Meemee Maung has seen three aged people fall over on the slippery pavers outside her shop on Blenheim’s Market St in the past year.
By Kira Carrington of Local Democracy Reporting
One lady, who had been limping across the road, slipped and fell on her front as she reached the footpath outside Maung’s business, Easy Mart, Maung said.
She said she could see blood on the lady’s leg after the fall.
"It was was a great shock ... she [was] quite an old lady, so we [felt] so worried," she said.
Maung and staff from nearby shops helped the lady into a nearby chair, gave her some water, and helped contact her family to pick her up, she said.
Maung said it was "very good" that the Marlborough District Council had announced the removal of the pavers during a five-month makeover of Market St.
"It will be safe for everybody, including me, we are in and out of here every day."
The $4.3 million refurbishment of Blenheim’s town centre, due to begin on Monday, was to be completed in time for the busy Christmas trading period.
Marlborough’s slippery clay pavers were a notorious hazard. In 2019, reports of injuries prompted the council to acid-wash the pavers to improve their slip resistance.
But that didn’t stop one woman being left bedbound with severe bruising and a broken hip and arm after slipping on the pavers in 2020, and several residents coming forward with stories of slipping on the "dangerous" footpath in 2021.
Maung was one of several business owners and shoppers celebrating the news.
'They're slippy'
Market St Cafe owner Diane Grant said she had to walk really carefully over the pavers.
"I don’t like those cobbles, they’re slippy," she said. "There’s been a few accidents out there."
Cerise co-owner Theresa Smith said she heard people talk about the slippery pavers "all the time".
Blenheim resident Abbey Hogg said walking on the pavers in the wet, particularly in low-grip footwear such as jandals, was "actually really horrible".
Replacing them was a great idea, particularly for elderly and people with mobility issues, Hogg said.
The council’s project and contracts manager, Maighan Watson, said the pavers, which were installed in 1999, had come to the end of their useful life, and had been identified as "potentially hazardous" in the rain.
The pavers would be replaced with a combination of leftover granite and brick pavers, originally installed on High and Wynen streets and around Te Kahu o Waipuna Marlborough Library, and a new concrete paver, Watson said.
Pavers to be offered to the public
Watson said the clay pavers would be diverted from landfill and made available for the public at The Dump Shop for landscaping and other home projects.
The project would be funded from existing budgets and a targeted CBD commercial rate, she said.
Grant said she was concerned about losing foot traffic while the refurbishment took place. The council had not contacted her about the access to her business during construction.
"There’s going be a lot of construction, and you do worry that it’s going to affect trade," Grant said.
"If they have [pedestrian] access I think it’ll be OK, but if they don’t have access we may as well just shut the shop."
Watson confirmed that pedestrian access to businesses would be maintained during construction, although the access routes could change.
"The town centre will remain open for business," Watson said.
Smith said she had been a "little disappointed" with the lack of communication from the council about the project.
"We got notice a couple of months ago that it was happening... and that has meant that we haven't been able to plan as a business."
While Smith thought the street would look "really good" once it was completed, she said it was important that the new street be maintained with "the trees trimmed and the [new] pavers clean and tidy".
Blenheim resident Daniel Kavanagh said it would be good for the street to have a facelift but he wasn’t sure it would bring vitality back to the town centre.
"The problem at the moment is the economy, so whether you’re going to draw more people in, just through doing [the refurbishment], I suppose, remains to be seen."
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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