Thursday, Aug 29, 2019 Since Sept 27, 1879 Retail $2 Home delivered from $1.25 THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY Harold’s helping hand P4 Tinwald resident Huntley Gray is worried that it is only a matter of time until a serious accident occurs on his door- step. PHOTO JAIME PITT-MACKAY 260819-JPM-0003 Milestone reached MAJOR CRASH P2 ‘It’s only a matter of time’ BY JAIME PITT-MACKAY Road, and holds genuine fears that one through, while traffic travelling along [email protected] day that serious crash will occur outside Tarbottons Road are controlled by give For Tinwald resident Huntley Gray it is his doorstep, or that a car will crash into way signs. not the question of if there will be a ma- the house itself. jor accident on his doorstep, but when. The intersection sits in a 70km/h zone Gray lives at the intersection of Nixon between Nixon Street and Hollands CONTINUED P2 Street, Tarbottons Road and Hollands Road which cars can travel straight Gluyas Motor Group Ph 03 307 7900 79 Kermode Street | (03) 307 5800 to subscribe! Kendall Sandrey Sales Consultant Mob 027 486 0016 Scott Donaldson Sales Manager NISSAN Mob 027 225 5530 DEMO CLEARANCE! ONLY AT GLUYAS NISSAN www.gluyasmotorgroup.co.nz News 2 Ashburton Guardian Thursday, August 29, 2019 www.guardianonline.co.nz Skatepark closer to reality Major crash: BY HEATHER MACKENZIE [email protected] It may have taken 12 years and some ‘It’s only a ups and downs along the way, but the Kidzmethven skatepark site is now of- ficially active. And on Tuesday afternoon, at the site matter of time’ on the corner of Bank and McMillan streets in the heart of Methven, com- mittee members had cause for celebra- From P1 tion when the first clump of soil was “The traffic coming through is just going too turned. fast, they either stay doing 70 or 100 and don’t That honour sat with long-time com- slacken off until they make it to Melcombe Street,” mittee member Sally-Ann Kircher who he said. symbolically turned the first soil. Liz McMillan and Sally-Ann “Even worse is probably when they go straight “It is very exciting and somewhat Kircher turning the first soil through (the give-way signs on) Tarbottons Road. emotional to see this finally happen- on the new Kidzmethven “I am worried they are going to end up in our ing,” she said. skatepark on Tuesday. house one day.” “It was always our intention to pro- PHOTO HEATHER MACKENZIE Gray said the worst crash he had seen in his vide a free outdoor activity for the youth three-and-a-half years living in the house was re- of Methven, so it feels good today to be with increased activities was needed in ued community support and a brilliant cently when a truck carrying gas bottles collided taking a big step closer to that goal. Methven. multi-talented committee.” with a car, resulting in the car coming to rest in a “The skatepark is going to be such an While Kidzmethven has remained The 2 024-square-metre block of land ditch across the road. asset for our town, something I know active over the years with fundraising is a reserve owned by the district coun- Gray has spoken to the Ashburton District my grandchildren will be enjoying for projects to keep the funds coming in, it cil and has been leased to Kidzmethven Council on multiple occasions, saying the road- years to come.” was a question from committee mem- for a nominal (peppercorn) rent. ing manager had agreed that the 100km/h sign The Kidzmethven committee was ber Josh Horn about what is happening A grant from the council, along with should be moved further up Hollands Road, but formed in 2007 by a group of commit- with the skatepark that reignited en- several other local organisations, char- that he had also been told there are four members ted locals with the view to improving thusiasm for the project and got things ities and foundations, has helped to of staff that would call him back but never did. the Methven Playground next to the moving again. fund the project. Ashburton District Council service delivery Methven Medical Centre. Through the Ashburton District The Methven Community Board has group manager Neil McCann said the intersection Initially the plan was to incorporate Council, a different site was secured, also been involved in the development, is being monitored, especially given the increase the skatepark into the existing play- new plans drawn up and funding grants assisting with the application for the re- in subdivisions at the southern end of Tarbottons ground. applied for. source consent. Road. Plans were presented to the Methven Kidzmethven chairwoman Liz Mc- Like the planning and fundraising “The speed limits in this area are also current- Community Board and then the wider Millan said the journey to get to Tues- that has brought the project to this ly under review with the intention to go to public community via a public meeting and it day had been a long one. point, the construction of the park will consultation before the end of this calendar year,” was agreed that a revamped playground “We have been lucky to have contin- be carried out by volunteers. he said. The roading network in the Ashburton District is comprised of 1473 intersections, with 797 of those being rural and 676 urban. Second candidate has boundary near-miss “Most rural intersections will be cross-roads, with only one road controlled, generally on both BY SUE NEWMAN to the checking process to ensure the were raised over whether that person sides, but there are a number of multi-leg inter- [email protected] same errors are not made in future elec- was urban or rural, she said. sections with multiple signs,” McCann said. The realignment of ward boundaries tions, she said. “Later someone must have checked “Advance warning signs are usually installed ahead of October’s local body elections “And I want there to be absolute again and it was picked up and it then where there are curves, or where there is not a caught out more than one candidate for transparency around this. I don’t want became a matter of urgency to get a clear approach to see the control sign in time to the Ashburton District Council. someone down the track to say that I second nominator.” react. While sitting urban ward councillor had the opportunity to fix mine.” The following morning, Castle-Wil- “Approaches to state highways and our higher Russell Ellis has been disqualified as a Castle-Wilson said she was fortunate son returned to council with the sig- classified roads may also have advance warning candidate because it was discovered her incorrect nominator was picked nature of an eligible nominator at the signs; we are currently reviewing as we endeavour after nominations closed that one of up in time, but said that should have same time as Ellis was lodging his nom- to improve safety for the travelling public.” his nominators lived outside the urban alerted the council to the need for extra ination. There are 30 advance warning signs for stop ward, a new contender, Rochelle Cas- vigilance when they checked wheth- And she’s questioning why, with one controls (stop ahead), 85 advance warning signs tle-Wilson, also found herself caught er nominators lived within the correct near miss on board, it wasn’t top of the for give way controls (giveway ahead), 180 stop out by ward boundary changes. ward. Nominators must live in the ward council’s mind that staff needed to be signs and 924 give way signs. Castle-Wilson, however, had her in- for which they are nominating a candi- extra careful when checking nomina- “Council staff regularly check intersections to correct nominator caught before dead- date. tors’ addresses against the new ward ensure the conditions remain appropriate for the line, while Ellis did not. She had been nominated for the ur- boundaries signage installed and if there are any reported in- Her nomination was initially accept- ban ward and one of her initial nomina- “I’m lucky, mine was picked up early cidents at the intersection, further investigation ed and ticked off as correct, but she tors gave his address as a rural delivery. and I had an opportunity to fix it. I know of the site is undertaken,” he said. was later contacted and told she would When this was checked at council, the this is a system fault but I’m standing “Council work practices are audited by NZTA need to find another nominator. That road address was manually written on for commonsense and commonsense and also, at times, by special interest groups on highlights the need to make changes the nomination form, but no red flags says something is not working here.” behalf of NZTA.” OUT TOMORROW Check out Guardian Motoring in tomorrow’s Ashburton Guardian for all the latest motoring news and reviews. www.facebook.com/ashguardian www.guardianonline.co.nz News www.guardianonline.co.nz Thursday, August 29, 2019 Ashburton Guardian 3 Nationwide interest in historic Chinese settlement BY SUE NEWMAN Left – Buildings in Ashbur- [email protected] ton’s Ng King Brothers Chi- Ashburton’s Chinese market gar- nese Market Garden Settle- den settlement is attracting na- ment are looking at a bright tional interest that could spark a future with work soon to be- cash surge for restoration work. gin on making roofs weather Heritage New Zealand gave the tight.