I have just had a call from Claire Giblin (PCC). The latest period of rain has been causing more slips on Pukerua Beach Road, closing it. Downers are working on clearing the road.

And it appears that there have been slips on Cluny Road (Karehana Bay) with some residents evacuated from their homes.

The latest from Porirua City Council:

Dear residents of Ocean Parade and Brendan Beach,

This is an update to let you know about our plans to manage the slips on Pukerua Beach Road.

Thank you for the patience and kindness you’ve shown so far in dealing with the closures and supporting the team working to keep the road clear.

A geotechnical assessment carried out last week indicates the underlying rock above Pukerua Beach Road is stable, and there is a very low risk of failure due to rain events.

However, it is possible there will continue to be shallow slips of the loosened surface material, as has been experienced in recent days, and we will continue to clear these as required.

An early estimate of the cause is that the ground above Pukerua Beach Road has become overly saturated by the significant rain fall and, possibly, other sources of infiltration; destabilising the overlaying surface material and vegetation.

In the short term, PCC and Downer will continue to monitor the area daily, and a digger has been left on site, temporarily, so we can respond as quickly as possible to clear any slips that occur.

Residents should report any issues to our contact centre 237-5089 where our team will direct the appropriate response. Downers and PCC have staff working and on call through the Christmas shut-down period.

Longer term, we will continue to investigate to assess if further action is required, recognising residents concerns about stormwater management and slope stability.

We appreciate you did not have your rubbish/recycling collected last Friday. Our contractors will be back through this Friday to collect it.

1. We received a number of questions from a group of residents who met at the weekend and I hope the information below helps answer them. Installing one way, vehicle initiated traffic control lights. The positioning of this light can be decided by the Road Safety Engineer. The purpose is to ensure that no 2 vehicle passes through the narrow access at the same time. This is specially important during the summer where there will be large vehicle coming in and going out. The assessment of the team is that this is not required, and temporary lights can be unreliable as they work on solar panels. We will continue to monitor the situation.
2. To remove the loose vegetations that will cause a landslip by way of strong wind and/or rain. We hope that this is done in the next few days in a controlled and managed way, before Christmas as the residence will have family and guest visiting them. We will not be removing loose materials, as it would risk further destabilising the area.
3. Enforce parking on only one side of the road by the beach. This appears to be an unrelated issue and will not be addressed as part of this process.
4. There was significant damage to the house – 1 Ocean Parade due to rock falls from the above road. This small strip close to the edge is now unstable as such there should be warnings and alert system introduce in that area. A geotechnical assessment has raised no concerns about the stability of the road in this area. Some remedial work is planned.
5. Could the council please advise us what are your plans for keeping the users of the road safe and with uninterrupted access during this peak season that is coming up. Our plans are outlined above.

Please share this information through your networks – and my thanks to Paul and the Pukerua Bay Residents Association who have helped spread our updates for your community.

Please note, while I am happy to be a contact for you, I will be away from 24 December to 17 January.

Until next year, enjoy a lovely Christmas and New Year – and let’s hope the weather is kind to us 😊

Ngā mihi
Claire

Claire Giblin (she/her)
Manager Customer Liaison – Transport
Kaiwhakahaere Takawaenga Kiritaki – Ikiiki

There is concern over how the trees at the slipsites on Pukerua Beach Rd will behave in the winds forecast for tonight. A decision hase been made to close the road from around 10:00 tonight. The Downers’ crew on lookout will be doing a door knock of the houses on the beachfront.

The 4:00 pm update from PCC.
Good afternoon,
4pm Update:
Paekakariki Rd: No Change from previous update, tree cutting still ongoing. Road still likely to be closed until 7pm. (As per previous email there is access for residents only through to Battle Hill Farm)
Grays Rd: OPEN to all traffic there is some surface flooding still, Flooding and caution signs still in place.
Beach Rd: Open for residents only, closing at 8pm for safety reasons. Downer will continue to monitor it overnight.
We will continue to provide updates as required over the weekend, and our contact centre will operate as usual 24/7 with Palmerston North taking the evening and weekend calls.
Residents should continue to report any concerns to our enquiries team 04 237-5089.
Ngā mihi
Claire
Claire Giblin (she/her)
Manager Customer Liaison – Transport
Kaiwhakahaere Takawaenga Kiritaki – Ikiiki
www.poriruacity.govt.nz

Just in from PCC

Good afternoon,

A quick update to let you know that:

Paekakariki Hill Road is CLOSED until around 7pm for tree removal work. Residents who live prior to Battle Hill Farm can access their homes but will have to stop at the Grays Road traffic stop to talk to the traffic control staff.

Grays Road is OPEN but some surface flooding remains. Flooding and caution signs are in place.

Beach Road is currently open for residents only but will be closed again overnight from 8pm for safety reasons. A team will remain on site to monitor it.


Ngā mihi
Claire

Claire Giblin (she/her)
Manager Customer Liaison – Transport
Kaiwhakahaere Takawaenga Kiritaki – Ikiiki