Following on from the recent news about the proposed cycle route out to the east of Christchurch, let me take you back to this blogpost from Sep 2014 when some potential ideas for developing both the Avon Ōtākaro River corridor and adjacent suburbs were starting to be formulated. Sadly, the EVO:SPACE website is no longer active, but it’s great to see that many of the ideas have come to fruition!
OK, with all this recent talk about the value of consultation and submissions, here’s something to get your teeth into: We’ve mentioned previously the good work going on behind the scenes to build up interest in the Avon-Otakaro River Network. A related initiative in eastern Christchurch has been EVO::SPACE, aka “Eastern Vision’s Online Spatial Planning Application for Community Engagement”. This online tool is aimed at gathering ideas for the rebuild of the eastern suburbs (both the red zone and elsewhere) and then getting feedback on which ideas attract a lot of support (or not).
Amongst the ideas suggested is the Eastern Cycle and Walkway Network, which envisages “a network of cycle and walk ways throughout the east based around the lower Avon corridor”. This includes the planned CCC Avon-Otakaro Major Cycleway, as well as general provision for dedicated cycle commuter routes and recreational cycle/walk pathways.
There are many other interesting proposals for initiatives in the eastern suburbs, including recreational facilities, tourist attractions, business opportunities and so on. There’s even a suggestion for a bridge connecting Southshore to Sumner (interestingly it seems most feedback is suggesting that it should be only for walk/bike access) and also a continuous walk/bike promenade from Northshore to Southshore (but would it replace the dunes?).
The EVO::SPACE website is great because you can provide feedback on what you think about each proposal, including how much you would use such a facility and how much (if any) you would be willing to pay extra in rates for it. You can also identify both the potential positives and negatives of each proposal; it’s really quite interesting to see what people have come up with so far.
What do you think about the Eastern Vision proposals?