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Show time Tim Beveridge and the Diamond Dancer Showgirls lit up the stage at Ashburton College’s 50th jubilee celebrations.
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Barrier arms funds axed BY SUE NEWMAN
SUE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
At the 11th hour, the rug has been pulled from under a project that would have seen barrier arms installed at the high risk North Park Road rail crossing. The crossing has been the site of two deaths and countless near misses over the past few years and following a fatality in July last year, the community began pushing for better safety measures at the crossing. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) had plans to
install warning bells and flashing lights at the crossing but the community wanted more. A 4000-strong petition demanded barrier arms as well. And in August the community won its fight, with NZTA committing to upgrade the crossing with barrier arms, anticipated to cost $90,000. On Friday, however, it changed its mind, deciding the warning bells and lights it installed late last year were sufficient in terms of crossing safety and that they had already reduced the risk of further crashes and fatalities.
And that leaves the ball in the Ashburton District Council’s court; it will have to decide whether or not to proceed with installation of the barriers at its own expense, said mayor Angus McKay. Mr McKay said he understood the funding had been secured for the barrier arms and was disappointed this was no longer the case. “We can still go ahead and have the half arm barriers fitted, but it will be at the council’s expense.” When the deal to fund the
barrier arms was signed, Mr McKay said that deal had been struck after a lot of hard work and co-operation by a lot of people and organisations. Jim Crouchley runs the Rural Transport business sited near the black-spot rail crossing and he and his staff have seen several incidents where motorists and trains have almost collided. He described the NZTA deal as “Indian giving”. “I’m pretty gutted about this, really, really disappointed,” he said. He doesn’t believe lights and
bells alone will be sufficient to prevent more accidents. “We’ve yet to see the situation where the sun hits drivers’ eyes at the crossing, but that’ll happen in a couple more months and drivers won’t be able to see the lights,” he said. Under a Deed of Grant signed in 2007, the council must foot the bill for all safety improvement work. It can, however, claim those costs back from the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). The deal signed in August cleared the way for this to happen.
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