The Ashburton district is “lacking activities for us to do”, youth representatives say.

Members of the Ashburton Youth Council opened by saying “phones down, hearing aids up” before sharing their thoughts on how to make the district better with the district councillors.

The main suggestion is that there is not enough for youth to do in the district.

Carina Lupse said that “there aren’t many places or events for the youth to enjoy”, a statement backed up by Cherish Moti.

“We are lacking activities for us to do in Ashburton”, Moti said.

“We could welcome places like TimeZone or laser strike, or we could have more clothing shops like H&M, Cotton On, and Galssons.

“We would also like to have food places like Starbucks, Carl's Jr. or Wendy's.

“It also would attract more people or save a drive to Christchurch or Timaru.”

New attractions could encourage more visitors and boost the local economy, as “we don’t have many points of interest” Lupse said.

She gave the example of Kaiapoi's water park, which attracts both visitors and locals.

Addison Judd suggested more events like Glow and the noodle market, with funding from the council.

Public transport was also needed for teens to access activities - something that is lacking in Ashburton, Summer Foster said.

“The MyWay bus in Timaru has been really successful and it would be good to see similar in Ashburton.”

E-scooters or bikes would also help, Foster said.

Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said the council requested Environment Canterbury to investigate public transport options for Ashburton in its upcoming long-term plan.

The annual operating cost of the MyWay on-demand service in Timaru is $2.7m, which is made up of $1.1m from rates, $1.3m from Waka Kotahi grants, and $0.25m from fare revenue.

When it comes to road safety, Sophia Aguila said lower speeds around schools “makes it safer for everyone” and there should be more pedestrian crossings.

The recent Walnut Ave intersection upgrade removed roundabouts and installed traffic lights to provide safer crossings for school children, “but I don’t always see the students using that”.

“It might be some education required to use what we have already got and then look at others into the future.”

By Jonathan Leask