In general, the Christchurch Youth Council supports the proposed Riccarton Super Stop and Passenger Waiting Lounge.  

As a result of many informal conversations with young people around Christchurch, the overwhelming message is that there is a desperate need for improved bus facilities in the Riccarton Road area. Many young people board or disembark various buses at Riccarton, and the current situation is commonly described as inadequate, with specific concerns being that the space provided for those waiting for a bus is “very cramped” and that it is “hard to cross the road.” 

Thus everyone we spoke to was keen for something better, and the proposed solution was positively received. Having a warm, pleasant and safe place to wait in the Passenger Waiting Lounge will benefit those waiting a significant amount of time for a bus, especially in bad weather. It will also reduce congestion on the footpaths, and next to the bus stop. In addition, the proximity of the Passenger Waiting Lounge to a controlled pedestrian crossing will make it much easier, and safer, to cross the road.  

There were a few concerns, however. The question was raised about how often the crossing allowed pedestrians to cross the road, as some people commented that they had had to wait there for a long time. If people are going to catch a bus, they will tend to be in a rush, and so the time period for this crossing might like to be checked, as would provision for those with a sight impediment. There was also a concern that people coming out of the Mall have a longer walk to get to the bus stop, but that concern were generally allayed by the fact that there is another exit. 

In summary, the Christchurch Youth Council believes that the proposed Super Stop and Passenger Waiting Lounge is a major improvement on the current situation, and we believe that it will be of great benefit to many young people in Christchurch. 

Christchurch Youth Council launched its new series of events, F2F, on 30 September 2014 at Rocksalt Cafe, Strowan. Michael and Wil were the two CYC representatives at the event. With a small but passionate group, Michael and Wil were able to gather opinions on the progress of the Christchurch rebuilt, where they attendees would like to see Christchurch in the future and what they enjoy and dislike about the city. Feedback was also gather from past CYC events, where some comments were that they thought WESPEAK was a fantastic event that was eye opening and inspiring them to get out into the community to play a role in active citizenship. The BROODS U18 concert also came up in conversation and that they thought events along that line is a fantastic opportunity for young people to be able to go to age-appropriate events. There was an enormous amount of constructive feedback from the organisers which  Kaitlyn and Alice could take onboard before the second F2F event. The progress on how our small F2F events are going, is an uphill trend. Christchurch Youth Council are very happy with to be able to go out into the community to gather opinions from young people and connect on a more casual level than previous events.

The second F2F held at Beat Street cafe went very well, with those in attendance having lots of input on a multitude of youth-related topics. Firstly, we asked what the main boundaries for youth disengagement, and received some great feedback on this. We hope to use this feedback and work out how w CYC could create more opportunities for youth in Christchurch through youth-friendly places and opportunities for growth. We then discussed how the rebuild has actually made Christchurch more youth-focused, through the new plans for the city, but discussed that it is hard to have voices of all youth heard as some find it hard to speak up. A huge amount of discussion took place on all these topics, and we can't wait to get stuck into all of the cool ideas and new initiatives that have been suggested.