District not ‘fawning’ for central government funds, says councillor
George Richardson’s opinion piece in the
on February 26 is a frustrating over-simplification of New Plymouth District Council’s (NPDC) recent pedestrian and cycleway project and reiterates misunderstandings about the project, the transport network and cycle safety.
While I struggle to understand why this debate is being reignited given much of the plan has been put on ice, I feel it is important to clarify the many untruths that are being perpetuated.
The Ma Ake Your Way project was not just a case of council “fawning” for central government funding.
In fact, for many years NPDC has had a cycling strategy that includes an urban network to connect the main road corridors (and yes, also connecting routes to the Coastal Walkway), including the routes that were proposed in response to the available Transport Choices funding.
In fact, we received the funding because we had done so much planning and had a good track record.
Where the government stated that particular infrastructure was required, it was based on very good safety evidence that for the most part the council agreed with. It was not a case of the council simply doing what the government asked.
The opinion piece states that we will never break our addiction to private motor vehicles, and that public transport will never work.
The data does not support this.
There are many places in New Zealand and globally which have similar populations to New Plymouth and have much better public transport and cycling systems, and great uptake of both.
The data shows that when you build good, safe, efficient systems, people will use them.
In fact, as recently as 1990, New Plymouth had a highly functioning and well-used public transport system, and there is no reason we can’t again, except for a fatalistic attitude.
What is certainly clear from the data is we cannot keep doing the same thing we are doing now.
With increasing populations and record rates of car ownership, congestion will
Seasons For Growth is a well-researched and respected early intervention education programme used in support of those aged 6 to 18 years who have experienced a loss or major change in their family through death, parental separation or divorce, migration, imprisonment, fostering, relationship breakdown or any similar significant change.
It was written by Anne Graham, an Australian professor of childhood studies at Southern Cross University in New South Wales in 1996 and has been implemented in New Zealand since then.
Since its beginning, the programme has supported more than 300,000 children and adolescents in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales. It is based on the belief that change and loss are part of life and grief is a normal response to these losses.
It is also based on the tasks of grieving model of William Worden and it uses the metaphor of the natural seasons as a vivid, symbolic and familiar framework for increase to unmanageable levels if we all keep driving. The cheapest way to manage congestion is to make other options safe and convenient.
The author states council had a ‘“total lack of concern for how this would negatively effect other members of our community”.
That is simply untrue. Yes, we heard many people express their disagreement and concerns about the project. As a result we made many changes.
But we also heard from many people who begged us to make the changes, including representatives from the schools along the route, who often see near-misses and poor driver behaviour outside their schools, putting tamariki at risk.
In the end, the submission split was around 40% for, 60% against. But a consultation process is not a referendum.
Long-term decision-making requires weighing all of the different points of view, risks and benefits, and coming to a conclusion.
By doing so, you will always make a decision that someone doesn’t like, but that does not mean there was a lack of concern or consideration.
As for the proposed “simple solution”, connecting and experiences of grief.
The programme runs over eight one-hour weekly sessions.
Small groups of similarly aged children or young people meet for these sessions.
They are facilitated by screened, police-vetted and trained volunteers, known in the programme as “companions”.
These groups are mainly run in schools and usually during school hours, but sometimes take place after school.
Many schools in Taranaki are familiar with this work and request to have the groups running for their students on a regular basis.
The programme involves activities and discussion on topics including change, feelings, personal stories and self-care.
Groups run throughout Taranaki during each school term and each year there are 150 to 200 youngsters participating in a group somewhere in the province.
There is currently a recruitment drive for volunteers to train as companions for 2024.
Important personal attributes include: ■ Enjoying and caring about children and again, it is more complicated than that.
There are drawbacks to shared walkways where pedestrians and cyclists are on the same path.
The council regularly receives complaints and feedback from pedestrians on the Coastal Walkway who feel unsafe sharing with cyclists, particularly our elderly and disabled community members.
Increasing cycle traffic and concentrating it on the Coastal Walkway would increase this problem.
The Coastal Walkway can be part of the network, but it does not easily or directly connect to many parts of our city, including our schools.
There are network plans which will connect it to other paths, but there is also a need to create safe routes on the main roads, so that it is easier and more convenient for people on bikes to get where they are going.
Two-way cycleways on one side of the road are very dangerous for cyclists. When cars come out of side roads, they need to look both ways for cyclists, as they could be coming from either direction. young people and being fully committed to their safety;
■ Good at listening and adaptable;
■ Being a team player, comfortable in
group work and willing to learn;
■ Having some experience of change, loss
and grief;
■ Having two hours a week for each
The data shows New Plymouth drivers aren’t great at looking one way for cyclists, let alone both ways.
New Plymouth District has one of the worst cycling safety rates in the country, and most collisions happen at intersections where cars haven’t seen them.
Off-road cycleways are often used less by women, particularly after dark, as they are not well-lit and are less populated by people than main roads, meaning there is a higher perceived risk of being isolated and there being unsafe or vulnerable to attack.
They are not an inclusive solution.
Many of the statements about separated cycleways were concerns for councillors, and we looked intently at the risks.
After many hours of studying these issues, I personally was satisfied that cars can pull out of the way despite the concrete barriers, because of the way they are designed.
Rubbish trucks won’t cause any more of a problem than what they do now, and the concrete barriers are needed to protect cyclists – painted cycleways are not sufficient, because drivers often drive over them, not noticing cyclists. In summary, council officers and elected members all thought long and hard about the best options and solutions for our community in the long term, and ultimately approved the project to go ahead.
Unfortunately, the new coalition Government did not support that decision, pulled more than half the funding, and has foreshadowed a change of policy which may mean we can’t enact the rest of the plans which still have funding.
We are now awaiting the new Government Policy Statement on transport to clarify exactly what could be done.
I just hope that we will be able to make some of the changes that many people in our community have asked for, and ultimately keep people safe on our roads, no matter how they choose to travel.
eight-week programme you facilitate; ■ Having independent transport;
■ Meeting police vetting requirements.
Companion training for the Children’s and Young People’s Programme is being planned to run over two days on Friday, March 22 and Saturday, March 23 in
New Plymouth. An application process is required to be completed prior to this.
Ongoing support and training for companions is an integral part of this programme.
There is also training available for people interested in facilitating the adult and parent programmes as well as the LTI Programme for 5 to 18-year-olds living with loved ones who have serious illness.
If you are curious to learn more about any of the programmes and/or you are interested in becoming a companion, please contact Wendy at Volunteering New Plymouth on (06) 7588-986, email: admin@vnp.nz or phone or text 022 571 4228 to take the next step.