Photo supplied
Enliven’s Huntleigh Home recently hosted a street party for the Karori community and Huntleigh Home and Apartment
residents on April 17th to celebrate the successful completion of the Campbell Street crossing. The event aimed to bring
together the Karori community and Huntleigh Home residents in recognition of their collective efforts to address safety
concerns. Huntleigh Home were pleased to see various groups, including village folks, the disability community,
Wellington City Council, and residents’ families attend the celebration.
“It was extremely successful,” said Anna, Huntleigh Home manager. “After the ribbon cutting, the community were welcomed
to Huntleigh Home for afternoon tea with residents and staff members, everyone had a wonderful time.”
For months, residents and staff at Huntleigh Home took proactive action by writing numerous letters and a submission to
the council staff regarding Campbell Street’s unsafe “dip” that affected residents with disabilities and many others
when heading out into the community.
Valerie Smith, a resident of Huntleigh Home, played a crucial role in advocating and organising for a safer crossing,
pushing for this change since first contacting Council staff in 2022.
“It was hard work getting this underway, but we needed our voices heard,” said Valerie.” Valerie explained, “We want to
be part of our community as much as possible, and this dip was limiting our access.” “When I came here, I could never
get to the shops in my wheelchair,” she says.
Anna Roberts, the Huntleigh Home Manager, said that the recent creation of a proper crossing not only meant easier
crossing for residents, but also improved wider public safety in the community. “Since the change, the health and safety
risk has reduced, but it’s not just for residents using walkers or wheelchairs, it’s also beneficial for people with
prams or school children in the community,” says Anna.
“We had invited the council to meet with the residents twice, once prior to the Karori Connection Road project and later
as part of the Karori Connection proposals so that they could hear our views as to why this [Campbell Street] needed
attention and urgent custom-made changes to reduce the health and safety risks it brought to all people crossing the
road,” said Anna.
The installation changes have significantly improved accessibility for residents using wheelchairs like Valerie,
enabling them to have better access to shops, malls, and the Karori center.
“The changes are very welcome, and it’s now much easier to go to and from the shops and Public Library and finally be
part of the community - we are really appreciative of this,” says Valarie.