Hamilton council playing catch up on weeding road median garden beds

Work is now under way to weed or replace many of Hamilton's kerbside, road median and state highway garden beds.

The city council says it is working to catch up on weeding or replacing many of Hamilton's kerbside, and road median garden beds after delays blamed on Covid-19 issues and changes made by Waka Kotahi to traffic management requirements for kerbside work.

"The changes [made by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency] include extra steps to ensure any council's staff can safely work on busy roads such as our state highways, regardless of what that work is," says Hamilton City Council's transport unit director Gordon Naidoo.

Maintenance work is now under way to gradually weed or replace many of Hamilton's kerbside, road median and state highway garden beds and grassed areas over the coming months.

The council says the need to effectively manage safety and access issues is the main reason for the delays; however, various issues relating to Covid-19 also hindered council progress.

As a result of the Waka Kotahi changes, all councils in New Zealand have been working with the agency to factor these changes into each council's road-related gardening, planting, verge and other planting and maintenance plan.

Naidoo says the new approach will keep council staff safe while improving safety for all road users in and round the city.

"We'll also keep working with Waka Kotahi over the coming months as our overall plan rolls out to ensure we stay on track with that priority. We will not compromise on safety."

Starting this week by focusing on roadside and median gardens along Cambridge Road, the council's updated regular planting and maintenance plan will roll out progressively over the next two years.

"We'll be dealing first with priority areas like those where tall grasses are obstructing road users' vision; then our city's state highways and main arterial roads; then quieter residential streets," says Naidoo.

The council says its planting plan emphasises using native, drought-tolerant and other low-maintenance plant species suited to Hamilton's changing environment.

Naidoo says it's also very important from a safety point of view that no resident is tempted to carry out gardening, vegetation work or lawn mowing on any council-owned roadside garden areas.

"We want to thank the community for their patience. We also appreciate they might just be wanting to help, but please, contact us first instead to let us know about the problem and we'll sort it."

He says residents are responsible for only their own property's vegetation and roadside verge mowing. (For further details on which verge areas are the responsibility of residents, see hamilton.govt.nz/maintainingandimproving).

More information will be shared on the roadside replanting plan in the coming months, but in the meantime, queries and requests can be emailed to info@hcc.govt.nz or phone the council's customer service team on (07) 838 6699.

Meanwhile, Waka Kotahi is advising travellers out and about in Waikato and the Bay of Plenty over Easter that due to the impact of Covid-19 on its local contractors, road users on some routes may notice more roadside litter or debris than usual.

"We are working hard to clear this as quickly as possible," the agency says.