Submission Details

Walking and cycling improvements

What do you think we should do?

Alternative option: Continue to steadily improve walking and cycling connections, but over a longer time frame?

Do you have any comments on this?

Re the Walking & Cycling Improvements The proposed option to cut all spending on cycling and walking infrastructure is really a throw the baby-out-with-the-bath-water approach. Given the financial position the council is in it would seem prudent to cut spending I agree, but my approach would be very different to calling a complete halt to this work. It might not be possible to do big infrastructure projects, but it is almost certainly within the capability of the council to spend money on small but highly visible changes. The painting of cycleways, sharrows and even the installation of a few visual barriers on roads are not expensive. Granted, it is not likely to physically protect cyclists or other micromobility users in the event of a driver veering off the road for some reason, but it does do something else that is very important. It starts the process of change in the minds of car and truck drivers so that they come to realise that they need to share the road. I acknowledge it will take years to fully normalise this notion, but we can’t keep kicking this can down the road as we have for so many years. The psychological effect of installing visual cues like this cannot be underestimated and the positive safety, health, emissions and parking impacts on our community from getting more people out of cars and onto all forms of micromobility, would be significant. Let’s start in a small way, maybe one or two roads with bike lanes marked in paint in year one, and then year by year increase the number roads marked until the full network is in place. Hopefully by that time the council’s financial situation will have improved and we will also be able to get more central government help to build the actual infrastructure required. The current short term financial squeeze will ease but this is an LTP – so it needs long-term thinking. Please rethink this proposal. Kind regards Martin Louw

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