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Council Purchases Property at Red Lion Corner
Monday, 10 September 2012
In a settlement concluded last week the Waimakariri District Council has purchased the Westpac Bank property at the corner of High and Ashley Streets in Rangiora.
The purchase is part of the project to re-align the intersection of Ashley Street, High Street and Ivory Street, known locally as the Red Lion Corner. The intersection is part of the main north/south movement corridor through Rangiora, which creates a conflict between local and through traffic. The current alignment impedes access to High Street from the east and makes exiting the Rangiora town centre in an easterly or southbound direction difficult. In addition it presents difficulties for pedestrians who are often confronted by heavy vehicles moving at pace as they attempt to cross the road.
The $3.8million re-alignment project, which was signalled in the Council’s Rangiora Town Centre Strategy adopted in 2010, and included in the Council’s Ten Year Plan, necessitates the purchase of the property in order to carry out whichever re-alignment option is finally selected. Any of the options considered required the purchase of the Westpac property.
As part of the Issues and Concepts consultation carried out for the Rangiora Town Centre 2020 proposals, 68% of submitters stated a preference for re-alignment of the Red Lion corner and the addition of traffic lights to the intersection, citing simplicity, less confusion for visitors and pedestrian convenience. Community dis-satisfaction with the current intersection has been evident in a number of different surveys.
Council’s Roading Manager Ken Stevenson says that the Westpac property had been identified as a key property to purchase in order to achieve any kind of re-alignment of the intersection and the opportunity to purchase arose recently so Council managed to negotiate a satisfactory purchase agreement. 'A construction timetable at this stage is not determined', he says. 'That is going to depend on finalising the alignment and on the possibility of further property purchases arising out of that'.
Further information:
Ken Stevenson
Roading Manager
Phone: (03) 311 8900 or (03) 327 6834
Email: ken.stevenson@wmk.govt.nz
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