Park advisory following storm

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Published: 28 Jul 2017

If you're heading out and about this weekend, our parks department has a couple of advisories following our week of wild weather.

1. Minor slips and scouring of several walkways. 
The major concern is adjacent to the bay north of Dashing Rocks in Timaru, where the sea and surface water have washed away the edge of the lower portion of the track. It is still usable at the moment, but may need to be withdrawn from use in the future if the sea continues to erode this section. Fortunately a higher section of track was installed a few years ago at this location in case the lower track was no longer usable.
All tracks are still usable but are not up to their usual standard and may require some extra care in places.

2. Several trees have been blown over in a number of parks. Where these trees are uprooted and the trunks are still attached to the roots they should be avoided for safety reasons. Likewise some trees have blown into another tree and are hung up on the second tree. These should be avoided until they can be made safe.

With the rainfall total for the last week reaching 100 mm for Timaru and higher elsewhere in the District, it is likely that all these matters will not be dealt with until things dry out. The priority is to make things safe and usable where possible.
Given the amount of damage it will take weeks to clear and repair even when it dries out.

There is a risk of more trees blowing over while the soil remains waterlogged.

Last updated: 24 Feb 2021