Capital’s ‘unrealistic cyclemania’
A pro-car political party has formed to contest the next Wellington City Council elections and cyclists are first in the firing line.
Wellington First has been formed by former councillor Bryan Weyburne and businessman Digby Paape. They were inspired by promoter Phil Sprey, who recently said he would donate $10,000 for any viable candidate to topple incumbent mayor Justin Lester.
Sprey this week said he was not aligning himself to the group but if it found a viable candidate with the ‘‘X-factor’’ to topple Lester, he was not ruling out backing that person.
With the next local body elections coming in October 2019, one thing Wellington First doesn’t yet have is any candidates to run for councillor or mayor.
What Wellington First does have is form in stacking councils. Both Weyburne and Paape were instrumental in rates-reduction group Rates Reform from the late 1970s to early 1990s, which they said successfully got candidates onto the Hutt and Wellington councils.
Weyburne was on Wellington City Council between 1983 and 1986, then again between 1993 and 1996 – though he has no plans to run on his own party’s ticket in 2019.
While neither were anticycling as such, they were against Wellington’s investment on getting people on pushbikes.
‘‘We are supposed to believe that the city needs to switch over to bicycles, a 150-year-old technology that cars have virtually eliminated,’’ the group’s first statement says.
‘‘On a sunny, calm day on flat land a bike can be a very enjoyable pastime but on a cold, wet, blustery day on the Wellington hills, taking the children to kindy, school, as well as dropping off the partner before work is a job for cars. Everyone has one, for that reason.’’
They believed the council was putting cycles ahead of cars, including a proposal to eliminate 600 car parks in a move to get the already-controversial Island Bay cycleway into the city.
‘‘Unless driverless cars dominate, Wellington is a city for motorists. The more parks turned into cycle lanes, gardens and street-art installations, the worse it will become.’’
While the pro-car, anti-cycle line is the main string in the group’s bow, they have also suggested an easily-installed prefabricated concrete tunnel beneath the Basin Reserve, as well as the Parry People Mover – a light-rail system. Both were plans pushed for by Weyburne when he was in council in the 1990s. The group advocated for reserving current car parking buildings and creating new ones.
‘‘The councillors that oppose the ruination of our city have been silenced by the greenleaning councillors, who have sold them the idea of an unobtainable utopia of a carless society. The majority of the council need to be voted out and stop this unrealistic cyclemania.’’
Wellington Mayor Justin Lester, who has confirmed he will run again in 2019, said he stood on a ‘‘multi-modal’’ transport platform made up of public transport, roading, and infrastructure for the likes of walking and cycling.