The Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board declined a request from New World to change the Wilsons Rd layout to allow a new entrance and exit to be built.
Without the proposed layout changes, the entrance/exit would not work. Seventeen residents near the supermarket signed a petition opposing the entrance/exit being put in without consultation.
Wilsons Rd resident Paul Macdonald, with support from his wife Lynda, created the petition, and in spite of not receiving many signatures, the board still considered it and felt the concerns were valid.
Mr Macdonald argued Wilsons Rd is already congested and dangerous, and installing a new entrance/exit for the New World would add to these problems.
“You only have to stand outside my gate from now [3pm] until 6pm when people are collecting kids from schools,” he said.
Said Mr Macdonald: “Then when everybody starts coming home or dropping into the supermarket . . . you’ll see that it’s just not going to work.”
Mrs Macdonald highlighted safety as a main concern. “We were just concerned about the safety aspect because there are already three quite busy roads coming into Wilsons Rd within a very short distance, as well as a pedestrian crossing. Buses come up and down, there are about three or four schools quite close by, so it’s a busy road,” she said.
The supermarket wants another access point so trucks loading and unloading stock can have exclusive use of the Wades Ave entrance, which is currently also used by shoppers.
Mr Macdonald understands why New World needs another entrance/exit, but says putting it on Wilsons Rd is not the best option.
“I think there are some other options that should be explored that would meet the supermarket’s desire to separate the trucking movements from cars and pedestrians.”
Foodstuffs South Island general manager of property Roger Davidson said resource consent has been granted by the city council for a new entrance/exit on Wilsons Rd.
However, city council head of resource consents John Higgins said the decision on whether road layout changes will be made to allow the entrance/exit to work was the board’s to make on this occasion.
“The second approval was for the on-road works, which was considered and decided under the Local Government Act. This is a different process and has different requirements. In this process, the community board didn’t accept the changes.”
Cashmere Ward city councillor Tim Scandrett said the board decided these changes would have created too many safety issues.
Said Mr Davidson: “Foodstuffs are disappointed by the decision from the community board, as they believe that all safety considerations were fully investigated by independent professionals, and that the proposed roading improvements were a positive improvement to safety operations. Foodstuffs are currently considering the decision.”
Cr Scandrett said the board has previously seen the traffic issues placing entrances and exits on busy roads can create, and its decision to decline the Wilsons Rd layout changes was based on these experiences.
“We’ve got Barrington Mall – their entrance onto Barrington St, which has been hideous for years. We’ve got the Beckenham shops, the new development there . . . that entrance and exit onto Colombo St has always been a dog,” he said.
“We just want to make sure that we’ve got one area in our ward that is actually safe.”
