Your Council

Opinions on Auckland’s Future: Public meetings have been held in five areas around the North Shore along with two workshops with representational sector groups to obtain residents' views on what they would like to see in the North Shore City Council’s submission to the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance. The Council has received feedback from attendees on what are seen as the main issues or problems the city and region face today and possibly in the future. The main areas of concern relate to maintaining access to local representation while dealing with the big issues of transport, water and energy. A final meeting will be held by the Birkenhead Community Board this evening.

Mayor Andrew Williams has been hard at work over the past few weeks canvassing public opinion on the future of Auckland. The Mayor, Councillors and Community Board members want to be well informed for the city’s submission to the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Auckland Governance. The last community meeting will be held at Birkenhead tonight and Mayor Williams says he hopes a wide range of North Shore citizens will now also make personal submissions to the Royal Commission. More information

Give your views on a scenic reserve: Residents have two weeks to tell council what they think of plans for a significant forest development in Albany. Three linked reserves containing streams, important flora and fauna, and well established native trees are to be brought together in a single managed development which will include picnic areas, walkways and educational facilities. The development known as the Three Streams project is open to public consultation. More information

Creative Communities Scheme: The North Shore City Creative Communities Scheme is now open for applications. This fund provides support for creative arts and cultural activities across all arts disciplines and taking place after 1 May, 2008. If your creative activity or event will enhance the local community, encourage active participation in the arts at a local level, allow people to develop their artistic skills and/or present diverse arts activities that will benefit the community, then this is the funding source for you.

What's On in North Shore City

Shore Sounds attracts Thousands: Around 2,500 people turned up to see Scribe and local legends Elemeno P (picture) in action at Onewa Domain on Sunday afternoon. The crowd of mainly teenagers was extremely well behaved and lapped up the golden rays that the weather gods gifted us. Scribe and Elemeno P were supported by Atlas and Goodnight Nurse. On Saturday an audience of around 1,000 folk gathered to hear Wellington’s psychedelic blues four-piece Little Bushman at Onepoto Domain. The big audiences attest to the success of the Shore Sounds series this year. More information

Movies by Moonlight a Shore hit: North Shore City Council’s free programme of Open Air Moonlight Movies has proved a hit with residents across the city this summer. It is estimated over 11,000 locals have attended the 12 free outdoor movie screenings (see Masthead picture above) that have taken place across the city to date. Despite three screenings being cancelled due to wind and rain, the public response has been resoundingly positive. Outdoor evening movies continue until April 5. More Information.

Analen Devonport Classic 2008: Scenic race, historic place, at your pace! Coming soon is a great event for those who enjoy walking or running in beautiful places. The Anlene Devonport Classic is a 5km or 10km fun run/walk event around the scenic Devonport peninsula on Sunday April 6, 2008.The event is now in its 7th year and attracts around 2,000 entrants.

Women’s Laser Radial Worlds start this weekend at Takapuna: Racing for the 2008 Women’s Laser Radial World Championships will start on Saturday March 15th off Takapuna Beach, North Shore City, Auckland. 120 entries are already confirmed with representatives from 40 countries in North Shore City for this World Championship and Olympic qualifying event. Many competitors are in Takapuna already and have been training on the Hauraki Gulf in preparation for this exciting event, familiarising themselves with local conditions on the race track.
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Keeping our visitors safe: On Friday March 28 hundreds of international students from around the North Shore will come together to learn about road safety at the City’s first road safety day for international students. The event focuses on key problem areas including alcohol and driving, stopping distances, safe driving skills as well as safety tips for pedestrians and public transport information. The event is an opportunity to educate students, especially those for whom English is a second language and have difficulty understanding road safety campaigns. North Shore City’s group manager of transport strategy and planning, Archer Davis, says the event is a great way to get the safety message across in a fun interactive way. More Information.

Your Neighbourhood

Out of cars and on to the street: Mayor Andrew Williams accompanied one of four Campbell’s Bay Primary walking school buses to school last Wednesday, as part of national Feet First Walk to School Week. Mayor Williams joined the Park Rise walking school bus for the scenic walk through Centennial Park to Campbell’s Bay Primary. The annual week long event attracted thirty North Shore Schools to participate this year, with the focus being on Walk to School Day, held March 5. On average 50 per cent of New Zealand children are driven to school every day and Feet First Week aims to change that. More Information.

Terminal Upgrade for Takapuna: Takapuna Bus Station, a key public transport station is about to get an upgrade to improve the safety, efficiency and quality of public transport for passengers. Following consultation in 2005 it has been decided to refurbish the station to provide better weather protection and seating, new toilets, better links with the Takapuna CBD, better pedestrian crossing, signage and lighting and improvements to pavements and landscaping. As a result of these proposed improvements there will be minor encroachments into both the Anzac Street Car Park and Potters Park. A public meeting will be held on April 2 and public views are welcome.

Busway Success Story: North Shore City residents are already embracing the new Northern Busway, with more than 143,000 passenger trips in the first week of the busway's operation. This is a six per cent rise on North Shore bus patronage figures for the same week last year. Bus users are flocking to the Northern Express service, which runs between Albany Park & Ride and Auckland City every five minutes in peak times, stopping at every busway station. Patronage on the Northern Express service soared in the first week of operation, reaching 15,945 passenger trips for the week, compared to 9,269 trips in the same week last year. That's a huge increase of 72 per cent.

Beginner bike sessions our best yet: Our Beginner Bike Sessions took off this year with four sessions held around the city. Cycling on the road can be daunting, especially for those who haven't been on a bike since childhood, or people taking up cycling for the first time. The beginner sessions were aimed at encouraging less confident cyclists to get on their bikes. As we promote cycling for both recreation and travel we need to make sure people have the right skills to ride on the road. The sessions covered everything a cyclist needs to know including road rules, safety tips and practical cycling activities finishing with a follow-the-leader ride. We plan on holding more beginner bike sessions next year so watch this space.

2007 North Shore City Civic Awards Open Soon: Do you know a North Shore citizen, organisation or business whose community efforts go unnoticed? Help us reward our city’s greatest helpers by nominating a person, not-for-profit organisation or business that you know goes the extra mile, for the 2007 North Shore City Civic Awards. North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams is encouraging the public to get their nominations in as soon as possible. “Taking the time to nominate a person or organisation you know may take an hour or two of your time, but will go a long way toward recognising their kind and selfless community deeds”, Mayor Williams said. More Information

Easter Holiday rubbish collections: There will be no rubbish collections on Good Friday, March 21. If your collection day is Friday, your rubbish will be collected on Saturday, March 22. There will be rubbish, recycling, paper and cardboard collections on Easter Monday, March 24.

Kids involved in water care project: North Shore City is enlisting the help of school children and interested adults to highlight the responsible use of street drains connected to the city's streams and waterways. A number of drain painting kits have been prepared by the city's Wai Care Facilitator Megan Beard for use for painting around street drains to alert the public that what goes down storm water drains inevitably ends up in delicate waterways and at the city's beaches. Participants will need identify a site, and to submit a demonstration picture for approval from the city's Pavement Team before being cleared to start. More information.

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