Five-year-old boatshed platform earmarked for Christchurch's coastal pathway already rusting
From reporter Tina Law:
A newly-built boat shed platform in coastal Christchurch is sitting unfinished after rust was discovered.
The issue has forced a temporary redesign of Christchurch’s long-awaited coastal pathway, which will go largely around the Moncks Bay platform until a resolution is found.
About 40 metresof the last section of the pathway, linking Ferrymead and Scarborough Beach, was supposed to traverse the boat shed platform, which is being built by the Christchurch Yacht Club.
Christchurch City Council gave the club $239,713 towards the project, on the condition the club guaranteed public access.
But the platform, which will eventually have the boat shed erected on top of it, cannot yet be used for the pathway, after rust was discovered on parts of it.
The platform, which sits just north of the club and replaces a boat shed that collapsed during the 2011 earthquakes, was built in 2018.
Christchurch Yacht Club commodore Sean Thomson said the club was “working through the issues” with its contractor and lawyers.
He was not able to say when the issue would be resolved.
Thomson said the platform was supposed to have a long life, but rust had been discovered on the ramps and in some other areas.
It was still intended that the platform would form part of the pathway, he said.
In the meantime, the council has developed “a work-around solution”, head of transport Lynette Ellis said.
She would not say what the solution was, but Christchurch Coastal Pathway Group chairman Hanno Sander said the pathway would go around the platform.
The path was supposed to be 4m wide across the platform, but would temporarily reduce to about 2m wide.
Sander said the issue was one of many that ended up forming part of the design process, including working around nesting penguins.
Ellis said the construction programmes for the platform and pathway did not align.
The issue came to light during the detailed design process, she said.
“We still anticipate utilising the platform in the future.”
When asked if the “workaround” had cost the project money, Ellis said any additional costs would be covered within the existing budget.
She said the final section of the pathway would still open to the public in early 2024. Work started in November 2021.
The Moncks Bay section was being built with $15.8m of the Government’s “shovel-ready” funding. The council was funding the additional $1.5m.
Part of the final section, from the former tram stop to the Christchurch Yacht Club, will open on Friday, but the remaining part would take longer.
It had to be cantilevered out over the Avon-Heathcote Estuary because the road space was limited in some areas.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Today’s Mind-Bender is the Last of the Year! Can You Guess It Before Everyone Else?
You have me today, Tomorrow you'll have more;
As your time passes, I'm not easy to store;
I don't take up space, But I'm only in one place;
I am what you saw, But not what you see.
What am I?
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