KEY POINTS:
Onehunga residents upset at plans to replace roadside parking with cycle lanes are accusing the Auckland City Council of using "divide-and-conquer" tactics in a wider contest for road space.
They claim the council is picking off communities suburb by suburb instead of seeking a consensus for a masterplan for a network of cycling facilities across the city.
But the council promises to seek responses from Aucklanders to a review of its walking and cycling strategy once a draft document is ready by the end of this month, and assures residents it will consider their concerns before finalising plans to install cycle lanes between the Royal Oak roundabout and Church St.
These will be developed with measures to improve the safety of pedestrians, 12 of whom were involved in accidents in the area in the five years to December compared with nine cyclists.
About 150 residents have signed a petition against a proposed removal of all parking spaces along Mays Rd to make way for the new lanes and have suggested an alternative but less direct cycling route along quieter streets.
Although the council's plan will allow parking along the southern side of Mt Smart Rd, it says Mays Rd is too narrow for cycle lanes and parked cars.
The lanes will be 1.2m wide on each side of Mays Rd but, where parking remains along Mt Smart Rd, cyclists will have 1.8m of reserved space to reduce chances of being knocked down when car doors are opened.
The Onehunga row is shaping up as the second round of a bitter fight which began last year over plans to replace parking with cycle lanes several kilometres further west along the same lateral arterial route, through Mt Albert.
But Mt Albert Rd residents, who have failed to block a proposal to install cycle lanes within the next two months, will still be able to park along the southern side of their street and along some parts of its northern kerb.
Their Onehunga counterparts say the loss of all parking along Mays Rd will turn it into a "freeway", tempting motorists to drive faster at the expense of pedestrian safety.
They have told the council in a submission they accept the Royal Oak roundabout and Mt Smart Rd-Mays Rd intersection need upgrading to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists, but believe removing all the parking spaces is too extreme.
"The council needs to balance the accessibility needs of local residents, visitors and businesses ahead of the needs of a minority group," the submission says.
"It seems to be happening suburb by suburb using a divide-and-conquer method, so that by the time it reaches the final stages, the residents' concerns will simply be pushed aside."
Council staff accept the number of cyclists now using Mays Rd is light, at 13 during the peak morning hour and 15 at the evening peak, but say facilities and route "connectivity" must be improved to entice more people out of their cars.
