The tragic events of March 15th 2019 has promoted council officials to increase the budget for the installation of road bollards in the central city.

Bollards will be installed on Oxford Terrace and placed on the south side of the Hereford Street intersection, in mid- 2021.

Christchurch City Council signalled its intention to install them in September last year.

For the first time the Council publicly acknowledged why its budget increased.

Head of Transport Richard Osborne said the budget for the bollards’ project is currently $775,000.

“A preliminary budget of $275,000 was set for the project before detailed design commenced.”

“The original budget assumed we would be installing standard bollards that were designed to show that the road ahead was closed to vehicle traffic.”

“However, following the mosque attacks in March 2019, elected members requested we install bollards that would be capable of stopping a vehicle being deliberately driven at high speeds.”

“We have therefore increased the specification of the bollards, which has increased the cost.”

 “The proposed number of bollards is 14, three of these being rising bollards to allow the tram to pass.”

In a council report it said “police consider the current afternoon entry time from 4pm to 11pm a safety issue as many people gather on the Terrace at this time.”

The public have until Thursday 18 February to give their feedback on the proposed changes to City Mall.