My text reply: "Fulla shit day."
You'd think CERA's brat SCIRT would've learnt that operating sucker-trucks on London St in the middle of a working day was taboo. Back-flushing was done by sucker-trucks all over Christchurch, ever since the 4 September 2010 Quake nearly three years before.
Yesterday CERA opened its maze a little into Cathedral Sq, via Worcester St Bridge, past Cathedral Sq NZDF-checkpoint, Gloucester St / Colombo St. I saw nothing new since I'd last trekked that way: four CERA utes parked on Worcester St Bridge; NO ENTRY Our City; Old Municipal Chambers steel-braced (2021. Restoration would begin); demolition-sites; ruins; SMF-cordons; Christ Church Cathedral ruin; workmen still repairing Novotel.
15.05.13. Post quake construction site, Cambridge Tce / Gloucester St
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Worcester St Bridge view, abandoned bldgs around Cathedral Sq. Quake ruined Christ Church Cathedral middle
15.05.13. NO ENTRY. Steel mesh fence cordon. Oxford Tce view, Worcester St Bridge. Council bldg, HSBC Tower left. Steel braced Our City right. 2021. Restoration would begin on Our City, Otautahi, Old Municipal Chambers
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Worcester St Bridge, S view, Oxford Tce towards Restart Cashel Mall
Oxford Tce view: SMF-cordoned Clarendon Tower demolition-site, opposite multi-storey Rydges Hotel ghost, carpark garage ghost was behind. A threat-sign:
CONSTRUCTION SITE
DANGER
KEEP OUT
CERA bullshit! !n 2023 Rydges Hotel & garage would still be ghosts behind SMF-cordons!
Cathedral Sq, south side: Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel left, PO ghost, Telecom middle. 2016. Millennium Hotel would be restored as Distinction Hotel.
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone, abandoned shop, Rydges Hotel block, Worcester St
Cathedral Sq: I saw ruined high-rises, like asbestos-riddled Government Life; Heritage Hotel; Christ Church Cathedral ruin. Nearby New Regent St: CERA was now anxious for people to visit after two years of CBD red-zone, NZDF-checkpoints, SMF-cordons & citizen bannings.
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Cathedral Sq view, red zone Government Life awaited demolition left. Repaired Novotel right, Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel behind
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone Cathedral Sq view, repaired Novotel, Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel left. Ruined Christ Church Cathedral right
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone, abandoned, old PO / Tourist Information, Telecom behind, Cathedral Sq. 2021. Old PO would be restored
15.05.13.Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone, abandoned, Telecom bldgs, Cathedral Sq
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone, abandoned Heritage Hotel, Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel left. Both hotels would be restored. Part demolished BNZ right, would be fully demolished 2017, Cathedral Sq. Spark multi-storey bldg would be built on site
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Colombo St view, red zone, Farmers demolition site, abandoned Chancery Ln Arcade left, Central Library right awaited demolition for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Abandoned Craigs House & Victoria Square flats behind, awaited demolitions for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
15.05.13. Cathedral Sq view, red zone, demolition site, salvage steel by abandoned Government Life right, awaiting demolition. Abandoned Victoria Square apartments behind, awaited demolition for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone, abandoned, boarded, Government Life, awaited demolition, Cathedral Sq
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone abandoned bldgs, Cathedral Sq. Telecom Left. Central Police, Hereford St, behind NZ flag awaited 30.05.15 implosion. Government Life right awaited demolition
You'd think CERA would open the shortest route from Restart Cashel Mall past Christ Church Cathedral ruin to recently reopened New Regent St which was battling to attract custom. Instead CERA detoured rubberneckers from Cashel Mall along Oxford Tce, down Worcester St past Clarendon Tower demolition-site through zombie Cathedral Sq to Gloucester St NZDF-checkpoint to New Regent St.
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone, abandoned Tram Stop, CERA office, wooden hut, Cathedral Sq
15.05.13. Red zone, CERA office huts behind plinth, sans statue, Cathedral Sq
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone, ruined Christ Church Cathedral, Cathedral Sq. 2016. Abandoned Millennium Hotel right would be restored as Distinction Hotel
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. 2 cranes. Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint view, red zone, abandoned Camelot Hotel left, awaited demolition for Central Library / Turanga rebuild. Repaired Novotel middle. Repaired Cathedral Junction right.
That detour stopped people wandering past ANZ demolition-site & part-demolished BNZ demolition-site of asbestos notoriety, Colombo St / Hereford St. Meanwhile CERA's cabin-offices were still SMF-cordoned in Cathedral Sq below Telecom ruin. As usual, NZDF-soldiers checkpointed Colombo St / Cathedral Sq opposite multi-storey Camelot Hotel ruin awaiting demolition.
15.05.13. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Colombo St / Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint view, red zone, abandoned, Camelot Hotel, awaited demolition for Central Library / Turanga rebuild
15.05.13. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Colombo St / Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint view, ruined Christ Church Cathedral. NZDF soldier doing checkpoint duty. 2016. Abandoned Millennium Hotel behind would be restored as Distinction Hotel
A NZDF checkpoint-sign:
NO
PUBLIC
ACCESS
PAST THIS POINT
CERA PASSES ONLY
15.05.13. Fletcher builder sign. Colombo St / Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint, red zone fence. Government Life awaited demolition behind
Cathedral Sq viewed from Oxford Tce: From Robert Falcon Scott plinth (fallen statue removed) & across Clarendon Tower demolition-site, I saw Christ Church Cathedral ruin dwarfed by surrounding used / unused buildings: Rydges Hotel, Government Life, Novotel, The Press, Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel, Cathedral Junction, Heritage Hotel, Millennium Hotel / Distinction Hotel, Telecom, old PO & Tourist Information, Public Trust Office. Hidden from that view: more ugly ruins: Chancery Ln & Arcade, Camelot Hotel, BNZ, demolition- sites.
Three security-staff wearing yellow Hi-Vis vests prowled Cathedral Sq. Once CBD SMF-cordons fell for good, taggers & thieves would invade the deserted CBD. In residential red-zones, thieves were already stealing recyclable goods like hot-water-cylinders!
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Yellow, Hi-Vis vested, security staff, Cathedral Sq
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Cathedral Sq security staff by Oxford Tce & Worcester St Bridge. HSBC Tower left, abandoned, steel braced, Our City right. 2021. Our City / Otautahi would be restored
So far, CERA's so-called CBD "rebuild" was a hotchpotch of gasping little businesses & food-trailers in a vast matrix of ruins & weedy, dusty demolition-sites, all bordered by NZDF-checkpoints & SMF-cordons with threat-signs: DANGER, EXTREME DANGER, HAZARD, CERA PASSES... CERA had demolished ruins for two years & published its Blueprint for CBD precincts & anchor projects. CERA minister Brownlee's so-called "rebuild" would stagnate for the next few years with little action on Blueprint precincts & anchor projects.
Over the next few years, huge private-sector developments would happen like BNZ Centre & ANZ Centre, Cashel St; The Terrace, Oxford Tce; Awly Building, Durham St Nth.
Oxford Tce: I saw SMF-cordons, demolition-sites & ghosts like multi-storey Rydges Hotel & multi-storey Public Trust Office which flanked Clarendon Tower demolition-site. 2020. Public Trust Office would be restored. Rydges Hotel would stay abandoned for more than decade!
15.05.13. Oxford Tce view, Clarendon Tower demolition site, abandoned bldgs around ruined Christ Church Cathedral middle
15.05.13. DANGER KEEP OUT. Abandoned Public Trust Office, Oxford Tce. 2020. The bldg would be restored
Hereford St: I saw SMF-cordons, demolition-sites, ghosts, like Equitable House & Scorpio Books. Tete a Tete ghost still teetered by Wilson carpark on a demolition-site by Restart Cashel Mall back entrance. Telecom was being repaired. Ibis Hotel was open. Example of post- quake business disruption: Scorpio Books relocated to Restart Cashel Mall for a few years, then would relocate back to new BNZ Centre, Hereford St in 2016.
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red zone, abandoned Scorpio Books, Hereford St. Scorpio Books relocated to Restart Cashel Mall for a couple of years, then would relocate back to new BNZ Centre, Hereford St, 2016
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Hereford St: Abandoned Tete a Tete / Shands Emporium & abandoned Central Police left, awaiting 30.05.15 implosion. Abandoned Equitable House right. Council bldg beyond right. Shands Emporium would be relocated to Manchester St next to Octagon Restaurant / Trinity Church
15.05.13. Demolition site, Wilson carpark, Restart Cashel Mall back entrance, Hereford St
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Hereford St: Red zone, abandoned bldg left. Telecom Green middle right. Reopened Ibis Hotel right
Colombo St / Hereford St: Street Art in the CBD degenerated to junk art. Council paid artists for sticking or painting rubbish on demolition- site walls, like painted, diagonal, parallel lines between abandoned public toilets & the IBM demolition-site, Hereford St. On the SMF- cordon surrounding ANZ / IBM demolition-site, a threat-sign:
DANGER
KEEP OUT
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Hereford St view, IBM demolition site, abandoned or part repaired bldgs around ruined Christ Church Cathedral
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Post quake, junk art on Ibis Hotel wall, by IBM demolition site, next to abandoned public toilets, Hereford St
15.05.13. DANGER KEEP OUT. Steel mesh fence cordon. Hereford St / Colombo St view, ANZ & IBM demolition sites. Abandoned Cathedral Sq bldgs beyond - public toilets left, old PO & Tourist Information middle, Telecom behind, Government Life right awaited demolition
15.05.13. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Part demolished BNZ, Hereford St / Colombo St. Demolition completed 2017. Spark multi-storey offices would be built on site, 2019.
High St: I trekked southeast down recently opened High St from Hereford St crossing to Tuam St crossing, just five businesses were open. I saw many demolition-sites behind SMF-cordons. I saw parked diggers & ruins behind SMF-cordons. I saw a sushi bar & cafe open below recently reopened Avonmore Tertiary Institute. (Avonmore would be liquidated in 2018). On my right, ANZ Centre would be built on a vast demolition-site towards Colombo St, 2015-16.
2019. Cashel St: Multi-storey Holiday Inn demolition-site's basement carpark: concrete-columns would still stand, steel-rebar tangles on top. Across Cashel Street on multi-storey Hotel Grand Chancellor demolition-site, Grand Central Building, a massive, multi-storey office space, would open in 2017 for lease to government employees.
15.05.13. Reopened Sushi below Avonmore Tertiary Institute, High St
15.05.13 Steel mesh fence cordon. High St view, demolition site by The Crossing, Cashel St / Colombo St. The demolition site would become ANZ Centre, built 2015-16. Reopened Ballantynes middle, flanked by abandoned bldgs
15.05.13. High St view, demolition site, red zone, abandoned bldgs towards Manchester St
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Abandoned, red zone bldg, High St
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. High St view, Westpac demolition site, more demolition sites towards Lichfield St. Closed old Council bldg beyond would be demolished for the new Bus Interchange
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordons. High St view towards Cathedral Sq
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. High St / Cashel St, W view towards Restart Cashel Mall. Bldgs mostly abandoned
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Tyres. Yellow digger. Cashel St view, Westpac demolition site, red zone, abandoned bldgs
15.05.13. Red zone, abandoned shop, High St
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Yellow digger. High St view, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Holiday Inn demolition sites, abandoned bldgs
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. High St view, Holiday Inn demolition site, abandoned bldgs
Next to WINZ ruin, scaffolded Bonnington House was being repaired. Scaffolders caused more damage to trashed buildings by breaking windows to secure horizontal scaffold-poles!
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon, orange, plastic bollards. High St view, abandoned red zone bldgs. Bonnington House under repair left. Abandoned WINZ middle
15.05.13. Green portaloo. Steel mesh fence cordon. Repairs to Bonnington House, High St
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. High St / Manchester St view down High St, flanked by red zone abandoned bldgs to Cathedral Sq
High St / Lichfield St: I saw the only rebuild site, Leighs Construction site near a NZDF-checkpoint in the red-zone cordon. Trucks supplied concrete for workmen pouring concrete at the first-floor level of Stranges rebuild, a glass-walled triangular building, which in 2014 would win an award for one of the first rebuilds in the area. New Stranges looked good, but I feared the old brick building behind it with ground level restaurants along Stranges Ln between old & new buildings!
A NZDF-checkpoint threat-sign:
NO
PUBLIC
ACCESS
PAST THIS POINT
CERA PASSES ONLY
Across Manchester St: I saw CCDU's Blueprint East Frame / Rauora Park gestating with ruins due for taking by CERA, paid for by taxpayers. *Asterisk captions showed East Frame / Rauora Park land & South Frame.
My southeast view from Manchester St / High St: Street Art on the flat roof of CI Cafe / Alice in Videoland / old PO: A blue-suited male-statue, face glaring down at the zombie CBD, right arm pointing skywards. That Street Art stood atop the roof for months.
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Orange skip. Stranges rebuild construction site & bldg repair site, High St / Lichfield St / Manchester St
15.05.13. Stranges rebuild construction site, High St / Lichfield St / Manchester St
*15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Orange, plastic bollards. High St view, Majestic House awaited demolition, Manchester St / Lichfield St for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint E Frame & S Frame. Lichfield St was the divide between Blueprint E & S Frames. Nucleus sculpture middle would survive the quakes & CERA demolitions
15.05.13. Manchester St view, red zone, abandoned bldgs flanking Lichfield St & construction site, Manchester St / Lichfield St / High St
15.05.13. ROAD CLOSED. Steel mesh fence cordon. Stranges rebuild site, Manchester St / Lichfield St / High St. NZDF Checkpoint hut, orange, Hi-Vis vested, NZDF soldiers left
15.05.13. ROAD CLOSED. NO PUBLIC ACCESS. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. Crane. NZDF checkpoint, Manchester St / Lichfield St / High St. Stranges rebuild site right
15.05.13. Stranges rebuild site, Manchester St / Lichfeld St / High St
High St / Manchester St crossing: Steel mesh fence cordon, demolition sites, ghosts past Struthers Ln to Tuam St.
15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordons. Stacked shipping containers propping a facade. Manchester St / High St view, demolition sites, abandoned bldgs bordering Struthers Ln & Tuam St. Core CBD right. *S Frame left of Manchester St
*15.05.13. Faux pissoir for ads. Steel mesh fence cordon. Stacked shipping containers propping a facade. High St view, S Frame demolition sites, abandoned bldgs. Reopened C1 Cafe / Alice in Videoland / old PO behind
*15.05.13. High St view, junk art atop reopened C1 Cafe / Alice in Videoland / old PO, S Frame
*15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demolition site, abandoned bldg, facade saved for restoration, High St / Manchester St, S Frame
*15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demolition site, Majestic House awaited demolition in E Frame, High St / Manchester St / Lichfield St
*15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Demo site. High St view, abandoned bldgs awaited demolition in E frame. IR bldg middle behind would survive the quakes
*15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Stacked shipping containers prop facade saved for restoration in High St, S Frame
HAIRDRESSER
& TOBACCONIST
*15.05.13. Old ad, abandoned CF Cotter & Co, High St, S Frame
*15.05.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Mainz & facade saved for restoration, propped by stacked shipping containers, High St, S Frame
*15.05.13. NO ENTRY. Orange, plastic, road barrier, steel mesh fence cordon. High St bldgs in S frame awaited demolition. Middle bldgs beyond Nucleus sculpture, Manchester St, not in Frame
*15.05.13. S Frame. C1 Cafe / Alice in Videoland / old PO, High St / Tuam St
*15.05.13. S Frame. High St view, Poplar St demolition sites, abandoned bldgs would survive the quakes as Dux Central. IR bldg behind in E Frame would survive the quakes too
*15.05.13. Restoration, McKenzie Willis facade, High St / Tuam St, S Frame
East of Manchester St to Madras St I saw CCDU's Blueprint East Frame.
South of Lichfield St to St Asaph St: I saw CCDU's Blueprint South Frame. Only CCDU / CERA could tell which broken-buildings would survive & which would be demolished for parkland, or apartment rebuilds, as CERA / CCDU hogged the CBD property-market enabling CCDU to make offers to Frame property-owners whose CBD properties were red-zone SMF-cordoned by CERA for at least two years.
CERA sucked at the CBD rebuild! You'd think after two years of hogging the NZDF-cordoned red-zone-CBD, CERA would have many CBD rebuilds going. Reality: a depressing, grey void, demolition-sites, SMF-cordons, threat-signs, ruins. A night-drive down fucked Manchester St was more depressing, just a black void. So much for CERA minister Brownlee's "rebuild."
15.05.13. CERA vehicles parked on Worcester St Bridge. Abandoned Cathedral Sq bldgs beyond
15.05.13. Worcester St Bridge view, orange, Hi-Vis vested, CERA officials crossing Cambridge Tce to Worcester Blvd. Council bldg & HSBC Tower left. Harley & Christchurch Art Gallery right. 2022. Harley bldg would still be boarded / abandoned: ASBESTOS & MULTIPLE BUILDING HAZARDS
Worcester Blvd: I trekked back to my car at Botanic Gardens carpark. I saw Art works outside the Art Gallery which was closed for repairs:
1. Giant portrait of a bug-eyed woman staring across Worcester Blvd to multi-storey Council.
15.05.13. Outdoor Art, Christchurch Art Gallery, Worcester Blvd
2. Two giant, silver gnomes straddling Art Gallery steps staring at multistorey Council.
15.05.13. Outdoor art, Christchurch Art Gallery, Worcester Blvd
3. Montreal St side of the Art Gallery by a locked glass door: a giant photo of a bricked-up door in the old Stables brick-wall, Bedford Row. Quake-Recovery: PM Key & CERA minister Brownlee, what was beyond that bricked-up door?
15.05.13. Outdoor Art, Christchurch Art Gallery, Montreal St
4. On a small building's wall: two stripey lounge-lizards stared blankly at the Art Gallery.
15.05.13. Outdoor art, Christchurch Art gallery, Montreal St
15.05.13. Faux pissoir, ads, Rolleston Ave, nr Hagley Park
*Trekked Worcester St, Cathedral Sq, Oxford Tce, Hereford St, High St, Worcester Blvd. 134 images.
On my return home, our daft neighbour stood by our gate. She had four adult offspring & lived alone in a state-house on the dole. Years before, I'd trespassed her from our property, as she'd pestered us with her domestic problems: "Can I use your phone?... Can I borrow your mower?..." She'd also hassled Luke when he was a high school student. She once cheeked Leah at our front door, the last straw. Banned! Leah's & my adult son's taxes paid for her dole life. This time, another pathetic request: "Can you fill my empty gas-bottle?"
"No!" She left muttering. State Housing New Zealand dumped mental-cases amongst citizens, without warning about crazies in our midst! She pestered other neighbours with sob-stories & aggressive behaviour. Cops were called!
Meanwhile Heritage-hailers, Anderton, Belton & Co, nagged again, wanting Council to pay $10m spread over 10 years for Christ Church Cathedral restoration. But the Anglican diocese owned Cathedral Sq land & the Cathedral! Like my daft neighbour, Heritage-hailers expected others to pay. Not a word about raising funds themselves for Cathedral restoration.
Never mind atheists, agnostics, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, other religions in Christchurch. I doubted they'd enjoy paying rates for restoration of a mock-Gothic Cathedral. Like my bludging neighbour, Heritage-hailers demanded others pay for their follies.
Friday 17.05.13. 3.59pm, M4.2 quake, 6km depth, 25km west of Christchurch (GeoNet). Rumbled by while I edited pics.
Leah drove home early that afternoon from her London St school. SCIRT's excavation thumpings near her classroom drove her bonkers. She'd endured SCIRT digger joltings, thumpings, truck shakings for months.
Thursday 23.05.13. PM Key grinned on One News TV at Stranges rebuild site, High St / Lichfield St / Manchester St crossing: That gave a false impression that High St bustled with rebuilds. Reality: devastated, demolition-sites, ruins, ROAD CLOSED, DANGER KEEP OUT, NO PUBLIC ACCESS threat-signs, SMF-cordons, a NZDF-checkpoint by a construction site banning public.
CERA's media release, 23.05.13, boasted about two more CBD construction-sites at Gloucester St & Kilmore St. Ramping up rebuild? Ha!
Who paid for CERA's rebuild? Neither PM Key nor One News mentioned that across Manchester St, abandoned buildings awaited CCDU's East Frame land-grab, where properties would be taxpayer bought, taken by CERA & turned into Rauora Park to increase land prices in CCDU's core-CBD.
So far, Stranges rebuild was the only High St construction-site. It was beseiged by a NZDF-cordon, demolition-sites & ruins, as well as CERA decreed demolitions of scores of East Frame properties across Manchester St. TV news was just CERA's propaganda to fool the rest of NZ into thinking all was well in Christchurch. CERA / CCDU excelled at propaganda photo-ops, but failed at fast rebuild.
So far, nearly 1 000 days post 4 September 2010 Quake, by means of hundreds of demolitions, CERA had razed Christchurch's red-zone-CBD. And CERA also razed red-zone residential-lands along Avon River from the CBD to the sea. But demolitions of red-zone Port Hills properties hadn't happened yet.
CERA took huge chunks of land in Christchurch's red-zone-CBD & residential red-zone suburbs. CERA minister Brownlee carped at criticism of CERA's secrecy regarding a policy change to look case-by-case at red-zone leavers wanting more time to leave:
"I'm deeply offended that people think we are trying to hide something here or that we are being in any way secretive. The information was given to a public meeting where 400 people attended and I released it yesterday. There is not much secret about that." (The Press 25.05.13)
Why the secrecy behind the NZDF-cordon banning citizens for two years from the CBD, so far, while little rebuild happened in the CBD? CERA's insurer advisory service, shadowed by Council's insurer advocacy service, was offensive when CERA could kick insurers' asses, getting them to speed up payouts, repairs & rebuilds. After Brisbane floods, Australian government gave insurers a two year deadline to settle payouts. Why wasn't NZ National government speeding up insurers?
NZ National government did little about EQCs' delays & insurers' delays, leaving 1 000s of citizens to battle EQC & insurers over slow repairs or rebuilds, so-called housing "recovery." Never mind slow repairs to Council housing & state housing in Christchurch!
More "recovery" involved duplication of Christchurch Council bureaucracy with CERA bureaucracy & squabbles over who would pay for CCDU projects, like the Blueprint 35 000 seater covered stadium & Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Never mind squabbles amongst CERA, Heritage-hailers & the Anglican church over "recovery" of Christ Church Cathedral.
CERA's SCIRT botched its infrastructure "recovery" of underground pipe repairs / replacements & road repairs by digging up some road bits over & over again, leaving patched *& potholed roads far worse than quake-damaged, buckled, cracked, liquefactioned, potholed, sinkholed roads. Examples: London St & Estuary Rd SCIRT excavations...
While CERA sucked, MoE sucked too, announcing an interim decision about Aranui HS site: a new super-school, Y1-13, would be built, accommodating January 2017 closed Aranui, Wainoni, Avondale primary schools & closed Aranui HS. The new super-school would open January 2017. Nearby Chisnallwood Intermediate would stay as-is, its future reviewed in 2020. (Christchurch Mail 23.05.13). Why didn't MoE make super-schools in other Christchurch suburbs?
Coda:
Monday 20.03.14. More sucking: I drove Jake to Sumner. En route we detoured around McCormacks Bay while SCIRT repaired the Causeway. There was another detour along Beachville Rd past Redcliffs, as the ruined-house above Moa Bone Point Cave was being demolished by CERA. Why did CERA & insurer take over two years to demolish that dangerous house above Main Rd when the yellow adobe house-ruin at the bottom of the cliff was demolished soon post 22 February 2011 Quake? There were scores more house-ruins above Redcliffs & Peacocks Gallop awaiting demolitions, while Redcliffs School shared school premises elsewhere, while authorities dithered.
Meanwhile nothing was done about fixing the 500m tilted / sunk sea-wall, which stopped Avon / Heathcote Estuary flooding Beachville Rd. (That sea-wall would be fixed by SCIRT in 2015-16).
After Sumner I drove Luke to South New Brighton. SCIRT had torn up Estuary Rd for the fourth time since the 22 February 2011 Quake outside South New Brighton School. Why didn't SCIRT just excavate & repair pipes & reseal once? Excavating, repairing, resealing the same bit of road four times in two years was nuts! All over town SCIRT detours around excavations caused traffic congestion for months & would continue to cause congestion while its workers received sinecures.
Early 2015: Christchurch citizens would still lived in caravans & garages, while still battling EQC & insurers. The Press ran articles about caravan-dwellers & garage-dwellers. John Campbell's TV3 John Campbell Live was pulled, as he'd run several TV programmes on garage-dwellers. CERA's recovery?
Sunday 14.02.16. Valentines Day, M5.7 quake. Christ Church Cathedral's western facade would crumble more, despite the steel "Battering Ram" buttressing the facade. Heritage-hailers vs Anglican diocese restore / rebuild squabbles would continue while Christ Church Cathedral rotted behind cordon-fencing.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See Housing New Zealand (NZ govt, state housing).
See NZ to go without to fund rebuild (The Press / Stuff Co).
See CERA's 23.05.13 media release: Christchurch CBD construction ramps up.
See Stranges building wins supreme award (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Temporary respite for Steve and Sasha Bell after four garage years (The Press / Stuff Co).
See List of tallest buildings in Christchurch (Wikipedia).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Christchurch
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