Island Bay still not happy

Stuff reports:

The Parade in Island Bay rang with chants of “paint it back” as hundreds of protesters marched against plans to spend an additional $4.1m revamping a Wellington cycleway.

Protest organiser Vicki Greco, of the Island Bay Residents’ Association, told the crowd on Sunday that residents were working to bring legal action against Wellington City Council, which opted for an eleventh-hour “common sense” solution from Mayor Justin Lester despite the majority of residents supporting a return to pre-cycleway design.

Councillor Diane Calvert, who holds the council’s community planning and engagement portfolio, said Lester’s solution satisfied 31 of 34 requirements, as laid out by the residents’ association.

But what are the three it does not? Not all requirements are equal.

UNFULFILLED RATEPAYER ASSOCIATION REQUIREMENTS 

1. No raised platforms to be included in the design – rejected on engineers advice that raise areas made cyclists safer by stopping cars coming onto The Parade at speed from side streets.

2. The cycle lane will be on the carriageway side of the parked cars, not kerbside – rejected 

3. Within the shopping area the current shared space is to be retained – rejected, with footpath width is 4.6 metres, no business were deemed to lose any outdoor dining space.

I’m of the opinion that the way the road used to be was way safer for cyclists than with the new cycleway.