Wellington City councillor Fleur Ftzsimons. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington City councillor Fleur Ftzsimons. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A Wellington City councillor says new proposals to fix Island Bay's controversial cycleway show the council has learned little from the mistakes of the past.
The first proposal is a quick-fix with safety improvements and resealing. It would cost $2-3 million and could be completed by April next year.
The second is a long-term upgrade solution with physical changes like kerb realignments. It would cost up to $14 million and be completed early to mid-2024.
The options would result in the loss of residential car parks, the first option being as many as 101.
"What we need to focus on is resealing the road, fixing the safety at intersections, getting rid of the ghost markings, but the wholesale removal of car parks that's proposed is just unlikely to gain public support."
The Island Bay cycleway. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Since the Island Bay cycleway was built, Waka Kotahi NZTA has issued new design guidelines for separated cycleways at intersections and driveways.
This latest advice has been included in the proposals resulting in the removal of car parks to improve visibility at these points.
Deputy mayor Sarah Free, who previously held the cycleway portfolio for several years, said the bottom line was safe solutions to address mode shift, climate change, and more mobility.
"We have also kept in mind that there are side streets in Island Bay. There still will be parking just not as much and also a lot of properties do have driveways.
"All over the city we're going to be facing these kinds of questions about prioritising road space. The decisions are agonising for us because we know we're weighing up a lot of competing interests."
Free's preferred option is the cheaper short-term one.
Wellington deputy mayor Sarah Free. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The council now has to consider the likely scenario that mass rapid transit, potentially light rail, will be implemented down The Parade as part of the multi-billion-dollar Let's Get Wellington Moving project.
It means mass rapid transit will override council action on the cycleway, but mass rapid transit is still only being consulted on let alone detailed design work or spades in the ground.
Free said spending $14 million wasn't the best way forward when the infrastructure might have to be dug up again anyway.
She also didn't think the Island Bay community would thank the council for two years of disruption constructing the $14 million option followed by further years of disruption when mass rapid transit came along.
But Fitzsimons said there must be a way to fix the Island Bay cycleway "once and for all" that is consistent with Let's Get Wellington Moving's plan for mass rapid transit.
"Wellington City Council is a partner in Let's Get Wellington Moving, surely we can work with them and come up with a solution for Island Bay residents that puts this issue to bed."
Wellington City Councillor Laurie Foon. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Fellow Southern Ward councillor Laurie Foon said she wanted a "safety plus option" which is the first option but taking into account comforts, community, and place.
"I want to see more benefits on the side that help build community."
Foon said that included optimising parking for residents and businesses on side streets as well as choosing a type of separation for the comfort of all road users.
"If you are getting out of a car, can you put your groceries on the side of the separation? for example", Foon said.
She said the options have been designed to the latest safety requirements, which meant fewer car parks.
"We need to understand as a city that the space on our streets is to be shared for road users, it is not to store stationary vehicles. This is the hard part, this is where the rubber hits the road, and next year it might be Island Bay and the year after that it might be Newtown."
Councillors will consider the two options at a committee meeting next week.
