WCC photo from 2015
by Felicity Wong
Urmila, a grocer’s daughter from Newtown, presented a petition to the Wellington City Council last week about the “hospital to sea” cycleway that’s being accelerated past her family’s grocery store in the John Street heritage area.
Work starts tomorrow under the fast-track approach of using a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) to “make temporary changes to how street space is used” (most often for construction or road closures for temporary purposes). The formal Traffic Resolution Process will follow to make the cycleway permanent.
Her petition said that affected retailers were not consulted or informed.
Responding to Urmila’s petition, Council staff said to Councillors:
“Officers acknowledge that they could have done better at communicating the change to businesses in Newtown and that better support could have been provided to elected members. In this instance we have both slowed down to try and resolve issues raised, connected with a broader group of key stakeholders and re-enforced better communication practices that will be banked and deployed into future engagements on other routes.”
A cycleway through Newtown – part of the new 166km bike network which is being funded with $226m in the long-term plan – is undoubtedly long overdue, and cyclists like me will find it safer and welcome. But the fast track approach starting tomorrow is designed to put it in first, and then consult about the specific route “based on experience”, rather than what Council describes as “difficult to imagine” ideas.
The family store in 2015. WCC photo.
In Urmila’s case, she has no difficulty imagining that if her family’s customers cannot park nearby, their 41 year old store could close. And that would be bad, because the store is opposite a Countdown duopoly behemoth, and the Commerce Commission has said that independent grocery competitors should be encouraged.
But the devil is in the detail and the geography at the John Street intersection is tight.
The hill of Mount Albert (Tangi Te Keo or Matairangi, behind Government House & the hospital) slopes down on the east side to meet the opposing hill of Mount Cook (Puke-Ahu) on the west. In the narrow gap, where the waterway from Newtown used to drain towards the harbour, is the John Street heritage area, with some very old buildings dating back to the 1870s, (including the oldest shop in all Newtown). The wide variety of building types and businesses need to retain their economic value in order to survive. In Urmila’s case, survival means having short-term parking near her family’s store.
The first that Urmila and the neighbouring business folk heard about the cycleway route was in late January. Then contractors arrived in March (before the webinar) and demolished the “pedestrian footpath build out”, at the traffic lights outside the front door of her family’s shop. The curb was built to help mobility impaired, blind and other citizens better navigate the busy intersection near the hospital.
Urmila discovered that the change was “enabling works” for the “temporary cycleway” which would also remove all the customer parking, and a loading zone.
Just hours before her petition was presented, the neighbouring florist produced a copy of a City Council agreement for Countdown to provide 20 car parks for community use. Council staff seemed surprised to discover that Countdown currently only provides 6 parks. (The original condition of consent for Countdown’s establishment in 2013 was 200 community parks).
A “John Street Protocols” document was also drawn to the Council’s attention, under which it had formally agreed to consult John Street businesses about any local projects. A belated flurry of Council activity followed – which proposed two alternative loading zones (in the hospital carpark entrance, and on the street from 7pm to 7am) as well as extra parking (behind the new children’s hospital). Councillors were told that alternative free publicly accessible short stay parking is available within a 2-3minute walk.
Small independent shops are the character of Newtown. It is celebrated for its diversity and inclusivity, and avoiding any “bollard first” approach to cycleways would be welcome.
The WCC’s accelerated process resulted from cyclists’ frustrations breaking out last year when “tactical urbanism” involved concrete planter boxes being placed on the Brooklyn Hill for a citizen-initiated pop up cycleway.
Urmila’s petition with more than 700 signatures evidences a counter-frustration resulting from the fast tracking. When specific livelihoods and life-needs are threatened, people also take action (a la the covid anti-mandate protests a month ago).
LGWM’s consultation report (released last week) shows the city to be divided about the fundamental transport goal – is it to reduce vehicle access or to improve it? Urmila’s problem is part of that broader conflict and involves how to get cyclists safely through the narrow heritage gap alongside buses and lots of cars when there is no agreed goal.
Almost all Australian cities address this problem through neighbourhood planning processes. Large new infrastructure projects (like cycleways) engage the community in the search for solutions. It’s the contemporary way of recognising that there will be a better outcome for everyone if the affected community is involved in creating specific solutions, in this case about cycle access to the hospital and inclusive, safe travel options for everyone.
Heritage buildings line the transport routes through Newtown. Urban development, intensification, rapid transport, and cycleways present major issues.
The community has developed a good “alternative” plan for dealing sensitively with the buildings, while making the progress that’s so badly needed. However neighbourhood planning for Newtown was defeated in a Council vote last October. Newtown residents are now asking councillors to reconsider this. Taking a localist approach would be the best way to solve local problems together and would give local politicians an opportunity to shine.
Closing independent stores in heritage precincts as a result of cycleways however is a lose-win, not a win-win.
With blame placed on staff on Thursday, Councillors who had pushed through the “accelerated” cycleway voted against a request by Councillors Calvert, Woolf, Rush, and Kelly for a pause to look at additional solutions for the intersection.
Another rationale for accelerating the cycleway is the climate emergency. But the emissions saved by more cyclists using the new cycleway will be negligible. While 35% of Wellington’s emissions come from road transport, let’s remember the 4 million long-haul tourists travelling to NZ annually pre-COVID; 14.3 million border crossings in 2019, including thousands of students travelling to carbon conscious Victoria University; and trucking logs and freight to the port and the airport. Taking small personal steps to be carbon neutral is admirable, but under NZ’s Emissions Trading Scheme cap, any savings from more daily cycling will be available for alternative uses such as purchasing petrol for driving on Transmission Gully. To avoid greenwash, we need better carbon accounting figures for specific WCC infrastructure projects.
And the small business owners deserve the proper consultation that they were promised with the “John Street Protocol.”
