Business owners split on upgrade
A $1.5 million upgrade of Foxton’s main street has received a lukewarm response from locals with some calling for clean drinking water before cash is splashed on street revamps.
Work on the project begins at the north end of Main St on Monday. It starts with construction of a roundabout on Ravensworth Pl, and its conversion to a one-lane road.
The work includes traffic island and bike stand installation, while footpaths will be widened and resurfaced.
Horowhenua District Council aims to make the street more pedestrian-friendly, reducing vehicle speeds and creating a commemorative public space around Memorial Plaza and the relocated Foxton Cenotaph.
Leapfrog Hats owner Shiree Parlane said the road needed to be resealed and parts of the footpath fixed, but upgrades like moving the cenotaph should be lower on the council’s priority list.
‘‘We’ve got really bad water here. People want a water upgrade, not a street upgrade.
‘‘We want our water sorted, and we want our river fixed ... tourists don’t come to stay in places with bad drinking water and polluted rivers.’’
She said she would lose six car parks from in front of her business due to the upgrade, and if the changes are detrimental to her business, she would consider moving out of Foxton.
Leader & Watt Foxton manager Jackie Yalden said the work was an attempt to fix a non-existent problem.
‘‘I can understand what they’re trying to do, making it pedestrian friendly, but at the same time, I haven’t heard of any pedestrians being run over the way it is. I haven’t heard any of the elderly complain about it.’’
Wholesafe owner Lindsay Sanson said the changes should have happened ‘‘years ago’’.
‘‘Too many people have a shortterm vision for Foxton. It’s time to think long-term.’’
He said the changes would encourage business owners to clean up their frontages, and shoppers to park at the ends of town and stay on the street longer.
‘‘If we can get people walking down the street, it’ll be better for everybody.’’
Council chief executive David Clapperton said the project was happening in addition to work to solve water clarity, and to return flow to the Manawatu River loop at Foxton.
Council roading projects engineer James Wallace said investigations had begun to find places where more car parks can be added.
Foxton Main Street business and building owners received a preview of the street’s upgrade at a meeting this month, attended by more than 50 people, he said.
The footpath on the west side is being extended by 1.2 metres to increase space and the buffer between car parks and verandas.
Wallace said there was a risk tall vehicles, like campervans, could collide with the verandas.
Foxton’s drinking water has been the subject of complaints about discolouration and strong chlorine odours for decades.