Eketahuna CBD revamp moves car parks

The Eketahuna town upgrade is well under way. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

The Eketahuna town upgrade is well under way, with parts of the main street dug up, barriers and cones on show, and plenty of road markings guiding the next steps of the works.

Concerns have been raised by residents about the amount of parking presently lost on the main street but Tararua District councillor Tracey Collis confirmed that only three of these lost parks will be permanent.

She said the other temporarily lost car parks are due to safety requirements of NZTA and are included in the traffic management plan for the sites.

"Safety of our staff, residents and visitors is a top priority," Mrs Collis said.

"The Alliance have kept the disturbance as condensed as possible and it is still possible to walk the street on both sides."

She said with the traffic management in place, 36 car parks remain available on each side of the road.

"We will lose a total of three car parks in this section of the upgrade, however during the upgrade process it was identified that Eketahuna had plenty of angle street parking to accommodate traffic flow and visitor numbers," she said.

"One park each side of the pedestrian crossing outside the Four Square and one park outside the Op Shop will be permanently lost.

"These areas have been designed to be pedestrian-friendly, allowing residents and visitors to stop and spend time in the town."

Mrs Collis said due to the concerns raised by residents about the parking, all businesses will be visited by the Eketahuna Community Board and asked if they could park "just a little further down while the upgrade is in full swing to ensure plenty of parking for visitors to town".

"We would stress to the community that the construction period is short and there will be some pain for long-term gain in the town."

Mrs Collis said she wanted to also assure residents that the roses, which were recently taken out of the gardens, were removed with a root ball and clump of soil and will be replanted in town after works finish.

The town entrance signs are currently being made and will be the first project completed.

Progress updates can be found by searching Eketahuna Town Upgrade on Facebook.