A public meeting last week on the Cambridge Connections and third bridge sent a clear message to residents and Waipā District Council.
The gathering of 160 people was characterised by its respectful tone. Residents were urged to submit their views to council before the May 24 cut-off date and were advised to work with council rather than engage in slandering.
Former Waipā council employee John Kerr said the wider issue of connectivity was as important as the third bridge.
The suggestion for council was to keep the bridge ‘on the table’, secure a site for it now, and keep the public informed every step of the way, via council rather than through the media.
The meeting was called by residents calling themselves the Cambridge Replacement Bridge Residents Group. It was chaired on the night by Andrew Willis, whose great grandfather, the Rev William Willis was the first vicar of St Andrew’s Anglican Church.
He said everyone in the group acknowledged the need for a new bridge as Cambridge continues to grow.
“Our aim is to rally the community to ensure the best decision for a new bridge location is identified,” he said. “Three points are critical … that no residential areas are destroyed in its construction, that it is located in a green-fields zone, and that council should act immediately to procure land for the bridge and roading access.
“Council wants all proposals coming through to ensure they secure links to the town centre, or they won’t be considered,” he added later, “and that makes sense.”
Chairing last week’s meeting on the bridge was Andrew Willis.
Willis said the council’s stated preference for Option C, the lack of information as to how they made that decision, and poor communication were behind tensions between residents and council. “I am not sure who the adjudicators were who decided what the emerging ‘preferred option’ was, but it certainly was not the residents of Cambridge or Leamington.”
Chris Minnee referenced the numerous times since mid-2020 that he, Mike Ross and Ron Geck, met with council to discuss the urgent need for a third bridge. Their discovery that an allocation of $500,000 had been included in the council’s 2010 Long Term Plan (LTP) to invest in finding a potential site for a third bridge set off a string of meetings, he said, but no action.
That point was later addressed by John Kerr, the former Waipā council employee who was responsible for putting the $500,000 into the LTP.
“I was district engineer at the time … I persuaded my colleagues to include that half million because it was clear Cambridge was under stress then. It is even more so now,” he said. “Why it hasn’t progressed is anyone’s guess.”
Kerr said the issue was more about connectivity than just a third bridge. He cited the potential risk to Leamington, using the example of difficult water access should there be a major fire on that side.
“Traffic is a third of our problem. With our water systems south of the river, we are at risk of looking like Hawke’s Bay should a big event occur here. It takes 15 to 30 years to get any major infrastructure built in this country. I applaud that the idea of the bridge remaining on the table … but without good connectivity, Cambridge will become two isolated communities, not one.”
Idelle Hiestand was one of several who said land for the bridge needs to be secured now. Photos: Viv Posselt
On the issue of how council had arrived at its preference for Option C, meeting co-organiser Idelle Hiestand reminded the audience of findings presented last month by resident Carey Church. They showed that forecasts were based on traffic numbers taken during a Covid red light period, which skewed forecasts for normal conditions.
“Earlier meetings show there have been multiple sites identified. There is growth on both sides of the river. Why is council not asking Leamington and other residents what they think rather than making everyone get into town on bikes or mobility scooters?” she said to applause.
Hiestand said Geotech reports would be key to the issue and council needed to inform all residents and ratepayers of the findings before the media get it.
John Barnes-Graham presented a slide show, suggesting a route between Matos Segedin Drive and the Gaslight Theatre/RDA site, through to the roundabout at Te Awa. He said the benefits would include halving the traffic at the St Andrew’s roundabout and would divert heavy traffic.
Minnee said it was essential to get traffic away from pinch points, while council’s suggestion would push everyone into a pinch point. “Option C has done nothing to mitigate that. We need to spread the traffic out.”
Another organiser of the meeting, Danielle Schaad, said the group did not want the bridge ‘taken off the table’, but wanted to see it progressed.
“It has been on the table for 25 years, but it’s been pushed from person to person because nobody had the hutzpah to make a decision. This issue is not about slandering council, it is about working with them.”
There was an almost universal ‘aye’ response when the audience was asked if they wanted a new road bridge across the river in Cambridge/Leamington.
