Makererua - Heke St steps July 2010

The steps between  Makererua and Heke  Streets in Ngaio are now open again.   They have a new hand rail, a very smart gutter, and a new pathway at the bottom.

The Pukatea Track starts at the  bottom of the steps and takes you  to Orleans Street in about 10 minutes.  Look out for the pukatea tree.

Planters in action, 2010

View upstream

A dog's view

Nearly finished

Ngaio Progressive Association had another working bee behind the Playcentre on Silverstream Road recently.

Armed with spades and grubbers, we planted out 100 shrubs from Wellington City Council in a couple of hours.

We planted shrubs that enjoy growing beside streams – such as flaxes, kowhai, wineberry.  Closer to the Huntleigh Park bushline we planted long term species such as  rimu, rewarewa, tawa.

We found a few bottles, car parts and an escaped kangaroo (which we lobbed back into the Playcentre.)

Earlier planting bees

This was our 5th planting bee.  Our first was in 2006.  It’s great to see that the akeake and olearia  are growing well.  Many shrubs we planted earlier struggled with rank grass and, in turn, over enthusiastic weed cutting.

Do you know where this is?

Do you know where this reserve is? What about going to have a look? The entrance is off Orleans Street.

Entrance to Orleans Reserve

The Pukatea Track goes from Orleans St Reserve to Makererua St. It takes about 10 minutes.

Blocked sump in Ngaio, 31 May

Wellington City Council has about 12,000 roadside drains and has trouble keeping them clear.

NPA committee members recently walked the streets of Ngaio and Crofton Downs, looking for infrastructure problems.  We found many local sumps filled with leaves and rubbish.  The long dry spell (now over alas) has made the usual problems with detritus build up worse.

Council would like residents to remove leaves or rubbish blocking the sumps so rainwater can drain away easily.

They suggest trying a low tech solution such as poking around the sump grate with a stick to get the water flow moving.  Otherwise, call the Council on (04) 499 4444 and they will get someone out to fix it.

Read the WCC press release on preventing flooding

Ngaio’s BP petrol station closed at the end of April.

The Independent Herald (2 June) reports that BP is negotiating with a third party to take over the site.

Read the Independent Herald story (republished with kind permission of the Independent Herald).
NPA has heard the “third party” is another petrol company.

Wellington City Council is introducing a new recyling system.  It will supply wheelie bins for recycling paper, metals and plastic and residents can use existing green bins for glass.  People with steep steps or difficult access will get see-through bags instead. Council  says on its website:

• households will receive a free 140-litre wheelie bin for recycling plastic, paper, cardboard and cans
• glass will be recycled using the existing 45-litre green bins
• households where the terrain isn’t suitable for wheelie bins will be offered 40×90 litre see-through bags to recycle their plastic, paper and cans. These bags can be recycled.

A trial of the new system will probably begin in Tawa later this year.

Read more: Wellington City Council news, 6 May 2010

Ngaio Gorge retaining wall

Wellington City Council is strengthening the retaining wall along Ngaio Gorge Road.

They want to make sure the wall opposite 45-49 Ngaio Gorge Road stays up during earthquakes or big storms.

Work on the wall begins on 30 April 2010 and should finish by October.

Read the Wellington City Council news release about strengthening Ngaio Gorge.

Makererua St steps closed for repairs

The walkway at the end of Makererua St leading up to Heke Street is having a make-over.

Contractors are building new steps and installing a new handrail. The path at the bottom of the steps will also get some attention.

The walkway will reopen on 15 May – all going well.

Overhanging vegetation

Members of Ngaio Progressive Association are checking local streets  for pedestrian hazards.  This is our  regular  “street audit”.

Potholes, drainage problems, overhanging vegetation, broken steps and non-working street lights are all on our hit list.

Once we know what  the problems are, we will let Wellington City Council know.

Nairnville Park macrocarpa hedge

Wellington City Council will remove the hazardous macrocarpa hedge from the western edge of Nairnville Park soon.  Work begins on 3 May and finishes three weeks later – weather permitting.

The trees have to go because:

• they are mature and in poor condition
• they are close to houses and the sports field
• several trees have already failed.

Council is  working on a landscape plan to replant the area this winter.

Council says the park will still be open for sport but walking tracks around the site will close during the project for safety reasons.  They will sell the useful timber and wood and mulch the rest.