Kia ora Cody,

 

Thank you for your request for information.

 

We are handling your request under the Local Government Official
Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA). We have forwarded it to the
appropriate Christchurch City Council staff, and we will provide a
response or update within 20 working days of the date we received your
request. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

 

If you have any queries, please feel free to contact me using the
reference number 1231616. If any additional factors come to light which
are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact me so that
these can be taken into account.

 

If you have not had a reply within 10 working days, please email
[1][Christchurch City Council request email]   

 

Nāku noa iti, nā

 

Jess Griffin
Official Information Advisor
Te Ratonga Ture me te Manapori - Legal & Democratic Services

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

This electronic email and any files transmitted with it are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
The views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and
may not necessarily reflect the views of the Christchurch City Council.
If you are not the correct recipient of this email please advise the
sender and delete the email.

[2]Christchurch City Council logo

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
2. Christchurch City Council logo
https://ccc.govt.nz/

Tēnā koe Cody,

 

I refer to your request below and the remaining outstanding answers to the
following questions:

 

1. Please provide the legislative / operational basis that Council
believes that work must be done to improve safety at KiwiRail level
crossings, even if the cycleway did not cross the railway line.

I understand that this is KiwiRail's policy; however, Railways Act 2005
s81(1) states that this may (but not must) be done at the discretion of
the licensed access provider (KiwiRail).

2. Please provide the Railways Act 2005 s81(3) agreement between Council &
KiwiRail (if any) for this cycleway, or more generally (if not specific to
this cycleway).

 

These have not been reviewed by the team working with Kiwirail currently
and they note that the first question would require Council to
prepare/provide legal advice which is not required under LGOIMA. Any
advice regarding this which has been created for Council would be declined
under section 7(2)(g) of the LGOIMA, to maintain legal professional
privilege.

 

Regarding the second question, we can confirm that this information should
be contained in the Deed of Grant which has been provided to you
previously.

 

You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review our
decision. Complaints can be sent by email to
[1][email address].

 

Publication of responses to LGOIMA requests

Please note: our LGOIMA responses may be published on the Christchurch
City Council website a month after they have been responded to, with
requesters’ personal details withheld. If you have any concerns about
this, please contact the Official Information team on
[2][Christchurch City Council request email].

 

Nāku noa iti, nā

 

Jess Griffin
Official Information Advisor
Te Ratonga Ture me te Manapori - Legal & Democratic Services

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

 

 

From: Official Information <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 4 November 2024 3:06 pm
To: [FOI #28980 email]
Subject: 1231616 | Heathcote Expressway cycleway closure | C

 

Tēnā koe Cody,

 

On 30 October 2024, you requested the following information, under the
Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 (LGOIMA):

 

1. Please provide the legislative / operational basis that Council
believes that work must be done to improve safety at KiwiRail level
crossings, even if the cycleway did not cross the railway line.

I understand that this is KiwiRail's policy; however, Railways Act 2005
s81(1) states that this may (but not must) be done at the discretion of
the licensed access provider (KiwiRail).

2. Please provide the Railways Act 2005 s81(3) agreement between Council &
KiwiRail (if any) for this cycleway, or more generally (if not specific to
this cycleway).

3. Was the Pedestrian Accessway Closure Policy 2020 followed to consult
with Community Board? If not, why not and which role of Council authorised
the Road / Reserve closure and under what level of authority (from the
authorities register)?

4. Was s342(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 1974 followed to close the
road; or s23(3) of the Reserves Act followed to close the Reserve; or some
other process?

5. Will this mean that motor vehicle access to the property at 125
Scruttons Road will be stopped? If not, why not given the ever-present
danger of trains?

6. Did KiwiRail direct the cycleway to be closed? If so, please provide
that communication from KiwiRail to Council.

7. Please supply memos (or similar) supplied to Elected Members on this
matter.

 

This was followed by a request for urgency to have this information
provided prior to Wednesday 6 November 2024 so that you can have the
information in advance to speaking to the NOM. Staff have agreed that your
request for urgency is reasonable and have done their best to provide as
much of the requested information as they can with enough of a timeframe
for you to review the information.

 

Please note, that all questions that they can’t provide substantial
answers to in the timeframe will still be answered as soon as reasonably
possible, and no later than 28 November 2024 (20 days from when these
questions were first answered).

 

Release of information

 1. Please provide the legislative / operational basis that Council
believes that work must be done to improve safety at KiwiRail level
crossings, even if the cycleway did not cross the railway line.
Unfortunately, the team are not in a position to answer this within
the shorter timeframe. An answer or decision will be provided on or
before 28 November 2024.

 

 2. I understand that this is KiwiRail's policy; however, Railways Act
2005 s81(1) states that this may (but not must) be done at the
discretion of the licensed access provider (KiwiRail).
Unfortunately, the team are not in a position to answer this within
the shorter timeframe. An answer or decision will be provided on or
before 28 November 2024.

 

 3. Please provide the Railways Act 2005 s81(3) agreement between Council
& KiwiRail (if any) for this cycleway, or more generally (if not
specific to this cycleway).
Unfortunately, the team are not in a position to answer this within
the shorter timeframe. An answer or decision will be provided on or
before 28 November 2024.

They do note that partly this is written into the Deed of Grant, which
is one of the appendices on the Memo which has been sent to the you
today by the Governance Team.

 

 4. Was the Pedestrian Accessway Closure Policy 2020 followed to consult
with Community Board? If not, why not and which role of Council
authorised the Road / Reserve closure and under what level of
authority (from the authorities register)?
This policy refers to permanent closures so this policy does not
apply. It will be carried out under Temporary Traffic Management.

 

 5. Was s342(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 1974 followed to close the
road; or s23(3) of the Reserves Act followed to close the Reserve; or
some other process?
This is a temporary closure and will be carried out under Temporary
Traffic Management, which is within Council’s delegation.

 

 6. Will this mean that motor vehicle access to the property at 125
Scruttons Road will be stopped? If not, why not given the ever-present
danger of trains?

No. The assessment has followed the Level Crossing Risk Assessment
Guidance published by KiwiRail and NZTA in 2022.
[3]https://www.kiwirail.co.nz/assets/Upload...

Any changes to Level Crossings need to meet two Criteria:

o Criterion 1: That the level crossing achieves a Low or Medium-Low
rating
o Criterion 2: That the assessed risk is equal or lower than before the
changes

The LCSIA (attached) shows that the increased numbers of pedestrians and
cyclists has increased the overall risk. By closing the cycleway in this
area there will be little incentive for these vulnerable users to cross
the railway, thus returning the level crossing to its original risk
profile.

 

 7. Did KiwiRail direct the cycleway to be closed? If so, please provide
that communication from KiwiRail to Council.
Yes. This is attached to the Memo, which was sent to you earlier today
by the Governance team.

 

 8. Please supply memos (or similar) supplied to Elected Members on this
matter. As point 7, this was provided to you earlier today by the
Governance Team.

 

To ensure that you have everything you need together in one place, I will
send you an email to your personal email address with the full email chain
between you and the governance team, as well as this response.

 

You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review our
decision. Complaints can be sent by email to
[4][email address].

 

Publication of responses to LGOIMA requests

Please note: our LGOIMA responses may be published on the Christchurch
City Council website a month after they have been responded to, with
requesters’ personal details withheld. If you have any concerns about
this, please contact the Official Information team on
[5][Christchurch City Council request email].

 

Nāku noa iti, nā

 

Jess Griffin
Official Information Advisor
Te Ratonga Ture me te Manapori - Legal & Democratic Services

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

 

 

This electronic email and any files transmitted with it are intended
solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed.
The views expressed in this message are those of the individual sender and
may not necessarily reflect the views of the Christchurch City Council.
If you are not the correct recipient of this email please advise the
sender and delete the email.

[6]Christchurch City Council logo

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
3. https://www.kiwirail.co.nz/assets/Upload...
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[Christchurch City Council request email]
6. Christchurch City Council logo
https://ccc.govt.nz/