Lumsden Road to show future of Hastings Street Design

A street makeover planned for Lumsden Road will extend to a brand new driveway for one lucky resident, when a project demonstrating the future of Hastings street design begins.

Lumsden Road and its footpaths are due for routine renewal, but after consultation with residents, Hastings District Council plans to do more than rebuild the existing road layout. The road will become a demonstration project for sustainable street design, showcasing methods and materials which make the road design better for residents, while requiring less maintenance.

Part of the new footpath will be made from concrete using crushed recycled glass and old paint, both of which can strengthen and improve regular concrete. The ‘Paintcrete’ footpath will be trialed in Lumsden Road with a view to wider adoption across the district.

Lumsden Road resident Tristan David will see the benefits of the new material more quickly than most, after he was drawn as the winner of a new Paintcrete driveway to during the street upgrade project.

Changes to the existing layout of Lumsden Road revolve around making it more friendly to residents and pedestrians.

The road itself will be narrowed and divided into sections offset to the left or right, to remove long straights and discourage speeding traffic.

A single high-quality footpath on one side of the road will be more accommodating for pedestrians, while reducing the overall amount of footpath needing to be built and maintained.

A large grassed strip or ‘swale’ will separate the road from the footpath, reducing the amount of hard surface to be maintained and helping with stormwater runoff.

Deputy Mayor Cynthia Bowers says the project shows how road designs can be improved while reducing their ongoing maintenance requirements and costs.

“Traffic is one of the main concerns we’ve heard from Lumsden Road residents, and it’s a concern echoed by residents of many other residential side roads in Hastings. The grid layout of our streets makes it easy for traffic to move off the main roads intended to carry it.

“Street upgrades of the kind we have planned for Lumsden Road will put the focus back on pedestrians, cyclists and residents, rather than motor vehicles travelling through. If we can also lower maintenance costs and reduce waste with a few smart design decisions, we will have a win-win approach.”