Even though there are no official meetings this week, there is a lot happening around town.
It is all go with the resealing of Gladstone Road so, if possible, park closer to the town clock side of town this week and walk to the shops closer to Peel Street. The roading crews have been working day and night to complete Customhouse Street to Peel Street. This week they start at Peel Street and, in the next eight days, they will complete the area to Derby Street. Gladstone Road will look and feel great once it is completed, but it will be a bit painful while the re-sealing is happening. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Another piece of work happening now is the extension of the Oneroa cycleway from Midway Beach to the Waipaoa river mouth. Work has started on the trail alignment and consultation with all stakeholders, including iwi, is nearly completed. Once consultation is done, the resource consent will be lodged and then construction will start. The walkway will be a three metre-wide concrete path from Midway Beach to the Millennium Wall, and from there up to the river mouth it will be limestone. If everything goes according to plan, the trail will be completed by September. This trail extension is made possible by a generous grant from Eastland Community Trust.
Another bike trail that has grown significantly in popularity in the past six months is the Fox Street mountain bike trails. During 2018, the Gisborne Mountain Bike Club worked tirelessly to secure funding to improve the current trails and also add several new ones. With grants from ECT and NZCT, they were able to raise the $130k to complete this project. The trails are very popular — so popular that some residents in Fox Street have contacted the council with suggestions on where to allocate overflow parking for peak times! The local residents also love the new trails, as it is not only a fantastic network of bike trails but is also very popular with walkers and runners.
Aside from roading work happening in our western rural area and east coast areas, we are also focusing on our township and community plans. Manutuke is next with Siteworx awarded the contract to implement the designs developed for Te Arai Domain. Funding has also been secured for the Waingake/Whakato Road corner and the Whakato footbridge. The Muriwai community has been sent the priorities they have workshopped with GDC staff and, once they have had the chance to comment and make sure that is what they want, the scope of work can be determined, ready for costing and budget allocation. Next on the list is Tikitiki and Rangitukia — draft masterplans are currently with the community and, once we receive feedback, prioritising and budget allocation can begin. Potaka/Wharekahika and Te Araroa have requested that we arrange another hui to review concept plans and to prioritise community aspirations and expectations.
