Street upgrade costs balloon
The cost to upgrade two blocks of a central Christchurch street has increased to more than $6 million and the plans have left one business fearing for its survival.
Plans to spruce up Hereford St between Manchester St and Oxford Tce were expected to cost $4.9m, but the price tag has now risen to $6.2m and the work has yet to begin.
The area has been left almost untouched since it was damaged in the February 22 earthquakes and the Christchurch City Council was proposing to replace damaged footpaths and widen them to up to 5 metres in places, plant ornamental Callery pear trees, paint cycle lanes on both sides and reduce the number of parking spaces from 51 to 37 to make way for bus stops, mobility parks, and taxi and Uber stands.
Council planning and delivery transport manager Lynette Ellis said the $4.9m was based on early estimates. Since then other issues and costs had arisen which had pushed the figure up to $6.2m.
There were unexpected problems associated with how the tram crossed Hereford St. The underground services were like a ‘‘super highway’’ and had to be taken into account, Ellis said.
However, she was hoping to bring the dollar amount down by reducing construction costs. Any additional money would be found from within existing central-city transport budgets, she said.
While business owners supported the idea of upgrading Hereford St, many were not happy with parts of the design.
The Rockpool co-owner Peter Whittaker said plans to halve his outdoor dining area could reduce his summer trade by between 50 and 75 per cent.
‘‘We have had a long and difficult road establishing this trade. We simply cannot afford to lose it and we feel the council has not considered us as business owners.’’
The plan was proposing to cut Rockpool’s outdoor dining area from 4m of the footpath along the front of the bar to 2m. About 50 people can dine in the existing area but that number would halve under the council’s plans, he said.
‘‘I’m going to have trouble squeezing anything like that into the area. Outside dining is critical to our business survival.’’
The Rockpool has been operating from its Hereford St location for 25 years and created the outdoor dining area when it reopened following the earthquakes.
Tailorspace Property Ltd property general manager Glenn Taylor said the company was developing a hotel at 79 Hereford St, in the former Guardian Assurance Building, and did not want the proposed loading zones or taxi and Uber stands located directly outside the hotel. The two parks were proposed to be loading zones between 8am and 8pm, and between 8pm and 8am they would be set aside for passenger service vehicles.
‘‘We have concerns that exhaust fumes from trucks and vans left running outside the hotel entrance will be a healthand-safety concern for the hotel operator and guests.’’
Taylor said the loading zone would be more appropriate on the opposite side of the street.
The council has formed a hearings panel, made up of councillors Mike Davidson, Glenn Livingstone and Deon Swiggs, to consider the public submissions and make a recommendation to the council. The panel would meet on Tuesday.