Palmers Road Renewal

Christchurch City Council plans to renew the road on Palmers Road, between Bowhill Road and New Brighton Road.

Latest Update: 

16/05/2019 - A decision has been made

Following a request from the Waitai/Coastal-Burwood Community Board at their meeting on Monday 7 May 2018 to investigate further options, an alternative plan was presented to them for consideration. On Monday 1 October 2018 the Community Board approved the revised plan with two changes made to the staff recommendations.

• 1. The intersection of New Brighton and Palmers Road is to remain as is.
• 2. Amend the proposal to narrow the Palmers and Bowhill Road intersection, so the width of the Bowhill Road approach is ten metres wide instead of 9.

Updated plans. [PDF, 335 KB]

You can view the meeting minutes which include the formal resolutions, online at christchurch.infocouncil.biz(external link).

We expect works to begin around spring 2019 and be completed by mid-2020.

We appreciate your patience with this project.

Palmers Road renewal 

In September 2017, we asked for your feedback on a plan to renew Palmers Road. The plan included traffic calming measures by narrowing the street to nine metres wide, installing four chicanes (which are sections of the street that are narrowed further to reduce speeds) and aesthetic improvements with street trees and low landscaping. For your reference, the consulted  option (9m) would be the same width as Palmers Road from Bowhill Road to Bower Avenue.

Consultation summary

We received 60 submissions [PDF, 756 KB] during the consultation period. Of the 60 submissions, 25 submitters were in support, 30 were in support but had some concerns, four did not support the proposal and one did not state their preference. 

During the consultation, the themes of the feedback included: enthusiasm for the street upgrade, requests for the powerlines to be installed underground, concerns about the trees and comments about the road narrowing (including chicanes).

December decision meeting

A report was submitted to the Community Board at the Coastal-Burwood meeting on Monday 4 December 2017, requesting approval of the consultation plan with minor changes. The Community Board members expressed concern at the road being narrowed from 14 metres in width to nine metres and asked us to investigate a street width that allowed two vehicles to pass comfortably if there were parked vehicles on either side of the street.

Further investigation

We have conducted this investigation and an alternative plan has been provided to the Board. The plans are primarily the same, however the wider (10m) option provides an extra half metre in each vehicle lane. A cross section of the street showing the two widths can be seen below.  

Cross section showing the nine metre spacing of the street width. 

Cross section showing the ten metre spacing of the street width.

Staff recommendation

Staff will still be recommending that the Board approves the nine metre plan, with minor updates. This plan [PDF, 367 KB] is recommended as it promotes lower speeds and is consistent with other neighbourhood streets across the city.

The alternative option has been provided to the Board. The Board will consider both options at the meeting.  

Meeting details and decision making process

A report recommending the Coastal-Burwood Community Board approves the revised nine metre plan for the Palmers Road Renewal will be presented to the Board:              

Date:                     Monday 7 May 2018

Time:                    Meeting starts at 4.30pm

Venue:                  New Brighton Service Centre, Cnr Beresford and Union Streets

This meeting is open to the public and anyone is welcome to attend. If you would like to request to speak to the Board in person at the meeting, please contact the Community Board Advisor, Peter Croucher at Peter.Croucher@ccc.govt.nz or (03) 941 5305 by Wednesday 2 May. 

The agenda for this meeting, including the report and any additional information, can be viewed online from Thursday 3 May 2018 on this webpage christchurch.infocouncil.biz(external link).

The Coastal-Burwood Community Board recommendation will be included in the meeting minutes three working days after the meeting, following the link above.

Project timeframes

If the proposed project is approved, it is expected that construction will start in late 2018.

Consultation update

All responses have now been analysed for a report to be considered at the Coastal-Burwood meeting on Monday 4 December 2017.

We received 60 submissions during the consultation period. Of the 60 submissions, 25 submitters were in support, 30 were in support but had some concerns, four did not support the proposal and one did not state their preference.

During the consultation, the themes of the feedback included: enthusiasm for the street upgrade, requests for the powerlines to be installed underground, concerns about the trees and comments about the road narrowing.  

Issues outside the scope of this project have been forwarded to the appropriate people within Council.

All submissions (with names and without addresses) are available to view online.  [PDF, 752 KB]

Changes recommended following consultation and further technical advice

The following changes have been recommended by staff following consultation and further technical advice: 

• The chicane previously outside 96 Palmers Road has been relocated slightly and is now outside number 98 Palmers Road.
• The alleyway entrances will be hard surfaced instead of grassed.
• The position of some trees will be reviewed during detailed design to ensure no clashes.
• Fraxinus ornus (Manna Ash) is classed as having low risk for allergies however we will try to source female plants only which have very little potential for causing allergies. The Carpinus fastigata (Upright Hornbeam) has the potential to affect some people and will be replaced with fraxinus ornus (Manna Ash).

Decision making meeting

The staff recommendation is for the Coastal-Burwood Community Board to:

Approve the general layout of Palmers Road (Bowhill-New Brighton) renewal as detailed in Attachment D, including new Kerb alignments, landscaping, surface treatments, parking restrictions and line markings.

Meeting details and decision making process

A report recommending the Coastal-Burwood Community Board approves the revised plan for the Palmers Road Renewal will be presented to the Board:

Date:               Monday 4 December 2017

Time:              Meeting starts at 4.30pm

Venue:            New Brighton Service Centre, Cnr Beresford and Union Streets 

This meeting is open to the public and anyone is welcome to attend.

Background

As part of this work, the deep dish channel will be replaced with flat kerb and channel. There will be four sections in the street which will be narrowed to one lane in order to slow traffic travelling on Palmers Road. This will make the street more pedestrian friendly. This follows analysis of NZTA statistics which have a record of 12 crashes on Palmers Road between 2005 and 2016. As a result of the road being narrowed, there will be the loss of some on-street parking.

The road and footpaths will be reconstructed and will be aligned with the reconstructed section north of Bowhill Road.

We are proposing to plant a mixture of trees along the street. The plan [PDF, 402 KB] shows their approximate location as some trees may need to move slightly to avoid underground pipes etc. There will be one existing tree removed as part of this work - the cabbage tree on the corner of Bowhill Road. Its health is declining and it is growing under the powerlines.

We want to hear your feedback on the proposal. 

Proposed mixture of street trees

Chinese Elm tree

Flowering Cherry tree

Manna Ash tree

Upright Hornbeam tree

 Timeline

Consultation opens - Thursday 14 September 2017

Consultation closes - Tuesday 17 October 2017

Submitters notified of consultation outcome - November 2017

Coastal - Burwood Community Board decision meeting - December 2017

Project start (subject to approval) - Mid 2018