A cars versus bikes battle continues to rage in Palmerston North over changes to a busy city road.
A new road layout on Featherston St, which includes a cycleway separated from traffic, has raised hackles over the past few months.
Proponents of the Featherston St changes say it’s about planning for the future, but the city council voted on Wednesday to pause the almost completed work after hearing from speakers for and against it.
Firmly in the against column was former city mayor Mark Bell-Booth, who wore the city chains from 2001-2004.
About 900m of Featherston St, a busy inner-city route, have been transformed in recent months.
On a section that takes in two busy schools, a cycleway has been introduced next to the footpath, pushing the two lanes of traffic closer together and replacing car parks.
Among the changes to the road are bus stops in traffic lanes. Photo / Jimmy Ellingham
New bus shelters have buses coming to a halt in the roadway, with other traffic having to wait behind when passengers are picked up or dropped off.
And at a traffic light-controlled intersection with State Highway 3 there are no longer dedicated lanes for cars turning left off the road.
“This is crazy. How did this get through [the] council? How did you approve it and why did you approve it?” Bell-Booth asked.
The council approved the changes last year, but Bell-Booth said people were against what was happening and felt unsafe.
The changes, which cost $1.3 million, mostly from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, should be reversed, as happened with an unpopular plan when he was in office to move the council headquarters into a new building.
“It’s going to get worse. It will get worse when my wife’s car or someone else gets rammed in the back, or when there’s some sort of accident on either end of Featherston St and the ambulances or fire trucks can’t move because there’s a bus stopping,” Bell-Booth said.
He spoke alongside Ebony Coffee owner Brian Holmes, who said his business is affected by the new road layout and costing him the equivalent of 250 coffees a week.
“I’ve been in business 12 years and I’m not going to let it die just because you’ve made this decision. I’ve been hanging on for two and a half years fighting this cycleway,” Holmes said.
“I’m not against cycleways. We sponsor the Manawatū junior [cycling] team. I’m not going to be able to sponsor those girls to ride their bikes if I don’t have any income.”
Ebony Coffee owner Brian Holmes continues to voice his opposition to the cycleway on Featherston St. Photo / Jimmy Ellingham
He told councillors he received a safety audit report for the changes, but it barely mentioned concerns raised by road users, such as people feeling unsafe getting in and out of parked cars.
Some speakers praised the new layout, which is said to be a key part of the planned city cycling network.
James Irwin, from Palmerston North Streets Ahead, which advocates for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users, said he was impressed with the city’s vision for promoting those modes of getting around.
“It’s a place where kids can become independent and resilient because they’re not dependent on parents every time they go somewhere.
“I think that’s a wonderful vision and I think it’s a place where everyone would want to live.
“This change to Featherston St – it’s not just a cycleway – is being constructed with that vision in mind.”
Doing nothing would make driving less palatable in the long run if vehicle congestion increased, Irwin said.
“I think change is hard and that’s particularly for people who feel personally impacted by the change, so people who use Featherston St a lot.
“However, if we’re going to achieve the city that is our vision we need to make these changes.”
Not so, said Allen Birchler. He owns Piano Services, another business affected by the road’s revamp.
He said he was a cyclist himself but was unimpressed with what had happened. He also received guarantees about mitigation for his business that hadn’t been followed through.
“This project is a dog’s breakfast. I have a business to operate, a residential property directly affected by these changes, and I will do what I have to do to continue to operate no matter how hard you try and make it,” Birchler told councillors.
Central Normal School principal Regan Orr, who is currently away on a secondment, at the moment, said he feared for the safety of the kura’s primary-aged children.
“I think the biggest thing for us is our children don’t have the cognisant ability to actually keep themselves safe when they exit the school grounds.
“To have the complication of a cycle lane in front of it has not been considered for our students,” he said.
“The road crossing on Featherston St – the [school crossing sign] poles that are supposed to be coming from [the] council have not come through. There have been near misses for our students when the signs have gone out.”
After listening to the speakers, Palmerston North mayor Grant Smith said he was concerned about the in-lane bus stops and proposed a halt to the remaining project work while officials investigated alternatives.
That was supported by most councillors, although some raised concerns the transport agency funding would be jeopardised if work was not completed by June.
Smith said the whole project should be judged when it was finished.
“I do remind you that things haven’t actually been completed yet and it’s like judging a house that’s just coming out of the ground.”
