Bus petition gets more than 1000 signatures
The push for an express bus from Wakefield into Nelson revved up last week when a petition requesting the service was presented to the council.
Two proponents of the bus route – Delwyn Wasley, of Wakefield, and Kate Malcolm, of sustainable transport lobby group Nelsust – handed the petition to councillors at a meeting of the Tasman District Council’s engineering services committee. It had more than 1000 signatures.
Wasley said the proposal for a trial service from Wakefield to Nelson via Brightwater and Rich- mond had been well supported.
‘‘The petition itself has had a great response from everyone we’ve talked to and, as you’ll see by comments in this petition, everybody wants it; we’ve had no negatives,’’ she said.
A copy of the petition in the Four Square at Wakefield had ‘‘over 14 pages of people signing’’.
Wasley and Malcolm also presented a petition from Richmond and Nelson businesses, which included their suggestions of times that the service should operate.
‘‘We’re only asking for two lots of buses – two in morning and two at night, and for a trial, just to give it a go to see if the Wakefield people and Brightwater people will pick this up,‘‘ Wasley said.
Malcolm said the Richmond businesses approached had a problem with parking and wanted any available car parks to be available for customers, rather than for staff.
‘‘If they can get their staff arriving by bus, it would ease the problem and there is a problem, particularly with the Queen St upgrade,’’ she said.
Wasley said a bus would help reduce the amount of traffic on the busy road between Wakefield and Nelson. It would also help young people get into work.