A long-awaited safe crossing point for pedestrians across Ballantyne Road has been postponed another financial year much to the disappointment of the community group pushing for it.

The Wanaka Golf Club has been lobbying council for years to have the safe crossing point established for pedestrians and golfers crossing the busy Ballantyne Road and earlier this year the club was shown council plans for a signalised crossing.

The proposed crossing point would connect the MacPherson Street/Ballantyne Road footpaths with the footpath which borders the golf course and would serve an estimated 300 people who cross Ballantyne Road each day, golf club manager Kim Badger said at the Wanaka Community Board’s (WCB) public forum last week.

Kim said while the majority of the pedestrians would be golf club members, more than 100 non golfers (walkers and cyclists) use the current crossing point daily to access Golf Course Road and its popular track.

The current crossing point is considered unsafe; it’s closer to the brow of Ballantyne Road and the intersection with Golf Course Road, and with the development of Three Parks and new industrial areas, Ballantyne Road has become increasingly busy.

The recently reduced speed limit on the road had not proved effective, Kim said: “There’s still a very real danger [for] pedestrians trying to cross the road.”

She said a “push-button” crossing point was first suggested by a council staff officer in 2015 and a year later former WCB chair Rachel Brown announced public funding for a safe crossing would be allocated.

Kim said conversations earlier this year with the current WCB chair Barry Bruce indicated the project would proceed this financial year but an email from a council staff officer last month advised “the whole project has been pushed out to next year’s budget”.

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) spokesperson Jack Barlow confirmed the safety project had been postponed and, while an application for funding in the next financial year (2021/2022) has been made to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), funding has not been confirmed.

The estimated budget for the safe crossing project is $400,000, “although this is indicative-only because the design option is yet to be selected”, Jack said. He did not explain why the project was not being fully funded by the QLDC.

During the recent WCB public forum, board member Ed Taylor asked if the golf club would be willing to contribute funding towards the project.

The club’s charitable trust has previously applied to community funding organisations for the purpose of fundraising for a safe crossing and their applications have been declined on the basis that a safe crossing of a public road is “the responsibility of QLDC infrastructure,” Kim told the WCB.

The club’s board of directors chair David Smallbone said the board has been expressing its concern to the council about the safety of the crossing for years - to little effect.

Last year the board sent a letter to the WCB, the mayor and the QLDC reiterating safety concerns and holding the council accountable for a lack of progress.

David said the club’s board was advised in autumn last year the council was taking the safety issues seriously and it asked the board to be patient until new concept plans had been drafted providing a short-term fix.

PHOTO: Wanaka App