Planning and costing for roving maintenance crews to improve the city’s footpaths will get underway.

However, decisions on additional funding of approximately $1.5 to $2 million will be made as part of next year’s Annual Plan, with half of the cost being eligible for a Waka Kotahi subsidy of 51%.

At today’s meeting Councillors voted to confirm staff begin working with contractors to plan and cost the concept of having contractor based crews who would proactively address any issues on footpaths in their contracted area.

 “This is an excellent decision and I’m so pleased to get the support of my Councillors to progress it further,” Mayor Phil Mauger says.

“We’ve got to do something to improve the condition of our footpaths and increase residents’ satisfaction from where it currently is at just 35%. Potholes and cracks make up the majority of complaints I hear directly from residents so this will be a big step towards getting on top of that.”

“Staff have worked hard to come up with an option that provides a different way of doing things to quickly and efficiently fix those little niggles on a footpath that can really affect people,” Mr Mauger says.

“Anything that helps get our footpaths fixed quicker is a good thing, especially if it also makes them safer.”

Staff will also continue to work University of Canterbury to progress options for efficient and cost effective collection of footpath data and a review of the tree removal process will begin early next year.