Trees along High St are causing visibility and safety concerns. Photo / Leanne Warr
Trees along High St are causing visibility and safety concerns. Photo / Leanne Warr
Some Dannevirke residents feel the trees along High St are causing safety issues, especially with visibility.
The problem was one of many issues raised at a meeting of the Dannevirke Ratepayers and Residents Association this week.
Part of the committee of the Dannevirke Ratepayers and Residents Association. From left: Susan Lyford, Hamish McIntyre, John Schrader and Craig Ellmers. Photo / Leanne Warr
Last month the association made eight submissions to Tararua District Council on the super consultation and annual plan, one of which was the issue of footpath maintenance, as well as the beautification of High St, also known as State Highway 2.
Association chairman Craig Ellmers updated the more than 35 residents present on the submissions and the hearings.
Craig Ellmers addressed the meeting of Dannevirke ratepayers and residents and updated them on what the committee had been doing on their behalf. Photo / Leanne Warr
"We looked at the shopping precinct of Dannevirke and it's been a long-held view that it's supposed to be a beautification but I'm not sure that everyone agreed with that."
That beautification included the footpaths and trees near the roadway.
Ellmers said he had been given some information which stated that the cost of maintenance of the footpaths and tree trimming was $140,000 a year.
Council was able to confirm the figure was around that mark for cyclical maintenance of trees and included water blasting footpaths.
One resident raised the issue of road safety on High St saying it felt very unsafe with the trees.
Ellmers said it had been brought up and it was an issue that was going to continue to be raised because he believed that was the key problem.
He said that he had talked to some truckies who had told him the visibility was not clear.
That was something Dannevirke Community Board chairman Pat Walshe agreed on.
He said the trees were a hazard, especially on some of the corners.
Hamish McIntyre questioned the tree-trimming on High St. Photo / Leanne Warr
Association secretary Hamish McIntyre said he had asked in the hearings whether the trees could be transplanted and smaller imitation vegetation or box hedging put in their place to reduce maintenance costs and increase visibility and safety.
"This was rejected by [one of the councillors who] felt that box hedging would be more of a problem for vision in cars. Box hedging doesn't get above your windowsill."
Walshe said there was also a problem with leaves littering the footpath which meant shopkeepers would have to clear it every day.
Questions were also raised about the responsibility for maintenance and repairs of footpaths that crossed private driveways and the association was continuing to ask for clarification on this.
Ellmers said elections were coming up and he implored all Dannevirke residents to take a more active involved interest in what went on in the district.
"I think it starts at election time, or pre-election time. We need to get the right people in there."
