Waipatu safety improvements under way after longtime demand

Unison and Chorus have begun undergrounding cables ahead of installing additional and improved street lighting. Photo / Supplied

Safety and connectivity will soon be improved in Waipatu as the SH51/Waipatu Marae safety improvement project is about to get under way.

As part of the project there will be improvements to the roading and footpaths in Waipatu.

The council recently received $6 million of central government funding for the project.

The call for improvements has been made for years and the matter was included in the development of the Waipatu Community Plan, which was launched in 2016.

The plan identified traffic and safety issues as well as other initiatives to benefit the community.

A key focus was making the road corridor alongside Waipatu Marae safer, particularly for children in the area.

Hastings district councillors, council staff and community members met last week to discuss the plan for improvements.

"We had tables laid out with information on them and everybody was able to see the details of what was happening and ask questions of council staff, which gave them confidence in the process and that we had taken their concerns seriously," Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said.

Waipatu Marae committee deputy chairwoman Waiora Rogers said last week 's gathering was an excellent opportunity to find out more about the overall proposed works and get questions answered.

"We started this by putting in submissions about the speed and the bigger picture including the footpaths.

"Initially there were some hard questions being asked but over the years we have created relationships and by working together we are going to get something that will make the area a lot safer – we are feeling very happy."

Ruahapia Rd and Otene residents had sent a petition to the council about their concerns, including boy racers' use of the roads for drag races and burnouts, along with the tagging and rubbish-dumping that was occurring.

Hazlehurst said engineering solutions were being worked on taking driving behaviour into account, and a number of options addressing the wider concerns would be presented to the community.

Works include speed calming and other safety measures on SH51 near the marae, Otene Rd, Bennett Rd and Ruahapia Rd.

A plan is under development to address flooding issues on the footpath alongside SH51 and look at additional footpaths in the area.

Unison and Chorus have begun undergrounding cables ahead of installing additional and improved street lighting.

Rogers hopes the improvements will make the area a lot safer in general, but particularly for children who walk the roads to catch school buses.

The safety improvement project is set to be completed by the end of the year.