Christchurch couple sick of cars crashing into their house

Cars keep crashing into their house and yet a Christchurch couple who don’t feel safe sitting in their own lounge are still waiting for help - more than a year after first complaining to the city council.

Kevin Zhou and Sherry Che bought their house near the Halswell Junction Rd/Hamill Rd roundabout five years ago and, since then, four vehicles have ploughed through their fence and onto their property.

Christchurch City Council has still done nothing to help according to the local councillor supporting them, Andrei Moore, even after the most recent incident just five weeks ago, when a car went through their lounge window.

It smashed through the fence and took out part of the living room wall.

When the car hit, the whole house shook and walls were taken out, Zhou said. The couple think the roundabout is poorly designed, he said.

Several cars have crashed through the fence on this Halswell property.

Since the roundabout was built there have been at least six similar incidents at the property.

Twelve months ago, the Waipuna Hornby-Halswell-Riccarton Community Board asked for improvements, but it is still waiting for a reply, Moore said.

Moore has told the community board the couple also complained directly to the council more than a year ago and, more recently, he has personally written to the chief executive but still no response.

“This is really, really poor and I really feel for them,” Moore said.

“Many other residents, if faced with the same problem, would be in this room right now yelling at us, if they were having to put up with this four times since moving in.”

A city council spokesperson said yesterday that city council traffic engineers have been investigating solutions to this issue and have considered a variety of options, with a preferred option that is programmed to be presented to the community board for approval in early 2023.

“Once the preferred option is finalised we will update the residents who raised the initial concern and seek their feedback on the option.”

The damage following the fourth crash.

The couple have contemplated selling the home but know it’s unlikely anybody would buy it, knowing the history.

“That’s the dilemma we have to face,” Che said. “Or do we continue to live here and put ourselves at risk?

Moore also showed board members a photo of the couple’s lounge with all their furniture moved into the centre of the room “because they are worried it will happen again”.

He said he is not certain what the problem is with the city council, but the situation is not acceptable. He also said the couple don’t want to cause any trouble, but they are just over it.

“It is clearly a very serious safety issue,” he said.

The Greater Hornby Residents’ Association is also unhappy with the lack of action by city council staff on traffic and pedestrian safety issues in the area.

Association secretary Ross Houliston told the board that city council staff were acting in an almost obstructive manner when it came to the suburb.

“They just ignore everything. I know there is a huge backlog of traffic issues waiting to be addressed by council staff.”

The area was a growth area with a lot going on, he said.

“We are the biggest community board in the country, and we are still growing.

“We’d love to see things flying through and us getting results, but I guess staff have only got so much capacity. My feeling is we need additional traffic engineers to deal with the workload and the backlog,” he said.

Former community board chairman Mike Mora has also weighed in on the issue.

He told the board that council staff routinely ignored board recommendations and sometimes even refused to meet elected members to discuss issues, and it’s time it stopped.

“It’s time for the jockey to ride the horse, instead of the other way around,” he said.

The community board has now agreed to write to the mayor and chief executive asking for advice on potential safety improvements at the Halswell Junction Rd/Hamill Rd roundabout.