Wellington City Council has approved a cycleway which will connect the Botanic Gardens to the inner city.
The 2km cycleway from the Botanic gardens is part of a route which will eventually stretch to Karori, the capital's largest suburb. Photo: Natalia Catalina/ 123rf
However, there are still some refinements to the original plan after regrouping from consultation last month.
The bike lanes, just shy of 2km, had been contested by locals and instead had to be slowed down so that the consultation could be carried out. It found three-quarters of people wanted the cycleway.
Now, instead of a 24/7 bike and bus lane on the downhill side of Tinakori Road, a bike and bus clearway between the hours of 7am and 10am will be in place so that cars can park on the street otherwise.
Raised bus stops will be put in place on Tinakori Road. Photo: Supplied
Both sides of Bowen and Whitmore Streets will be full-time bike lanes.
More resident parks will be allocated on neighbouring streets to replace ones taken out by the cycleway and a loading zone will be added.
David Middleton of the Thorndon Residents Association said the clearway would make a big difference for the businesses that relied on the parks.
The plans approved today will be flexible so any problems can be ironed out before permanent works will come in in 2024.
"I just hope that the way that the success of it is measured is robust and comprehensive so that we can really get a good idea of what the consequences are," Middleton said.
The Thorndon Residents Association led much of the pushback to the original plans, worried what the cycleway would do for their neighbourhood.
The clearway has disappointed some cyclists.
Patrick Morgan of the Cycling Action Network said "Let's be careful not to privilege commuters; people get around by bus and bike at all hours of the day".
Over the last 10 years police records show there have been seven serious, 20 minor and 46 non-injury crashes along the planned route.
Separated bike lanes on Whitmore Street. Photo: Supplied
All but three councillors were in favour of the final plans today, with councillors Nicola Young, Diane Calvert and Simon Woolf against.
Councillor Young said the area has been "brutalised" with developments over the years as the city has grown, such as the state highway.
The 2km cycleway is just a part of the route which will eventually stretch all the way back to Karori, the capital's largest suburb.
"The gold-plated version is coming, this is just a stage," councillor Laurie Foon reminded the public today.
Last year council decided it would spend a record $226 million on an expansive 147km network across the city over the next few years.
Two networks were chosen to be fast tracked - the Botanic Gardens connection and one beginning in Newtown, both connecting either side of the waterfront.
But after the Newtown network began and a court case ensued, it was halted.
The Botanic Gardens connection was then moved to a Traffic Resolution model which meant that formal community consultation was necessary.
Councillor Sean Rush questioned whether the 'build it and people will come' mindset for the network would work for the city.
Patterns seen in traffic data in the last three years have been "weird", council officers said, because of the disruptions of Covid-19 lockdowns and people working from home.
But there had been an increase of cycling up the Brooklyn Hill and Oriental Bay cycleways which the council had introduced.
Data has shown there has been a 25 percent annual growth in areas where council has invested in infrastructure, and all in all cycling in Wellington has grown 41 percent since 2012.
Rush said that cycling was an inefficient mode of transport for the city, but to the surprise of councillors he supported the paper.