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News

September

Hi All

I’m not sure about the rest of you but this has seemed like a long five weeks. Living on Brabant Road, my daily routine includes walking my two labradors either up towards Mountain Road and back or down to Elevation and back.

Some observations I have made and thoughts I have had during these walks are:
Lots of cars, lots of bicycles and more motorbikes than ever before. As most of you know, this is a small stretch of road so I’m not convinced that all the traffic comes from locals. Vehicles parked up at the lookouts and more than usual reports of thefts and cars being broken into; The recent major storm and subsequent rainfall has impacted greatly on our roads and particularly the roadsides; As I walk down to Elevation on what was once a footpath I see that the mudslides are coming ever closer to the road with the verge side disappearing. Only a matter of time I think; In some areas like the corner opposite the Waitakere Resort and Spa entrance, vegetation, including some sizeable trees, hang over the road ready to fall at any time; I also think of the many residents that have had their properties damaged by the storm and how that has added to what is already is difficult situation during a level 4 lockdown.

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Proline Advice on Landslides

Ross Sudds has written this article offering advice for those of you who have had your land slip away.

Following the terrible storms over the past few weeks, I feel prompted to write as some of you may have suffered some form of earth movement or landslip on your property and are not exactly sure of how to proceed.

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Wasp Blitz Weekend 2022 Funding Success

Off the back of increasing complaints about the wasps in summer, the Waiatarua R&R are very happy to announce the local board have given us funding for a joint project with Oratia R&R to decrease the wasp population out here.

The funding allows us to train up to 10 volunteers who will work together to place bait stations on up to 80 properties. The bait (Vespex, a low-toxicity insecticide, which targets the yellow jacket Vespula vulgaris species) is taken back to, and kills the queen, which collapses the colony. This blitz will be carried out over one weekend as it needs to be done all at once, so colonies don’t simply “find another queen”. In addition we are aiming for late summer as this is the best feeding time and means wasps won’t have time to build up another colony before the cold weather sets in. Fingers crossed the blitz should allow more of us to head outdoors into our backyards and wander through the bush without coming under attack from yellow jackets.

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Longer Loan Times

From the beginning of August, we will be extending the time you borrow library books from two weeks to four weeks, the same as other libraries, so you won’t have to hurry to finish your books any more.

We have received some great new books for you to read these cold winter evenings.

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Notorious Intersection Strikes Again

Our notorious Scenic Drive, Piha Road  intersection has been unusually free of accidents and incidents over the recent 12 to 18 months. This may be attributed to Covid 19 and the resulting absence of overseas tourists who usually drive on the opposite side of the road to New Zealand. Due to the “confused” layout of this intersection these visitors have often found navigating through this intersection  a challenge that has resulted in many incidents in previous years. Unfortunately on Thursday 15 July, a driver missed the roadway completely and smashed into the bush between the convergence of the Piha Rd and Quinns  Rd. The police reported that the female driver has suffered serious but not life threatening injury.

The accident was attended by a number of police cars and the bottom right photo shows a police officer in the middle of the intersection  taking measurements and photos. Above and to the left of him the camera on a pole has been installed by Auckland Transport to monitor accidents and incidents.