23 January 2023
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Kainga Ora development Kawaha Pt Road
Enquiry
Reporter made direct contact with Mayor Tapsell to speak to her about Kainga Ora’s proposed development at Kawaha Point Rd (as per fact sheet above)
Response
The Mayor spoke with the Daily Post and made the following key points:
- Council is very aware of Rotorua's housing shortage
- There is a real need for the government to provide homes for those who will never be able to afford their own homes
- The development is a much better solution for the families to have a place to call home instead of a motel room
- Council has sent a strong message to government ministers that Rotorua people need to be prioritised for the homes
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Request for footpath
Enquiry
I was speaking with Rotorua resident and accessibility advocate Roger Loveless who says he is wanting a footpath to be constructed at Redwood Park.
I had a couple of questions and comments for response, please.
What is the process when building footpaths - as in, how do they get to be built and what's the decision-making process around them?
The stretch of road he is wanting one on is about 550m from the end of Forest Pl on Tarawera Rd to the Redwood Park subdivision entrance. How much would this cost roughly? Is this a possibility?
How many kilometres of footpath is there in Rotorua?
How often do people request footpaths be constructed?
For response:
Loveless worries it will take an accident before one is put in, with the council saying its classification for the road means there is no priority to build one.
Loveless uses an electric wheelchair and says he is dependent on others to visit his family.
He believes vehicles travel above the speed limit of 50km/h, including trucks, and said it is not safe enough for his grandchildren to walk down to get to school or his house.
He contacted the council in early January (jan 11) asking for a safe footpath and cycle route to be constructed along Tarawera Rd to the subdivision from Forest Pl, where the current footpath ends.
He said Environmental Health Performance manager Niki Carling said that as under the Operating District Plan it was classed as a rural collector road and would not usually be of priority for footpath construction.
She advised as building and sub-development continue it accepted there may be increasing demand for a footpath from those living in the park or visiting properties therein.
Construction could be considered but funding would come from a future Long Term Plan.
But Loveless said he is not happy with this as a response and believes the road should instead be classed as a peri-urban as per the Waka Kotahi One Network Framework.
“That’s the thing that annoys me.”
The framework describes a rural connector as being a road that links rural roads and inter-regional connectors, an example being a feeder road into a township.
It says a peri-urban road primarily provides access from a residential property on the urban fringe, where the predominant adjacent land-use is residential, but usually at a lower density than that found in urban residential locations.
“Even if they said it was two years away, I wouldn’t mind as much.”
Since receiving that email response he sent another to council staff asking whether it will take an accident to prove the need for a footpath.
Response
From DCE Infrastructure and Environment Stavros Michael:
We share Mr Loveless’ desire for viable, safe and convenient pedestrian/cycling corridors and are constantly assessing land developments and how these generate demand for new assets and services.
We consider this roading corridor to be correctly classified within the District Plan and as per the guidelines provided by Waka Kotahi – note these are guidelines only.
Changing the classification would require a District Plan change, a lengthy process that requires community consultation.
There are many demands on Council’s limited financial resources and the appropriate time for rationalising or reviewing these demands and reprioritising would be during Council’s Long-term Plan process. This is when the community has the opportunity to submit proposals and elected members evaluate Council’s ability to invest in such proposals.
Council owns and operates about 1000kms of roads, with 75% of those in rural areas and 25% or 250km in urban areas. To serve roading networks in urban areas, the Council operates about 550km of footpaths and shared paths which indicates a good allocation of accessibility.
This footpath network continues to be developed in line with Council’s and community’s ability to make further investment through its long-term plan.
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Long weekend events
Enquiry
Following on from enquiries last week about events coming up during the upcoming long weekends the reporter asked:
Could you also please let me know if there is anything planned in the city for Waitangi Day, specifically centered around Waitangi Day?
Response
We provided the following link to information about Waitangi Day event For the Love of the People and provided contact details for the event organisers, noting this event is not a council event.
https://www.rotoruanui.nz/event/for-the-love-of-the-people/
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Media: Local Focus (NZ Herald video reporting)
Topic: Honeysuckle
Enquiry
I am working on a story about Japanese Honeysuckle in the Tarawera catchment - and I was told that the Honshu Moth had been introduced as a means of managing the growth of it.
I was hoping to confirm that it was RLC that introduced the species as a bio-control on the Honeysuckle, and I washoping somebody would be available for a few minutes this week to chat with me on camera about the introduction of the moth and it's efficacy in the area.
Response
We redirected the reporter to Bay of Plenty Regional Council, explaining that the regional council is responsible for biodiversity/pest species management and control.