SH82 intersection to stay the same, despite consultation
The community should never have been consulted about a five-road State Highway intersection if the Waimate District Council still planned to ignore them, two councillors say.
The council held a community consultation on the Queen St, State Highway 82/Gorge Rd, Mill Rd and William St intersection, after receiving complaints from nearby residents, in December.
Following the consultation, the councillors recommended to keep the status quo of the intersection, giving Queen St priority.
Councillor Sheila Paul said she could not support the recommendation at a council meeting on Tuesday.
Two thirds of the more than 110 submissions received supported change, Paul said.
Three options were given to the community. These included keeping the status quo, and closing entry to southern Queen St and prioritising SH82 instead. About 56 submissions favoured closing off part of the main street.
‘‘The majority wanted change, we can’t say, ‘Leave it’,’’ Paul said. ‘‘Why go to the expense of putting it out for consultation if we’re not going to change it?’’
Instead she wanted all of the community submissions should be sent to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to help them make their decision.
Councillor David Anderson pointed out it would be unfair to make the NZTA look through them as the council had approached it in the first place. The NZTA came up with the options and did not have any safety concerns for the current intersection, he said.
Councillor Sharyn Cain said the decision ‘‘stops with us’’, not the NZTA.
Councillor Peter Collins said he did not see any good reason to go against the submissions.
Six of the eight councillors voted to keep the status quo, with Paul and Collins voting against the proposal.
Mayor Craig Rowley said it would not be the first time the councillors had voted against the community’s preferred option, but it was done in their best interest.