The residents and staff of the Huntleigh Home and Apartments community in the Wellington suburb of Karori are celebrating a new raised crossing, which will make it easier for them to access shops and facilities.
“This is a thing to celebrate,” says Valerie Smith, community advocate and Huntleigh resident.
The residents and staff of Huntleigh Home and Apartments organised a street party and ‘official opening’ of the new raised crossing, with Valerie giving a speech before cutting an enormous green ribbon on the crossing.
She says the importance of the crossing to the residents is “huge”.
“We want to be part of our community as much as possible, and the steep kerb on Campbell Street was limiting our access. When I came here, I could never get to the shops in my wheelchair. It’s now much easier to go to and from the shops and public library and finally be part of the community. It’s taken a lot of meetings and emails but we are really appreciative of this,” she says.
“And it’s not just for us. It’s also for the mums with pushchairs, and the young school children who cross this road every morning and afternoon.”
This new crossing and others around the suburb are part of Wellington City Council’s Karori Connections bus, bike and pedestrian improvements.
This type of crossing is a courtesy crossing, where cars have right of way but drivers have increased awareness of people on the footpath looking to cross the road. As with all crossings, drivers and pedestrians still have to take care.
“I particularly want Downer workers to be thanked – they went above and beyond the call of duty. They were courteous and helpful when working on the crossing,” says Valerie.
