Massey views revealed by felling
A row of pine trees has been removed weeks before the construction of Palmerston North’s planned cycle and foot bridge across the Manawatu¯ River because officials were worried about birds building nests.
Bridge building could start by the end of October, with three tenders under consideration for the bridge section of the $10 million shared pathway project, He Ara Kotahi.
Steering group chairman Ray Swadel said it was a condition of the resource consent that the pines should go by the end of September to ensure no ruru, or morepork, established nests there that would later have to be disturbed.
The trees on the Massey University side of the river opposite Dittmer Drive have been felled in preparation for work to begin.
Swadel said the contract would be let after the council decided which tender to accept at a special, public-excluded meeting to be held on October 16.
The cleared area provided views through to the university, and would provide space for two off-ramps linking to the shared pathway, and the root pattern for the fallen karaka tree design for the bridge.
Swadel said the final route for the linking pathway to Massey had not been confirmed, but stage two of the pathway from near the Turitea Stream to Bells Rd at Linton had been settled.
At the moment, the pathway ends about 200 metres short of the stream, where a bridge would have to be built, with a steep climb up to a bluff.
Designs for the Turitea bridge were completed and resource management consents would be applied for.