especially if you’re seeing kids hurting themselves. It’s the kids that I worry about the most … it really riles you up".
Council director of community lifelines Tim Barry said the damage was “long-standing” and “there unfortunately isn’t a quick fix”.
“Repairing the footpath properly will require significant work.
“Council staff are working on a plan for the site, including how and when the footpath can be renewed. While we cannot confirm timeframes at this stage, this site, along with others, remains a priority and we will aim to address it as soon as possible,” Barry said.
Resident Maria Taylor said the footpaths had “got worse and worse”.
Taylor’s son Jayden Soutar uses a wheelchair. She struggles to take him for walks around the street because his wheelchair cannot make it over the raised pavements.
She’s forced to walk on the side of the road.
“It’s so dangerous. Cars are coming down all the time.”
Residents are clear on what they want.
“We want fast action,” Taylor said. “We want it fixed before Christmas.”
