DIARY OF A CAMPAIGNER: OUR PEOPLE OUR PLACE

DAY NINE:
Sunday 29 August 2010
It is 18 days until the ballot papers start arriving in the letter boxes and 41 days until ‘D’ day decision day on 09th October.

It poured down with rain about midday when we were due to meet Andrew Ongley and his wife Iveta at Owairaka Park. Andrew and Iveta are your typical locals, interested in their area watchful of their neighbours and champions of initiatives that enhance their community. Andrew had written to Chris Fletcher about safety concerns at the park. The park is a well used facility with a great skateboard area, half court for basketball and a flying fox. It was originally the site of the Owairaka Boy’s home which was removed back in the 90’s. Oddly enough the park doesn’t have a pedestrian crossing. That’s extraordinary!

Community Board member and C&R Candidate for Puketapapa Tim Woolfield was with us on site and has agreed to bring a site engineer down to the park to investigate moving the drive way a few centimetres so it’s in line with the middle-of-the-road bay and the walk up on the opposite side of the road. At the moment it’s a dog leg to get from one side to the other. Why the planners didn’t put it in a straight line is beyond me. But more importantly why a dedicated crossing wasn’t installed is beyond belief – thankfully no fatalities have occurred but it needs rectifying - it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

That’s why these elections are crucial. The community needs to vote in Local Boards that work for the community. The Board has to be proactive and responsive. When there are issues it’s their responsibility to do the best they can to achieve best results. It takes energy and a willingness to go the extra mile. I’m looking forward to working with the community. As a new member I come with no baggage. I am not bogged down by bureaucratic mumbo jumbo that stifles community progress. My C&R colleagues work on a can-do will-do positive results driven attitude.

While we were at the park Murray Dorreen showed us a site over the Oakley creek where a bridge should be. There is a lovely walkway around the park and creek that runs from Sandringham Road and all the way over to New North Road. But again oddly enough there are no bridges. The creek separates Puketapapa and the Owairaka wards. It would be great if the two Local Boards could come together to finance the bridge.

From Owairaka park the C&R Owairaka team went on to meet shoppers at Countdown Pt Chev. It was pretty quite – the heavy rain keeping a lot of people in doors. But the issue of concern for some of the shop owners is the state of the footpaths. There isn’t an organised Business Association there, to push to have these issues resolved unfortunately. I’m personally campaigning on more business for small businesses and I want to get in behind these shopping centres to create buzzing hubs, where the community congregate, shop and spend time and money. Shopping locally generates wealth back into that community – it’s a win-win situation for all.
From there we travelled to Waterview. I’ve become quite attached to the area. It’s a mix of privately owned homes, State Housing and Transit NZ owned dwellings. It’s the Transit Houses that have been ear marked for removal to make way for SH20.