Help plan the Avon's future
The Council is seeking community feedback on a draft masterplan for the future management and use of the Avon River and its central city corridor.
Sparked by a request from the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects in 1998 and taken up by City Council, the Avon River/Otakaro Masterplan has been drafted following community consultation and a range of investigations relating to the river, its setting, nearby trees and local heritage features.
The plan recommends that the river corridor within the four avenues remains largely the same as it is today but with some enhancement. It proposes improvements to water quality, possible road closures, upgrading walkways and cycleways and adding a promenade, conservation plans for heritage features and possibly more artworks along the river banks.
Proposals include closing Oxford Tce north of Gloucester St and its reconstruction from Madras to Barbadoes, with conservation of The Bricks heritage area.
"The river corridor has been well looked after by successive generations," says Council Greenspace planner David Sissons. "We're simply recognising the potential to enhance some parts of it to make it more accessible and more of a focus in our city."
The Masterplan is at http://www.ccc.govt.nz/haveyoursay/ and at Christchurch City Libraries, Council Service Centres, Civic Offices and Our City O-Tautahi. Consultation brochures, including a submission form, are also available from these locations.
After community feedback has been taken into account, the Masterplan will be formally adopted by the Council and work will begin on implementing it. The new draft 10-year plan includes $1.7m for the work, with about $150,000 earmarked for each year for the next three years. "It could take as long as 25 years before all work is completed," Mr Sissons says.
There will be further opportunities for public comment on any major projects arising from the Masterplan. |
