“Active travel corridors” — what on Earth are these? Do not people already actively travel on the roads?!
This cannot mean new roads — there is nowhere to put them, and the last new road was in fact the State Highway 35 Wainui bypass.
So in other words, council intends to further tinker with the existing roads — and has now concluded that what was done in the past is wrong or misguided in some way, and must be changed.
“More modern pedestrian crossings” — oh, yes, Auckland has just spent half a million ripping out and re-installing one of these, to the outrage of citizens there!
I well recall former City Engineer Harold Williams opposing crossings along Ormond Road because he believed they gave pedestrians a false and dangerous sense of security.
“Under the plan council won’t prioritise private vehicle travel time over active travel infrastructure (for example bus stops)”.
Again, what on Earth does this mean? Doesn’t council understand roads came into being because of the invention of the wheel, enabling humanity to move beyond foot trails and horse tracks?
Roads and wheeled vehicles are our economic lifeblood and arteries. Any tinkering that slows the efficient flow along those roads directly affects our economic wellbeing. All over the country businesses have been badly affected by transport planning mistakes and works that disrupt everything for way too long.
Council says: “Anecdotally, Gisborne saw a decline in cycle traffic etc, etc, etc.” Anecdotes are not hard facts or statistics — anecdotes have no business being in any serious report or decision-making.
More: “The end goal of mode shift is to reverse our travel habits . . .”
To council I say “our” travel habits are none of your business — stop dreaming up ways to waste our ratepayer money.
Paths and roads in history developed where people needed them — hence the worn path one sees as people take a shortcut across an open space, for instance.
The travel and transport network only malfunctions when some people think they know better, or when the separate users of networks become incompatible with each other.
Mixing wheelchairs with logging trucks is plain crazy, and any fool can see they must be kept separate for everyone’s health, safety and sanity.
There’s a saying, “If it isn’t broken don’t fix it”.
Our roading network serves very important functions, and economic functions must take priority over someone’s wish to go for a bike ride.
Council needs to leave well alone, stop inventing stuff that isn’t needed and get on with the many basic tasks people want done.
■ Roger rides a scooter.
