December 20, 2018
View Road ice cream stall
The View Rd ice cream stall is open for one night only this year. Make sure you put it in your calendar!
- Sunday December 23 from 6.30 – 8.00 pm;
- Ice creams are sold from the garage at No. 27 View Road;
- Only $1 a scoop, be there or be square!
Our community hall gets some new heaters
Three new infrared heaters have been installed in the hall and the HVPA committee (and interested users) will assess how well they work before deciding on whether to replace further units.
Rongotai social action day
Rongotai College had a volunteer community work day on November 30, and in Houghton Valley they helped a group of locals clean the hall, build the new garden beds at the community gardens, and spread mulch at Te Kawakawa Commons. They also did a bit of track drain digging on the path down to the community gardens.
A bonus for some of the Rongotai College boys was the chance to experience bird banding with local expert Kate Pickard and a friend. Check out an interview with Kate in the NZNBBS October 2016 Newsletter.
E-bikes in Houghton Bay
Dave McArthur has found another e-bike family from our community to interview:
“People were standing around chatting or ambling along in twos and threes, as people are want to do mid-afternoon any day in Cuba Street. I then noticed a tall, stately lady deftly weaving through the stream of people and as she came near I realized she was preceded by two boys sitting in a box. Both were buried in books, oblivious to the people around them. I recognized them as Finn-Oskar and Sven-Aksel and their mum, Sarena, from Houghton Bay on their cargo e-bike. So I flagged them down and begged a photo.
Later when I ask what two words they most associate with e-bikes, Sarena says with a laugh, “Bicycle Junction”, this being the name of their family’s business. The speed of her response indicates e-bikes feature large in their lives. She then adds, “Fun. Speed”.
Finn-Oskar says “Scarey. Fast.” while Sven-Aksel says, “Fun. Electric”.
Being able to read a book while being chauffeured on an e-bike sure brings a new dimension to commuting!”
Electric vehicle charging stations
The Council recently proposed to install Electric Vehicle charging stations in the suburbs so that people with no off road parking could charge their vehicles. However, for the proposed sites they only contacted people up to 2-3 houses away, whereas the impact of less parking in some cases affects the whole street. Whilst residents in Hornsey Road were quite happy, those in View Road were not, as parking is at a premium and dedicated carparks meant that others could miss out on a place to park. So in response to objections the Council has put the whole project in the too hard basket. Surely installations could go ahead on a case by case basis!
While we are on the subject of low carbon cities…
At the same Council meeting there was a presentation from a woman on behalf of her 16 year old nephew studying economics. She was keen to get the Council to explain to him why the business plan for the convention centre (also on the agenda) seemed to be contradictory to the Low Carbon Capital Plan and why there was no analysis of the total transport footprint if it was to be as successful as lobbyists claim.
Will the Convention Centre (and hotel) have a carbon credit levy for travellers from out of town to offset their travel footprint, which can be used to restore local natural habitat? Will there be a comprehensive, reliable, frequent, low cost electric public transport system available to bring in the local punters (or is that what we already have … hmm)?
Will there be a corporate event levy to help fund the myriad of community events also hosted in the city so that exhausted volunteers don’t need an overseas trip afterwards to recuperate? And when you think of it, how many events does a city really need? There is plenty to do right on your doorstep!
Also, touted as a sustainable building, one wonders whether harvesting rainwater, LED lights and installing photovoltaic panels is enough these days? Will the concrete be Magnesium Oxide based, which sequesters carbon instead of producing it? Will the PV cells be integrated into the building structure, leaving the roof free to be white and thus enabling it to reflect light back into space without turning it to heat? Will the textiles used be made from durable, locally produced hemp? Will the plastics used be from a local plastic recycling centre that also generously supports community fundraising through cleaning up our coast days, or recycles of the refuse from the Great Ocean Cleanup ships? It’s time to tackle true sustainability!
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