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[The battle over pedestrian safety at the Tunnel Road/Port Hills Road interchange goes on. Here, Heathcote Valley Community Association Chair Ian MacLeod, makes a direct appeal to our Mayor and son of the Heathcote Valley, Bob Parker. We hope for a speedy response...]
Dear Bob,
 Being a son of the valley, I hope that we as a community can look to you for your advice, assistance and support. For over ten years now the Heathcote Valley Community Association has been battling with a safety problem for pedestrians at the Tunnel Road/Port Hills road interchange, connecting Avoca Valley to both Horotane and Heathcote Valleys.
It is quite impossible, because of the risks, for children in the Avoca Valley, or any other pedestrian for that matter, to walk to the school or to visit, other than by car, family and friends in the village, and vice versa.
Correspondence from as long ago as 1997-98 show that council staff and The Community Board recognised and acknowledged that there was a serious safety issue and gave it a “high priority”. A letter from David Cox on 14th August 1998 says that an application for funding of a foot/cycle path did not get into 1998-99 budget and suggests an application to the community Board for funding in the 99/2000 budget. On 22 September the Board wrote, “Accordingly, the Board is recommending to the Council that this project be accorded a priority 2, indicating that it is an important project”.
The Mundy family from the Horotane Valley, and their neighbour on Port Hills Road, tell us of negotiating with Council for the sale of land to serve as a foot/cycle path from Duncan Reserve to Horotane Valley. And on 31 October 2005 Michael Thompson, CCC traffic planner, wrote under the heading “Footpath Port Hills Road/Tunnel Road off Ramp”, “…Council officers have been in the process of negotiating with the adjoining land owner, to purchase land for a combined cycle path/footpath, and waterways/green space enhancement of the property frontage”.
Since then it has been an annual event to approach the Community board with an application for ‘something to be done’. The most recent response from the Board was that we should approach NZ Transport Agency, as the interchange is part of the National Roading network. NZTA did in fact do some work on the cycle aspect last year but only compounded the pedestrian problem.
The correspondence above shows that Council have already accepted that it has a responsibility to find a solution to this particular pedestrian safety issue and, what is more, it is Council’s responsibility to negotiate with NZTA and any private landowners, and to find a satisfactory and safe solution for the residents.
We would very much like to meet with you, and perhaps Council staff, on site so that we may have the opportunity of showing you how dangerous the road is for pedestrians and discuss with you options for resolution of the problem.
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