Council finalises transport plan
Cycling takes centrestage in a long deliberation over the proposed transport choices plan.
It was a long day for Stratford District councillors on Tuesday, with a 90-minute workshop before a council meeting lasting over four hours, eventually finishing just before 8pm.
The public gallery was packed with locals who had come to hear councillors deliberate over a report on the proposed transport choices plan.
Councillors heard from representatives of three people making deputations at the meeting. Dr Neil de Wet, medical officer of health at Toi Te Ora Public Health, spoke first, focusing on the benefits of walking or using bikes rather than cars.
When it comes to health outcomes, he said, 60 per cent of improvements came from economic and environmental factors.
“It’s very significant ... Council has a role here ... Cycling and walking benefits cardiovascular health, and brings a population shift in BMI and diabetes risk.”
He said it also positively impacted mental health and wellbeing, and brought an overall reduction in mortality.
These health benefits could be monetised, he told elected members.
“The change from driving to cycling works out at $4.90 per kilometre or, if an electric bike, $2.50 per kilometre. That’s really significant.”
Cycling came with other social benefits including independence for children and teenagers, as well as positively impacting the environment, he added.
“So this proposal is fully supported [by Toi Te Ora].”
The next two speakers were less concerned with the health benefits of cycling and more concerned with the design of the proposed cycleways and the impact on individual streets, with a loss of parking and inconvenience for rubbish collection quoted as potential issues.
Graham Green said he wasn’t opposed to the idea of encouraging cycling, but he didn’t agree with some of the proposed plans.
“Stratford provides nice wide streets and we don’t want to see them cut to half the width of what they are now.”
When he went to school himself, he said, he and lots of others cycled.
“600 kids went to the technical school and there was a bike shed there for 400 bikes. Bikes were on the road - today I ask you though, where are the cyclists now?”
The fault, he said, wasn’t in the lack of cycle lanes, but was “with the parents”, who drive their children to school rather than sending them on their bikes.
This sentiment was backed by the third speaker, Tricia Jamieson, who said the proposed cycle lanes were “not fit for purpose”.
“They are not going to result in an increase of children cycling.”
She was a resident of Hamlet Street (north), and objected to the cycleway proposed for that area. She said residents would have to move their rubbish bins further out for the weekly collection if the cycleway went ahead as proposed. It would also limit parking, she said.
School attendance is an issue she said, as was anxiety, but she wasn’t sure cycleways were the answer.
“Let’s build resilience in our kids instead.”
It was then the turn of individual councillors to have their say on the decision report, which required elected members to determine the final scope of the project, which is divided into two phases. Each phase was then divided into individual sections, meaning councillors had to separately consider 15 different parts of the proposal, or they could decide to reject the project in its entirety first.
Introducing the decision report to councillors, roading asset manager Steve Bowden said it was a “flagship project” for which the council had been fortunate to get the thumbs-up from Waka Kotahi.
The decision report was in front of elected members, he said, to finalise the scope of the project before it went back to Waka Kotahi for funding approval. There was a risk, he warned, of it being turned down should council make too many changes or reduce the scope significantly.
“If you water it down too much, it will get thrown out.”
It was a one-off chance for the funding, he added.
“If you decide to take parts out but want to put them in later, you can’t.”
He said the preference of Waka Kotahi was to have cycleways on the road, not on footpaths wherever physically possible, which was generally the case with Stratford’s “very wide” roads.
At the start of the discussion, the majority of councillors verbally indicated they were opposed to the proposals in front of them.
Councillor Vaughan Jones said he wasn’t sure they had all the information on costs, and complained Waka Kotahi wanted them to rush the decision.
Deputy mayor Min McKay said while a large amount of funding was being offered for the project, “the money doesn’t feel good to me”.
“Our town has benefited from Government funding in the past, but it was always for things we already had planned, they were part of our vision. Can we afford to buy into this?” Councillor Steve Beck agreed. “The majority of people I have spoken to about it do not want it. Nobody has told me they want it.”
Councillor Matt Watt said he didn’t support “any part of this project”, with councillors Grant Boyde, John Sandford, Annette Dudley and Clive Tongaawhikau also speaking against it.
Councillor Jono Erwood said he supported the idea of the project, but only “a very watered-down version,” adding he realised that meant Waka Kotahi might reject it.
Councillor Ellen Hall said she respectfully disagreed with her fellow councillors.
“They have made valid points, but I am going to be brave and share a different view. In looking at this project, I am not thinking of the Stratford we have today, but the Stratford of 10, 20 or 30 years in the future. I also know a lot of people are in favour of it.”
Councillors had heard from a doctor on the health benefits of cycleways, she said, which shouldn’t be ignored.
Councillor Amanda Harris also believed the project had merit.
“At some point, we are going to have to give some thought to the future.”
Mayor Neil Volzke said the funding offer from Waka Kotahi was substantial.
“It’s not very often council will get the opportunity to receive funds of this magnitude for any project.”
He also disagreed with some of the comments made by councillors.
“I don’t agree there has been no support for this project. We have heard from people in the submissions who do support it. We heard today from the medical officer of health, and we have a submission from the Ministry of Education supporting it and other individuals.”
Iwi had also submitted in favour of it, he said.
The project came with the opportunity to do things that council, and the community, already wanted, he added, with a crossing on Portia Street near the aquatic centre and changes to the Regan Street layout near Stratford Primary two such examples. Council and Stratford Primary wanted these things but there wasn’t funding. This project came with the funding needed for both things, plus a lot more, he said.
“These are the things you are turning your back on.”
Councillors were then asked to vote on the project overall, with three of the 12 elected members, Min McKay, Steve Beck and Matt Watt voting against it. With the vote in favour of continuing the discussion carried, councillors then looked at each of the 15 sections of the town identified in the scope, rejecting only one section in its entirety. That section, covering Hamlet Street (north) between Regan Street and Pembroke Road will not be included in the final project proposal sent to Waka Kotahi. While that decision left Taranaki Diocesan School unconnected from the proposed cycleways, the other four schools in the project — Stratford High, Stratford Primary, Avon Primary and St Joseph’s — will all be connected through the final draft, as will the marae.
The way those routes would be connected was partly changed by councillors, with some of the cycle route moved onto the footpath rather than on the road.
Speaking after the meeting, Mayor Neil Volzke said it was a long and arduous meeting but “we needed to consider each of the 15 sections individually”.
“There were some significant changes addressing a number of the concerns raised by the community. It’s now up to Waka Kotahi to agree with our changes before the project can proceed.”
He said the updated proposal will be available soon on the council website.
It’s not very often council will get the opportunity to receive funds of this magnitude for any project — Mayor Neil Volzke
The change from driving to cycling works out at $4.90 per kilometre or, if an electric bike, $2.50 per kilometre. That’s really significant. — Dr Neil de Wet, Toi Te Ora Public Health