Cycle plan plotted by councillors
City councillors inundated with community dismay over the proposed removal of car parks on College St have come up with a counter plan.
Awapuni residents and businesses have united in opposition to the planned changes to create safer cycle lanes around the Palmerston North shopping village, especially to the loss of onstreet parking.
The complaints prompted the council to put a hold on roadworks around the shops in June while further consultation was carried out.
After 321 people had their say, the majority wanting parking retained and a slow-speed zone, council staff came back with a modified plan that saved a handful of parks.
But councillors at Monday’s council meeting were still not impressed and mayor Grant Smith said doing nothing was not an option. ‘‘At the moment we are going to go nowhere quickly.’’
He proposed ‘‘a bit of a hybrid – a compromise for all, including our officers’’.
Staff have been asked how they would implement what Cr Aleisha Rutherford described as a ‘‘smorgasbord solution’’.
It includes buffered cycle lanes, a trial of slow speed limits, creation of several car parks indented into the footpath and parking time-limit trials.
Transport and infrastructure manager Robert van Bentum said the problem with inset car parks was the cost, about $15,000 apiece.
There would be no New Zealand Transport Agency subsidy for the spending.
The low-speed zone, which could be trialled for up to 12 months, needed to be reinforced with substantial road changes, which could cost up to $300,000, to make drivers slow instinctively.
‘‘Without lots of other things, creating a shared space will push cyclists into conflict with other traffic.’’
Cr Jim Jefferies said councillors needed to exercise ‘‘an element of bravery’’ to ensure College St was safe enough to encourage parents to allow children to ride their bikes to the eight schools in close proximity.
Spokeswoman for Awapuni churches, businesses and residents and former city councillor Annette Nixon said the compromise was welcome.
‘‘The most welcome and widely agreed aspect of the proposal is for a lower speed zone through this section of College St,’’ she said.
Former councillor and cyclist Chris Teo-sherrell said he was pleased councillors supported buffered cycle lanes, which were probably the only suitable, safe option for cyclists, and parking time limits – which would need to be enforced.
A report on the mayor’s proposal will be considered by the council at the end of next month.