Bihoro mayor Koji Tsuchiya thanks the Cambridge Primary School kapa haka group for the welcome in the Japanese Garden at the Library. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
As the new year gets underway, the Cambridge Community Board is gearing up for another year of advocacy and connecting with our community.
Our role is to bridge the gap between you, the community, and Waipā District Council. How do we do that?
We make it our business to understand the wants and needs of our community and we feed that back to council.
We do this by being part of the many committees that exist in Cambridge such as the Urban Mobility working group, Cambridge Connections, Cambridge Committee of Social Services, the Safer Cambridge Trust, the Cambridge Tree Trust, the Leamington Domain Working group and many others.
We attend council meetings, work closely with council staff on a range of issues and hold monthly public meetings where we discuss issues facing the community.
We hold a public forum before every board meeting where community members are welcome to present to us on any issue they would like.
Cambridge Community Board, from left Elise Badger, Alana Mackay, Jo Davies-Colley, Andrew Myers, Mike Montgomerie, Sue Milner. Absent: Philip Coles.
Last year we heard from community members about issues such as car parking options on Lake Street, rubbish on the streets around Cambridge, the establishment of a youth event space (now called Whare 211) on Victoria Street, commentary on council’s annual report and the freshwater clams found at Lake Karāpiro.
This year we want to hear more from you on any issue that you are facing or wish to discuss.
You can do this by emailing me or any of the board or by attending one of our monthly meetings and presenting to us.
We have two Waipā councillors that sit on our board and often have council staff attend, so it is a great opportunity for them to also hear your thoughts or concerns. You can find the details of our meetings in the Cambridge News or on their website.
The Cambridge Pathway Plan is well underway along Hamilton Road, down Bryce Street and along through Wilson Street. The board worked alongside council staff and cycling experts in the planning of this path.
We gave our feedback and were involved in the public consultation process. We support the provision of more walking and cycling paths within Cambridge and believe that although the construction of these pathways can cause some short-term disruption, in the long term they will only better our town.
Those that need or wish to use their car will find parking easier and the town’s traffic congestion reduced.
Soon, Waipā District Council will release their draft Long-Term Plan.
The Long-Term Plan is a document which sets the direction for the district and is formally reviewed and updated every three years. It describes the activities of council and shows the whole picture of how the activities are managed, delivered, and funded. Once this draft plan has been released, we would love to hear your thoughts on it.
Cambridge Primary School students welcome the Bihoro delegation at the Cambridge Library with Bihoro mayor Koji Hirano in the foreground. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
