That is the view of the Lincoln Community Committee which wants a planned relaying of the street fast tracked, a move the district council says is unlikely to happen.
There have been 29 unplanned repairs on Gerald St so far this year caused by issues with the foundation of the road. There are substrate problems making the road crack and deform.
The number of repairs compare to 20 in 2018 and 27 in 2017.
The district council has plans to fully reconstruct the road as part of the Lincoln Town Centre Plan but not for at least another three years.
It will be carried out in three stages with stage one from Kildare Tce to West Belt set to start in 2023.
The community committee has told the district council it felt the temporary solution is failing and ratepayers’ money was being wasted with substandard work.
Springs Ward councillor Grant Miller supports the community committee’s plea.
“There must come a time where it’s more economical to put the finished product in place rather than repair,” Cr Miller said.
“The reality is in the meantime ratepayers are having to deal with quite a difficult road that keeps getting worse.”
Community committee chairwoman Kathryn Claridge wouldn’t discuss the matter with the Selwyn Times, because the group was in dialogue with the district council.
The community committee is going back to the district council to express its continued concern about the issue.
District council transportation team leader Mark Chamberlain told Selwyn Times said Gerald St would be maintained in the most prudent manner until the scheduled relaying.
But Cr Miller said he remains unconvinced that strategy is going to work.
“I have advocated with the staff that we think the best thing to do is to bring forward the rehabilitation of the whole road and to stop wasting ratepayer money on repairs,” he said.
“The soil conditions under the road just aren’t able to handle the level of traffic that’s going on it now and it’s only going to get worse.”
