Wanganui District Council is currently consulting the public on the Proposed Parking Management Plan which sets out how Council will manage parking provision and maintenance, in and around the central city area, over the next 20 years.

As part of the process the Parking Services Team is also collecting data on timed parking areas and is using Smart Eye technology to measure the ways in which these parking zones are currently used.
 
Sensors have been placed in some parking bays in St Hill Street for about six weeks to monitor parking patterns. The parking bays are between Guyton Street and Ingestre Street, on the same side of the road as the Energy Direct building, and have time limits of 120 minutes (P120) and 15 minutes (P15).

"Using technology to assess parking patterns is something new for Wanganui District Council," says Cr Ray Stevens, Infrastructure and Property Committee Chair.

"The Smart Eye sensors are bright yellow circles, fixed into the concrete and measure the comings and goings of vehicles in the parking bays. This enables data to be gathered about the ways in which the bays are used – whether people are using them as brief stopovers when dropping things off, or are using them for longer stays, in which case we can reassess whether a longer time limit might be needed for some bays.

"The most important thing for the trial to be a success is that motorists use the car parking bays as they usually do, otherwise the trial data will not accurately reflect usual patterns of use.

"The Smart Eye sensors do not capture information relating to licence plate details or car type – they just measure when the bay is in use and how long for.

"They might look a bit off-putting or unusual but it’s really just business as usual for those areas."

The Smart Eye parking trial will continue for around six weeks and the trial data will feed into the Wanganui Parking Management Plan.

Photo: Parking Officers Stuart Baird and Sandra Maddren with a Smart Eye sensor

Have your say on the Wanganui Parking Management Plan

We’d like to know what you think about the Wanganui Parking Management Plan and are holding a consultation event today.

Come along to the former Petre House shop (between Shanton and the new Petre House) on Victoria Avenue between 11.00am and 2.00pm to find out about the plan.

There'll be display boards highlighting the content of the plan and key actions proposed. Members of the Council’s project team will be on hand to answer your questions.

Copies of the Parking Management Plan and submission forms are available from the Customer Services Desk, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui District Library, Queens Park and the i-Site Visitor Information Centre at 31 Taupo Quay, and here.

The Wanganui Parking Management Plan is open for public submissions until Friday, 15 June 2012.

Mayor welcomes EWEN visitors

Mayor Annette Main welcomed Ms Gray Li from China and Ms Sirintorn Duangkhot from Thailand to Wanganui last week, as guests of the Education Wanganui Export Network (EWEN) and hosted an afternoon tea in the Council Chambers.

The visitors spent a week in Wanganui meeting the principals of all local high schools and learning more about the opportunities for international students studying in Wanganui.

The afternoon tea was attended by representatives from Cullinane College, Wanganui City College, Wanganui Collegiate School, Wanganui Girls College and Wanganui High School. 

Photo: From left to right: Elizabeth Spooner (Wanganui High School), Kevin Shore (Cullinane College), Gray Li, Mayor Annette Main, Srinitorn Duangkhot, Vivianne Murphy (Wanganui Girls College), Peter Kaua (Wanganui City College).

Shaping Wanganui is the name of the Wanganui District Plan Review project currently being undertaken by Council.

Every district has a District Plan that is required to be reviewed every 10 years. The current District Plan was prepared in the 1990s and is one of the Council’s key policy documents shaping the future development of Wanganui and influencing Council spending.

Recent changes to the Resource Management Act 1991 enable Councils to carry out the review in stages, as opposed to all at once. This is the option Council has chosen to follow. The review started in March 2010 with the Phase 1 review of the City Centre and Riverfront areas, which is now complete.

Phase 2 Residential and Phase 3 Built Heritage are well under way. Phase 4 Rural initial consultation has also started.

With eight phases, the Shaping Wanganui project will take until the middle of 2014 to complete.

Council has developed the Shaping Wanganui website which contains all the documents relating to every phase of the review, as well as information on consultation meetings and feedback from those meetings.

The website enables people to stay up to date with where the project is at and ensures that all relevant information is kept in one easy to access place. The public can also access the District Plan online and take part in on-line surveys. Wanganui is one of the first places in New Zealand to have an interactive, online District Plan and as changes are made as part of the review of each phase, they will be incorporated into the plan.

If you'd like to find out more about the Shaping Wanganui project click here and tell us what you think.

Wanganui District Council's Youth Committee is hosting Dub.Dee.See Youth Connect, a forum for Wanganui’s young people, at Wanganui Racecourse on June 11 and 12.

With a packed programme of activities and workshops, it's a must do event for young people aged 12 to 17 years.

There's still time to register so if you'd like to attend speak to your school, training provider or employer and then contact Heather Cox, Youth Services Coordinator, by email or phone 027 683 7341.

Everyone who attends receives a free sports shoe bag and gets entered into the attendance draw to win a $100 voucher.

If you’d like to find out more click here.

Library Book Sale

Alexander Heritage and Research Library

The heritage, genealogy and research services offered by the Alexander Library will be unavailable from 8 June to 11 June 2012.

Puanga 2012

The Whanganui region is celebrating Puanga 2012 with a huge range of events during the next four weeks.

Upcoming events include:

Taonga Puoro with Jerome Kavanagh, June 7 from 7.00pm to 9.00pm, Whanganui Regional Museum
Grammy award winner Jerome Kavanagh plays traditional Maori instruments. Koha entry, bring a snuggle rug, a friend and prepare to be amazed.

Puanga Exhibition, June 15-30, Community Arts Centre, Taupo Quay
An exhibition to celebrate Maori artists working in Wanganui will feature in Gallery 1. In Gallery 2, an evolving exhibition featuring works made in the Saturday morning Puanga workshops.

Winter solstice at the Museum, June 22 from 6.30pm to 9.00pm, Whanganui Regional Museum
The Whanganui Regional Museum will open its doors for the evening of the shortest night of the year. Enjoy a night time exploration of the Museum and hot chocolate and marshmallows to celebrate the retreat of the winter nights! Take a tour of the Lindauer Gallery with Curator Libby Sharpe at 7.00pm. Koha entry.

Whakapapa Research at the Alexander Heritage Library, June 23 from 10.00am to 3.00pm
The Aotea Maori Land Court staff will deliver a presentation on searching your family history. The presentation will include:

• Researching your whakapapa at the Aotea Maori Land Court
• Demonstration on searching Maori land online
• How to use the resources in the Alexander Library

Guest Speaker Turama Hawira, Whanganui Iwi leader and historian. Bookings essential contact Jasmin Ratana, phone 349 1000.

For details of the full Puanga programme, which runs until July 11, click here or email.

We welcome members of the public to attend our meetings.

Council – June 11 (9.00am to 5.00pm), June 12 (9.00am to 5.00pm), June 13 (9.00am to 3.00pm) Council Chamber (please note changes to times)

• Hearing of Submissions to 10-Year Plan 2012-2022 and Deliberations

Council – June 18 (2.00pm, Council Chamber)

• The Council will consider the reports from Committee meetings held in May and June along with reports direct to Council

Council – June 27 (2.00pm, Council Chamber)

• Hear and deliberate on submissions to the draft Wanganui District Council (Prohibition of Gang Insignia) Bylaw

Agendas are available at the Customer Services Counter, Municipal Office Building, 101 Guyton Street, Wanganui and the Wanganui District Library two working days prior to the meeting.