Marguerita St: Modifications approved, may see Ombudsman complaint

It's been decided - for now.

A "modified status quo" - kerb extensions, a pedestrian crossing and signage - will be introduced to Marguerita St after Rotorua Lakes Council made the final decision at its last meeting of the year on Thursday.

However, a man who opposed any changes to the street and organised a petition supporting that view, said he anticipates he will take the decision to the Ombudsman for review.

It was not a unanimous decision, with councillors Sandra Kai Fong, Raj Kumar, Peter Bentley and Reynold Macpherson opposing.

Petitioner Peter Baars attended the meeting in the public gallery with his lawyer, James McDougall of Holland Beckett.

In the meeting, infrastructure manager Stavros Michael said public feedback on changes to the road had highlighted additional issues such as business risk, accessibility to premises and road user safety.

He said there had been 12 crashes on the road in "recent years", which he said was "quite significant".

Michael said the recommendation was a "sensible and balanced intervention".

It would cost about $20,000, he said, and considerations would be made in the detailed design phase to allow cyclists to traverse the kerb extensions and make pedestrian crossings accessible to all.

He said he believed the estimated cost of the modifications was worth it against the social cost of fatalities or injuries.

Council chief executive Geoff Williams said while there had been a consultation on changes to Marguerita St, it "wasn't a referendum".

The consultation had found there was a need to keep the road open to through-traffic but there were "some issues on this road".

"The precise nature of that intervention will be subject to professional advice, and scrutiny and design."

Councillor Sandra Kai Fong said she understood the rationale for Glenbrae residents approaching the council about the road was about trucks waiting for the nearby vehicle testing station, as well as the noise and vibration of heavy vehicles.

"The solutions that have been suggested there are not really addressing the original concerns."

Michael said the residents' solution was to close the road but this would significantly impact the rest of the community.

"Residents and other general public expressed concerns that crossing that road, with the increasing volume of traffic, is becoming problematic.

"If you're a ... flesh and blood person, being hit by a 40-tonne truck, whether they travel at 40 or 50km/h, really, your chances are miniscule."

Chadwick told Kai Fong she "couldn't go back to re-litigate the debate on what the options were".

Marguerita St. Photo / File

Councillor Tania Tapsell said the council's "number one job" was to ensure community safety by providing quality infrastructure.

"We would feel pretty silly if someone was to be hurt crossing this road or biking on this road, and we didn't want to make a $20,000 decision, if that, to make this a safer area."

Councillors Trevor Maxwell, Mercia Yates, Fisher Wang and deputy mayor Dave Donaldson said they also supported the changes.

Councillor Raj Kumar said the changes were "probably more of a hazard than life-saving".

Chadwick said the council had "got confused" and said it was "because of a death".

On January 9, a rest home resident died after being hit by a car at low speed on Hilda St, near Marguerita St.

The Glenbrae residents' petition was dated the same day but referred specifically to trucks on Marguerita St and residents had been in touch with the council about these concerns in late 2019.

"If this passes, we've made the right political decision on a stretch of road that we didn't have to go out and consult on at all," Chadwick said.

"It was never a binding referendum, it was consultation."

Councillor Reynold Macpherson said the "logical connections" between the problems and solutions were "quite vague" and safety concerns could be addressed by better signage.

He said his biggest concern was Baars' "legal challenge" which had been "swept aside".

Donaldson called a point of order on "relevance of the legal challenge".

"If it was an injunction it might be a difficult story.

"Any decision of [the] council can be challenged."

After the meeting, Baars told Local Democracy Reporting safety was "never a consideration".

"Initially it was heavy traffic and vibration and noise."

He was not aware of any pedestrian injuries on the street and Glenbrae did not have a Marguerita St access.

"The construction of a pedestrian crossing is probably worthwhile but I don't see the real need for protecting pedestrians on the street."

Baars said he would await a response to his letter from the council and would "evaluate where we go from there".

"We anticipate referring this to the Ombudsman."

He said he believed councillors had been "hoodwinked".

Peter Baars created a petition to maintain the status quo on Marguerita St and attracted 680 signatures. Photo / File

"They've been told it's the status quo, it's not the status quo. It's option two, it's modifying the street. No one wanted that in general. They've been told it's a safety issue, it's never been about safety. They've been told it's about speed, [the council] said speed is not an issue on the street."

He said he thought Kai Fong and Macpherson's comments in the meeting were "very relevant".

"I would like to see the council pause and consider it more carefully, but I think that horse has bolted."

Baars' comments were put to the council and mayor for the right of reply, and Chadwick responded that safety was "one of a number of issues raised by residents when we first met with them".

"[Safety] was highlighted in the report to the Operations and Monitoring Committee last month when this matter was debated at some length.

"While not a requirement, we made the decision to consult the wider community, which I'm pleased we did, and at today's full council meeting elected members had another chance to ask questions and seek clarification, and to seek assurance that we've got the balance right, to help inform decision-making."

At the meeting, the council also signed off on other recommendations from committees.

The council unanimously agreed to revoke its sex work bylaw and revoke the reserve status of Pururu Reserve - the Tarewa Rd tennis courts - to vest the land as a Māori reservation in Taharangi Marae trustees.

It also agreed to Tarawera wastewater reticulation scheme - with Macpherson abstaining, and funnel $500,000 toward Te Te Pūtake o Tawa, forest hub two on Tarawera Rd, with Kumar, Bentley and Macpherson against.

The council also agreed to receive the council's 2019/2020 Annual Report, with Macpherson abstaining.