Tuatara Terrace? Pīwakawaka Parade? New Whanganui street names policy could be on the way

Current themes for road naming include traditional or appropriate Māori names and historical people or events. Photo / Bevan Conley

New roads in Whanganui could soon be named after native animals or plants.

The change is being recommended by Whanganui District Council officers, who also want to include the naming of parks and reserves and a road naming panel in a new policy.

The panel, formed last year and made up of community members and iwi representatives, makes decisions on new or unformed roads and recommendations on the renaming of existing roads. There are currently no council members on it.

Current themes for road naming are traditional or appropriate Māori names, historical people or events, a significant geographical or topographical feature and “a personal name for special service”.

The two newest roads to be named are Hikuawa Rd and Sherriff Close in the Rusthall Estate subdivision on No 2 Line.

Councillor Michael Law told a council strategy and policy committee meeting that most new roads were in subdivisions and asked why the council named them instead of the participants in the subdivision.

Council principal policy planner Justin Walters said it was the council’s responsibility.

“We ask for recommendations from the developer. Often, they provide up to three names for it.

“At the same time, those road names last until we change them. Basically, a number of them will be in place in 100 years’ time so we need to make sure they meet our standards and represent our stories.”

All costs incurred in naming a road created by a subdivision need to be met by the developer.

Public consultation on the policy is expected to run from February 7 to March 10 next year.

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.