Demoworx trucks have become a regular sight in central Cambridge
Leamington residents say an industrial depot in the middle of their neighbourhood is an accident waiting to happen.
Tim Bradshaw says a decade of industrial activity in the middle of an urban neighbourhood. “is enough”.
Resident Tim Bradshaw presented a 111-signature petition to Waipā District Council last week, asking it to close its Arnold St depot as a matter of urgency.
The petition signed by residents living on Arnold St, Lamb St, Hall St, Queen St, and Victoria St, says the council-owned depot is a “hazard and an accident waiting to happen.”
The depot, and its associated heavy truck traffic, carrying roading rock, bitumen, and machinery through a residential neighbourhood, was dangerous, disruptive, and devalued properties, the petition read.
“I have personally seen many near misses,” Bradshaw said at the council meeting where he presented the petition.
On busy days up to 50 trucks a day, carrying up to 40 tonnes, drove down Arnold St to the depot. Normally they operated from 7am to 10pm, but sometimes trucks operated overnight, until the early hours of the morning, Bradshaw said.
He was extremely worried about the safety risk for families, young and old, living in the neighbourhood.
Many children in the area walked or biked to Leamington School. The T-junction at Shelly St and Arnold St was a particular worry, and he had seen numerous close calls.
“The situation escalated a few years ago when residents were yelling out at truck drivers in the middle of the night after being woken at 4am by trucks driving past,” Bradshaw said.
Following the disruptive night, Bradshaw said he had attempted to contact the roading contractors working at Arnold St but had not received a good response. The council leased its depot to roading contractors and had been operating for about 10 years. He was unsure where it used to be located, before Arnold St – where he had lived for 18 years.
A tentative gentleman’s agreement had been agreed to in the past, restricting truck movements from 8am to 8pm, but this was sometimes broken. For about eight years he had been working with council staff and roading contractors to find a solution, but with little success, Bradshaw said.
“We have an industrial activity in the middle of an urban neighbourhood. We have had enough – 10 years is enough,” Bradshaw told the council meeting.
Last week’s petition follows another petition to council, presented on April 15. It demanded action against excessive truck noise, vibration and road deterioration on Cambridge Road, Pope Terrace, Cook Street/Shakespeare Street and Golf Road.
Waipā Mayor Mike Pettit, said the latest petition was another symptom of growing pains for the district’s increasing population.
Other councillors agreed, with Dale-Maree Morgan saying heavy truck movements were a hot topic in Cambridge. Roger Gordon said trucks were the focus of many traffic challenges in the town, and complaints to the district council.
The petition was accepted by councillors, and it would be forwarded to the Service Delivery Committee. Further work would be carried out by council staff before the issue came before the committee on June 17.
Trucks go up Carters Flat Hill
