June 1999   C H R I S T C H U R C H   C I T Y   C O U N C I L · Y O U R   P E O P L E · Y O U R   C I T Y
CONSULTATION —TALKING AND LISTENING PAGE 2	WATCH WHERE YOU PLANT YOUR TREES PAGE 2	MOVING AHEAD — A NEW BUS INTERCHANGE PLANNED FOR THE CITY CENTRE PAGE 3 PAGE 3	CELEBRATING OUR HERITAGE PAGE 3	EXPLOSIVE ACTION AT NEW ZEALAND’S BIGGEST ARTS FESTIVAL PAGE 3

Girls in the award-winning St Albans Out of School Care and Recreation programme enjoy trying wrestling, one of the many activities offered in OSCAR programmes which are becoming increasingly popular. The activities are run by trained staff and are usually available before and after school and during school holidays. The Council is developing a policy on the programmes and is seeking input from people through surveys, focus groups and meetings. For more information please contact Louise Birkett, Out of School Programme strategy co-ordinator, on 941 6412.
WRONG WAY
Christchurch, Canterbury, the things that mark our boundaries — waterways, farmland, mountains, peninsula — help create our uniqueness. As people we are similarly definable, be it in our history, sport and leisure. It’s the little boats on the estuary, my kids’ footie team, the wine, food, family, friends and synergy of it all . . . John Dunne Newstalk ZB breakfast host	The Government is proposing to radically reform the way we manage and pay for our roads. The Minister of Transport has described this as the most important reform undertaken in New Zealand in the last 50 years. Bigger than health, bigger than electricity, bigger than banking or any of the other reforms New Zealand has undergone in the '80s and '90s - yet only one person in three knows what these road reforms would mean and what impact they would have on our community. To find out more about this important issue, see the four-page supplement in this month's Christchurch City Scene.

High praise for green corridor
The "green corridor" linking the Avon River with Travis Wetland Park is a showcase for several Council units working together, along with local residents, landowners and property developers, to achieve something everyone’s happy with.

The project, which is well underway, involves the construction of the Woolston-Burwood expressway between New Brighton Road and Travis Road; creation of more residential properties and development of reserve land and water features.

Council staff members describe it as an example of better urban design and a fantastic environmental outcome.

Eventually the green corridor will stretch from Heathcote Estuary via the Avon River and Bottle Lake Forest to Brooklands Lagoon. Waterways, ponds and wetlands are being developed and extensive planting is being done.

It will have ecological, landscape, recreation and drainage benefits.

Roy Eastman, of the Council’s City Design, says the outlook for houses is excellent and the planting acts as a buffer between houses and the road. Birds have already been attracted to the area and hopefully whitebait and other fish will be too, he says.

Robert Watts, of the Water Services Unit, says many other parts of Christchurch could benefit similarly from integrated urban planning and well-designed water environments.

The expressway is scheduled to open in February-March next year and the green corridor project will be "essentially" finished in five years time.