Crossing linking Whanganui River to historic reserve back on the table

Josh Chandulal-Mackay says the crossing would ensure the reserve is connected to the nearby Whanganui River.

A forgotten Whanganui District Council project at Pākaitore/Moutoa Gardens has been brought back to its attention.

Members of the Pākaitore Historic Reserve Board presented the case for a pavement and raised road crossing on Taupō Quay between Bates Street and Market Place at a recent council aspirations and projects committee.

According to the board’s submission, the council began work on the proposal in 2014, preparing a plan that was approved by the board and iwi representatives.

“Significant work, design and archaeological reports have already been completed by the WDC [Whanganui District Council] - it seems a shame and a waste not to continue,” it said.

Board administrator Rosemary Tennant said for a number of years, people around the board table had asked what happened to the project.

“In 2011, there was a [Whanganui] riverfront development project which was started by the council, with the idea of enhancing the riverbank, making a precinct and joining it up to Pukenamu [Queen’s Park].

“Part of that was a raised crossing which went over Taupō Quay.

“There were a number of reasons for that. One was the idea of traffic calming along Taupō Quay. If you go down there on a Saturday, it’s quite busy and it’s quite dangerous.”

Councillor Josh Chandulal-Mackay, also a board member, said alongside the practical reasons for putting a crossing there, it carried important cultural significance as well.

“While the Western world, if you like, designated that a roadway go through there, the perspective of tangata whenua is that the entire area is Pākaitore.

“It was possibly a pā site, it was a place of trade and so on.

“This is also about making sure the historic reserve is connected to the awa.”

Tennant said she had been sent to the committee from a recent board meeting with several senior iwi members.

“They all said, ‘Why don’t we get on with that?’

“It seems to me you [the council] have done the work and you’ve costed it out.”

Council chief executive David Langford said he didn’t know why the project hadn’t progressed.

He said he wasn’t aware of any existing funds in the council’s long-term budget plans, but he would double-check to make sure nothing was “buried in a roading budget”.

Chandulal-Mackay told the Chronicle the council had employed several roading managers since the project was first mooted and the board hadn’t been “particularly vigorous” in pursuing it over the last few years.

“We want to put it back on the table because the board is in a position to advocate for it.”

He said he wasn’t sure what the cost of the project was back in 2014, but that wasn’t relevant in the present day.

“The cost of materials has shifted drastically, even in the last two or three years.

“The whole thing will need to be re-costed as far as I’m aware.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.