More designs, consultation promised over contentious $19m cycleway

Plans for a controversial, costly Christchurch cycleway will continue - despite an attempt to halt the process today.

Hundreds of residents and several business owners are frustrated and upset they were not involved prior to the design work being done for the $19 million project.

Christchurch City Council has now promised to involve the community as they try to improve the heavily criticised plans.

Dubbed 'Wheels to Wings' the cycleway is planned for the main thoroughfare of Harewood Road - linking Christchurch city to the airport and surrounding areas.

But, it would also cut four lanes of traffic to two - and reduce on-street parking, which has raised concerns for residents and business owners in Bishopdale and Papanui who say they have no faith in the current design and want to see it done better.

Copenhagen Bakery owner Donna Thomsen has become an unofficial spokesperson for 10 local businesses affected by the cycleway. "As a business owner and speaking on behalf of residents, many of whom are elderly and very concerned about losing their car parks and not being able to drive to local areas and get a car park."

The bakery has 12 off-street car parks, but Thomsen said these were not enough to serve all their customers, and they needed the on-street parks as well.

The council and Waka Kotahi the NZ Transport Agency's approach had left the community feeling disempowered, she said.

"Many people come from destinations and they drive - they cannot get on a bike."

Most of the people she had spoken to were not opposed to the idea of a cycleway but had lots of other design ideas they wished the council would consider instead.

"We feel it's been quite deflating because it's out of our control to a point where we have not had any input into the design at all."

Featherstones Dairy was another affected business and manager Vidhi Patel said it was a bad idea that needed major changes.

"They should have asked or gave us better options. This is the whole neighbourhood. They should ask everyone about whether we should get one or not. It is government property, but people live on the road."

Harewood resident Scott Franicevic raised concerns with council today over school children safely using the road.

"Instead of talking about kids getting safely to school and safely using this road - the isues that really matter we're talking about council processes...but the sentiment across the city is that the engagement processes just aren't reaching the people they need to be."

However, cycling group Spokes Canterbury is a strong supporter of the project.

Chair Don Babe told RNZ previously that it had been designed by experts and would be a welcome addition to the cycleway network in the city because it would way for cyclists to move safely around the city.

He said cycleways are well used and there is even congestion on one of them during the morning commute time.

Today, two Christchurch City Councillors made a U-turn on their bid to stop the cycleway from going ahead. Instead they accepted the need to forge ahead with the project so long as the community is given the chance to be more involved in the plans.

Harewood councillor Aaron Keown - who filed the notice of motion - said those affected should have been involved before the design was presented.

A range of other design options will be presented to those in the affected area, with the hope the community would be able to have more input and give feedback which could result in changes to the overall cycleway design.

The community board will also have a say before the final design is voted on by the council.

The council has already spent $1 million on the designs.