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    • Eastern Suburbs on War Footing over proposed Cycleway
      • After being caught out with Eastern Suburb cycleway plans the WCC has backtracked, stopped progress, and figured out they probably don’t want to cause another Island Bay fiasco. The rhetoric is still rolling on with Andy Foster asserting on Radio New Zealand that the options (that were actually deleted from the WCC website and recovered by another blogger) have been talked through with the community. Well, that doesn’t impress some locals who have launched their version of the Stop the Eastern Suburbs Cycleway, asking for full and transparent consultation prior to any decisions being made. Personally, I have very little confidence that this is anything more than yet another Council whitewash that happens to be noisy given election year. Worse, why the $^&# are we proposing putting in cyclelanes out this way when the CBD is where we need them? My view is that Eastern Suburbs needs a cycleway around the bays, it’s very dangerous and it’s a beautiful spot that should be promoted. They need to sort out the airport’s total mess at the West end of Broadway. Cyclists trying to cross traffic near the Z Energy station are risking their lives. Because the airport is so expensive to park in, all the broad streets down there are now choked with parked cars. None of what I think matters. I’ve researched it, been part of groups looking at transport solutions, run models, analysed the safety data, and it has all been ignored. And I am not the only one. Here comes the march of the muppets I am afraid. “Sarah Free’s proposed consultation on Eastern Bay cycleway is laudable but also seems to be damage control. With very little engagement so far, WCC has been working away on developing cycleway plans . There has been no wider community education on what this means and not much community input apart from small number of parties with specific vested interests. The residents may be willing to start consultation. But surely they need to be given all the information available in a demonstration of good faith and as a matter of good practice. We would like see the statistics (e.g. vehicle, cyclists and accidents) used to progress work so far. We also want to know the planned timelines so residents can make themselves available. Apart from Sarah’s coments on social media, we still have not seen an official statement from WCC or an “official” release of all existing documentation, consultation outcomes and the plans. Residents will be concerned about congestion leading to slowing of vehicles including buses, loss of car parks and increased safety risks, along with removal and destruction of NZ Native mature trees along possible routes. Residents will also be concerned that the consultation will be a sham with an Island Bay Cycleway style design forced on us anyway. This seems to have happened in Island Bay with pre-determined plan being forced through with some adjustements to satisfy consultation requirements. Residents concerns were obviously not listened to. The result seems to be that 80% Island Bay residents, after seeing the new cycleway in action, have stated their preference to go back to old roadside version of the cycleway. We are definitely concerned. We want to see how WCC resolve the Island Bay issues before we agree to anything Stop The Eastern Bays Cycleways  

    • Council quietly drops density housing in rich suburbs
      • by Peter Sullivan Controversially, the Wellington City Council will vote on Wednesday on excluding three most suitable suburbs from MDRA zoning from this year’s District Plan Change – the three suburbs also “happen to be” the wealthiest suburbs, and that’s no coincidence. If the council does so, the last remnants of respectability for MDRA (that’s “Medium Density Residential Area”) zoning will disappear, and along with it the last vestiges of credibility of a targeted intensification scheme that has been 9 years in the making, and can now be said to have been a complete disaster. MDRA zoning was introduced after more than two years of consultation with the entire city in 2010. Acceptance was universal – except where it affected people directly, and immediately. The same District Plan Change 72 imposed these new residential zones rules on Kilbirnie (expected impact about 400 new houses – none consented, none built since 2010) and Johnsonville (expected impact about 1200 new houses – 2 consents allowed, 13 units currently under construction). These dismal numbers can only categorise MDRA as an abject failure. In a paper with the deliberately nondescript title; ‘Update on Housing Choice and Supply Project and Next Actions’, the WCC is preparing to abandon any semblance of the fairness they promised for the rollout of MDRA. By “suspending” plans to introduce MDRA to Karori, Khandallah and Island Bay, the WCC will preserve the leafy enclaves of the privileged, while allowing developers to proceed with unfitted “profit maximisation” wherever they can in in Tawa and Newlands MDRA zones; unfair does not begin to describe this. Wellington Scoop: Read more

    • Wellington City Council’s cycling website estimated to cost ratepayers over $40,000
      • Transporting Wellington With very little fanfare, Wellington City Council launched a new website to promote cycleways and spread its own propoganda. The website includes details of why the council is spending over $100 million on cycleways, where cycleways may be built and a small number of documents regarding the construction of cycleways. Web designers believe Wellington City Council could have spent upwards of $40,000 to develop the website. This is despite council rates expecting to rise by over 50% in the next decade. More to come. View original post

    • Solutions to Wellington’s gridlock could be over a decade away
      • Transporting Wellington With all the talk about cycleways, Wellingtonian’s are conveniently forgetting about a much bigger issue, traffic congestion. With a solution to the Basin Reserve bottleneck being at least four years away, Wellingtonian’s may have to wait over a decade for a material decrease in congestion. Wellington motorists will have to endure the Basin Reserve’s daily congestion crunch for a while yet, after those in charge of solving the problem admitted a solution could still be four years away. The lengthy wait means the capital will be waiting even longer for several other major transport projects, including duplicate Mt Victoria and Terrace tunnels, which are “on hold” until the Basin’s traffic woes are sorted. It has been almost two years since the New Zealand Transport Agency’s plans for a $90 million flyover fell over, and transport planners still have not picked up their pens and begun designing an alternative. Jim Bentley, who oversees the group now in charge of transport planning for… View original post 998 more words

    • Wellington Airport Extension: More shocking facts emerge
      • Posted some weeks back this is the submission by the Guardian’s of the Bay on the so-called Airport Extension, or otherwise known out this way as the White Elephant Project. What is interesting are the take outs from the submission. We’ve summarised them so you don’t have to read the entire thing though we suggest you do. We’d suggest the authors have more skill and experience than the authors of the “reports” so far that have been anything but convincing in their argument to put our rates up and provide corporate welfare for a company that is not only helping contribute to emissions (Z Energy) but also has several hundred million sitting about. Now, some of these are my notes mixed in with GotB’s notes. So that you know. The original submission is here Things you didn’t know about the Wellington Airport Extension There is still no way central government is going to pay because the Council hasn’t followed the Treasury Guidelines to apply for funding. Despite calls for Consultation, the WCC not only has failed to do so, but it also appears that they have already made up their mind. Even Green councilors, Free, and Lee, have not made clear their stance. When Dr. Rotmann went to speak [on the airport extension], she had the 2015 WIAL Annual Report figures open on her phone. In response to Andy Foster’s claim that the Council was getting its fair share of dividends from the airport, here are the actual numbers: WIAL made $108m in profit; has $842m in assets; $438m in equity and the Council got a measly $12m in dividends. (The WCC owns a third of the WIAL.) Councillors have paid 50% of ratepayer money towards the airport’s resource consent reports and the Region said it would put up half of the cost of the runway extension ($150m – $90m by WCC and $60m by the other Councils, none of whom have put any money into it aside in their long-term plans, however). That is despite the (widely discredited) cost-benefit analysis by Sapere claiming that only 1/3 of the benefits would actually stay in the Region. Most shocking, Councillors have not read the millions of dollars of reports they had commissioned. “She then asked the very pertinent question that all Councillors who had read the 27 airport reports should raise their hands. Unsurprisingly, not one hand went up.” Two of the concerns have been a) the adverse southern end weather and its effect on the extension and b) whether they sea floor there can handle the millions of tonnes of fill. We still don’t know. “Insufficient data collection; the inability (due to ‘adverse Cook Strait conditions’) to complete even one of the seismic boreholes that needed to be undertaken to establish that the geomorphology in Lyall Bay was capable of taking the 3 million tonnes of rubble safely.” In other words, researchers couldn’t answer that question because the conditions wouldn’t allow it. Dr Rottman finishes with: So please, dear Councillors: Stop the corporate handouts (including throwing almost $10m of ratepayer money from a non-transparent slush fund at the world’s third largest airline with a Singapore head quarter) and stop calling opponents asking for transparent processes and proper facts and figures as being “Anti-Wellington” in the media. This is unbecoming of a Councillor’s job – it is hard enough to fight the spin and willful obfuscation of facts when it is coming from a billion dollar multinational. But it is an outrage when community groups looking out for the ratepayers’ interests get treated so unfairly by their elected officials. You can do better, City Council(lors)! Unfortunately, it is my opinion that the Councillors cannot do better. We see an escalating tactic by the WCC now moving from calling opponents names such as “anti-Wellington” to accusing concerned residents of running a smear campaign. Celia had gone on record yesterday with the opinion that public criticism of the allocation of funding from the $9.3 million Economic Initiatives Development Fund [WEID] ‘was being driven by “some people” who were simply out to smear the Council’. – Source    

    • Reports that Jack Ilott Green to be Saved
      • Adam Voulstaker reports JACK ILOTT GREEN TO BE SAVED In a last minute triumph for common sense, Jack Ilott Green is to be saved from development. The Green, a public utility since 1879, was sold by the council earlier this month. Jack Ilott Green… A crowd-funding exercise raised enough money for the Green to be bought and given back to the council. How these funds were raised were not clear but the Commerce Commission are said to be close to sending a stiff letter. In exciting news we can reveal the council has already earmarked a new sculpture for the site. For the full article please click here

    • 3 kmh Speed Limit Proposed for Wellington
      • adamvoulstaker A Council have gone for the all out sensible option of reducing all speeds on all roads in Wellington to 3 kmh. This is in response to a risk analysis performed by their safety team. The safety audit in January found 276 pedestrians were either killed or injured in the CBD between 2008 and 2014. Correction, we mean, 272 pedestrians and 4 killed. The council also found, that if, on any occasion a pet tortoise had escaped from one of Wellington’s residents gardens then the tortoise would need to be able to survive a head on collision. When asked about the science behind this, the council advised, “We saw tortoises walk a bit slower than everyone else so we needed to cater for them based on a slight probability.” Tortoise… When asking passers-by in the CBD, one resident said, “It’s a great idea, since the implementation of a 3 kmh… View original post 318 more words

    • Eastern Suburbs Cycleway Network revealed
      • Transporting Wellington Transporting Wellington can now reveal the proposed routes of the Eastern Suburbs Cycleway Network. The Wellington City Council aims to prioritize cycling along two key corridors – Kilbirnie to Miramar and Kilbirnie to Seatoun. Depneding on the choice of route, this is estimated to cost Wellington City Council and the NZTA up to $20 million. Construction of the cycleways could begin as early as this year if opportunities for “quick wins” (for cyclists) could be identified. The Kilbirnie to Miramar corridor has nine potential options. Transporting Wellington believes many of them are straw options and will not be considered by the Council. The Kilbirnie to Seatoun corridor has three options. Two options include a cycle path on Broadway, which is estimated to cost upwards of $4 million. The construction of new cycleways could include the construction of a cycling subway under Cobham Drive or two additional traffic lights on Cobham… View original post 212 more words

    • Celia and the Greens: Lost in a forest
      • Suddenly I stop But I know it’s too late I’m lost in a forest All alone The girl was never there It’s always the same I’m running towards nothing Again and again and again and again The Cure, A Forest Keith Johnson hits the nail on the head over the three “Greens” in Council. Celia, Sarah Free, and David Lee. Celia went on record yesterday with the opinion that public criticism of the allocation of funding from the $9.3 million Economic Initiatives Development Fund [WEID] ‘was being driven by “some people” who were simply out to smear the Council’. Where oh where Celia did you sell out your principles: ‘What does it profit a woman if she gains unlimited KrisFlyer Privileges and an Oriental Bay apartment but loses her Soul?’ And why oh why did you and your fellow Green Party Councillors sell out any prospect of being seen as a the shock troops of a Social Democratic ‘Keep-the-Bastards-Honest’ political party in return for personal advancement and the Baubles of Office? It’s interesting… You can read his whole blog here.  He’s made a good point. The Greens are Lost in the Forest. Well and truly.  

    • Reblog: Keith Johnson: Slush funds and lolly scrambles
      • SLUSH FUNDS AND LOLLY SCRAMBLES I have been thoroughly enjoying Writers Week at the tail end of the NZ Festival here in Wellington, having gorged on all sorts of presentations covering a wellspring of wonderfully creative people, a medley of exhibitionists and a rag-bag of the simply ‘knocked-off’.  You can’t sit for more than a couple of minutes at these sorts of events without being made to wrack your brains, emote or laugh funny-ha-ha or funny-tut-tut. For example, this morning started at 8 am in the St James’ Theatre with an exchange between Scottish novelist and writer Andrew O’Hagan and NZ Old Mother Trouble broadcaster Kim Hill about whether or not the whole shambedoozle should not have been called Writers’ Week. After O’Hagan had stated most categorically that the absence of the possessive apostrophe was a crime against literary humanity and Hill agreed, there was obviously a huddle in the dug-out – after which a Radio New Zealand producer hurriedly scuttled up with a piece of notepaper on which someone had written: ‘It’s correct as it is because it is not a Week of Writers it is a Week of Considering Writers’. Well, I can always side-step these kinds of esoterics by simply saying: ‘I’m a former economist and public policy adviser’ who simply writes as a diversion in my dotage’. Asking people like me about the fine points of grammar is like asking a pole dancer about the tensile strength of her beam. Not that there aren’t a few other economists and public policy advisers knocking about the Literary Circuit. And after I met up with Dr Richard Norman at one show, we shared views about the progress of the Wellington Economy. Richard is a Senior Lecturer School of Management in the Victoria University of Management and I was keen to catch up with his ongoing research: ‘The Working Capital project focuses on the skills, employment and training issues crucial to the future prosperity of the Wellington region. ‘Developed by Victoria University, Grow Wellington and the Wellington Regional Strategy, it is a partnership between tertiary education, local government, and businesses with the aim of attracting, growing and retaining talent that is vital for emerging work opportunities in the region. ‘This cross-sector approach seeks to demonstrate that far from dying, Wellington is changing and already New Zealand’s strongest example of a region creating new economic value based on knowledge, creativity and talent’. Of course, I have been writing for yonks about how Wellington City Council focuses its promotional spending and catalytic / supportive investment on the tourism, hospitality and property development sectors at the expense of the real drivers of the local economy: tertiary education, professional services, IT and pioneer ventures by innovating entrepreneurs. So I despair when the Wellington City Council details huge spending plans for its parasitic sectors: Keith Johnson: Read the rest of the blog

    • Island Bay Cycleway: Foster “Painfully fence sitting”
      • REPOST Petition update Island Bay Cycleway Survey Results are in – When will WCC start to listen! The Get Rid of the Island Bay Cycleway 15 Mar 2016 — SURVEY RESULTS OVERWHELMING Do you want a cycle way: Yes 52% No 48% Support for cycleways down from around 90% when process started. Preferred option Roadside: 80%, Kerbside 13%, Other 7% Support for Roadside significantly up from before. IBRA will now take results to the council on 16 March and demand that the cycle way be PAINTED BACK immediately. Unless an agreement can be reached earlier, a formal Notice of Motion to Council will be initiated and a vote forced. Mayor can unilaterally delay vote by up to 2 months. Only one councillor needs to change orlginal vote for Motion to succeed. Apart from Crs. Lester, Lee and Foster (partly) none of the others who voted for the cycleway, Crs. Wade-Brown, Sparrow, Peck, Free, Pannet, bothered to turn up and listen to residents concerns, again. Among the councillors present the tone deaf Cr Lee and the still defiant Cr Foster continue to support the cycleway. Crs. Lester (painfully fence-straddling), Ritchie appeared swayed and may reconsider. Crs. Eagle, Young, Woolf & Coughlan clearly acknowledged the message and will support residents. Crs. Marsh and Ahipene-Mercer were absent. Cr. Young stated categorically that if the council does not respond to residents position, she will reverse the cycleway, if voted in as Mayor. The current Council’s dysfunctionality was abundantly clear. The community is not divided as outsiders would like to paint it. In fact, it came together convincingly and conveyed its displeasure and its demands. The residents overwhelmingly stated their opposition to status quo. If the council does not listen and act democratically– the resistance will not only continue, but expand to other suburbs. A good day for the Island Bay community–well done. Source

    • Public want to keep Jack Ilott Green: Run their own consultation
      • The chances of Council listening to the 8,000 residents who have petitioned to keep the Jack Ilott Green are probably about the same as aliens landing tomorrow and building that Gareth Morgan statue. Especially when the petition is being delivered to the Transport and Urban Development Committee of which the majority seem to have forgotten they are actually voted in to represent ratepayer interests, not their own interests or idealogies. News from Save Jack Ilott Green Group The Wellington City Council is facing a strong opposition to its planned lease/sale of Jack Ilott Green to a private developer. A petition of over 8,000 opposing removal of this inner city park is being delivered to the Council during the presentation by Save Jack Ilott Group on Wednesday morning. The presentation is at the Council’s Transport and Urban Development Committee Meeting at 9:15 am. The meeting is open to public. “The public reaction has been overwhelming,” says Wendy Armitage, chairperson of the Save Jack Ilott Green Group which ran the petition table on the City to Sea Bridge during the past seven weeks. “Most people didn’t know anything about the planned sale or lease of the Green, and once they heard about it, they were very against it,” adds Armitage. “People took the petition to collect signatures from their neighbours, offices, local fairs, bridge club, rowing club, tennis clubs. We even have a lady who came back following weekend to help us at the petition table for a few hours.” Wellington Scoop: Read more  

    • David Lee accuses Island Bay community of being hostile to cycleway supporters
      • Frankly. If you ran a poll on Island Bay and who would vote for David this time around, I suspect it would be very very few. His comments are almost cleverly designed passive agression. Transporting Wellington I have to thank local ward councilor David Lee for turning up to the Island Bay Residents Association meeting last Wednesday, and sharing his views as a supporter of the Island Bay Cycleway. The same cannot be said for the mayor who joked about how she’s living in Oriental Bay despite the rumour of her move being quashed last month. This from David Lee’s Facebook page after the Island Bay Residents Association meeting. IB Cycleway: My views on the IB cycleway are known, and I have been consistent all along. I acknowledge that a proportion of the IB community passionately oppose what has been built, and believe they have been failed by the Council. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this. I remain a supporter, and have said for the record that we should give it time to bed in before calling for the cycleway to… View original post 1,621 more words

    • Movie Museum and Conference Centre Proposal
      • adamvoulstaker The final day of feedback to the Council is today – 15th March. Most people will not have the time to read through the proposal so I have taken one for the team and done it for you. Movie Museum & Convention Centre: http://wellington.govt.nz/~/media/have-your-say/public-input/files/consultations/2016/02-movie-museum-and-convention-centre/movie-museum-and-convention-centre-consultation-document.pdf?la=en This caught my eye – “The Convention Centre will bring visitors to The Movie Museum through travelling spouses of conference delegates and those that are likely to return as tourists.” – You know when you have to write a boring report and run out of shit to say? This is that. Who is it that wrote this, thinks, ‘if John is at the conference upstairs, maybe Sally can go downstairs and look at the movie museum….‘ This person is at the helm of a business proposal for millions of ratepayers dollars – how? This is not a report for a new printer on level… View original post 1,324 more words

    • Wellington City Council proposes citywide 30kph speed limit, increasing congestion and pandering to cycling lobbyists
      • Transporting Wellington After trying and failing to implement an inner city 30kph zone only 18 months ago, Wellington City Council is at it again. Just when you thought it was safe to put your foot down, a 30kmh speed limit for Wellington’s central city is back on the agenda. Wellington city councillors will consider plans this week to introduce the limit across the entire central city, roughly 18 months after they tossed out a similar proposal by a single vote. The city’s Golden Mile, which includes Lambton Quay, Willis St, Manners St and Courtenay Place, has had a 30kmh limit since 2010, but this proposal would spread the net wider. The failed Basin Reserve flyover project has pushed back planning for the city’s new bus rapid transit network, meaning the city council has turned its immediate attention to other ideas like a 30kmh speed limit for the CBD. Boundaries are yet to be drawn up, but last… View original post 1,183 more words

    • What’s next for the Eastern Suburbs
      • Transporting Wellington Yesterday, selected council members and officers had a secret meeting. They decided no cycleways will be built in the Eastern Suburbs until “decent” consultation is done. Heres hoping they are done properly. Thank you for that. I am still lost for words about Sarah’s post on Cycle Aware Wellington’s Facebook page though. Surely she would have asked the wider community first. Engaging with the cycling lobbies shows where her heart is though. Hint: it’s not us ratepayers. Sarah Free: February 26 at 10:41am Okay, I have a question: how do we really engage the whole community on how and where WCC puts in cycle ways? We have $6 million to spend in the Eastern suburbs and we want people to feel happy about the results! Yay, there will be drop in sessions. Better hope they are better than the ones in Island Bay where City Council representatives ignored everyone who weren’t cycling… View original post 448 more words

    • Council halts Eastern Ward Cycleways until “decent” consultation is carried out
      • After a secret meeting this morning the Council has agreed to halt work on the Eastern Suburbs proposed cycleways until “decent”consultation has been carried out. Bravo. The last thing we wanted was another Island Bay debacle. We’ll keep you informed on progress. We think that consultation should be via a letter drop with every household in Miramar, Seatoun, Strathmore Park, Seatoun Heights, Karaka Bay, Lyall Bay, Rongotai, Hataitai, Kilbirnie, and Roseneath. In other words, the entire Easter Ward. People should have the option of utilising an online survey or paper survey. Finally, the process should be run by an independent group, not the Council, nor anyone attached to the Council including the funded Cycling Lobby Groups or Residents Associations If the WCC can spend millions on trying to sell us an airport extension and tens of thousands on temporary sandpits and penguin stickers on the waterfront then they sure as hell can spend $50,000 on getting someone to do this properly.

    • Why the urban development agency is a monster risk, for private profit
      • by Helene Ritchie The urban development agency proposed by the Wellington City Council will be a monster risk and gamble, for private developer gain. The council will risk ratepayers’ funds and privatization of public land if the proposal goes ahead to establish a “self-funding” urban development agency to purchase, dispose of and assemble land in partnership with private developers. It could gut the council of its land holdings, including some parks, and gobble up rates. Melbourne Docklands have been held up as an exemplar case study. The equivalent Urban Development Agency (Places Victoria), a state government agency in Melbourne, burgeoned into an entity of 189 staff by June 2013, and recorded a loss of $192 million, with that amount supported by taxes from a population of nearly 6 million. The example of a similar agency in Wellington was the Waterfront company (Lambton Harbour Development Ltd.) in the mid 90s, resulting in the privatization of priceless waterfront public land, locked up for 999 years – the failed retail centre (now offices), and the ugly Events Centre. The City Council should not gamble with ratepayers’ funds in the property market. Potentially catastrophic financial risks are already being taken on vanity projects such as the convention centre – out for consultation until March 15. This project has the council proposing to carry all the capital costs of the $134million rates-funded building to house a private film museum and loss-making convention centre. This is on top of the anticipated losses of the council’s other venues, ($158million over the next ten years, as shown in the 2015 long term plan.) A Council Urban Development Agency could circumvent the Local Government Act; with the Companies Act prevailing and “directors” replacing democratically-elected councillors (although we would remain accountable at arms length). The Wellington CBD and suburbs have grown and developed their current urban form in response to demand and careful urban planning – without any need for such an agency. This has been the proper role of local government. I am against this agency for reasons relating to potential risk, exploitation, burgeoning bureaucracy, and lack of accountability. It could: · Risk future rates funds and burgeoning debt · Exploit ratepayers by working outside the core activities of local government. · Have a lack of clarity regarding rules related to “partnering”, the use of rates funds, the “trading”/giving away of public land, and replacing competitive tendering with “incentives”. Have a potential for corruption. · Have no guarantee of self funding. On the contrary, as on the waterfront where public land has been all but gifted to private entities. · Potentially exploit owners trapped in earthquake-prone buildings with few options but to sell (P.80) . (Even worse if the sought-after proposed compulsory acquisition powers were achieved.) · Potentially create another (unnecessary) bureaucracy ( · Attempt to circumvent the Local Government Act P. 73. · Attempt to replace the Local Government Act with the Companies Act (CCTO P. 62; P. 64; P. 55 · Attempt to circumvent the “pesky” democratic process and free and frank advice from properly qualified officers, and replace it with a new bureaucracy, and directors (with the “right” skills but completely different roles) P. 55. · Intend to circumvent planning and associated public consultation powers. P. 85 There would be very limited transparency and accountability to the ratepayers. Its processes would be shut out of LGOIMA and Official Information requests. The agency would be likely to continue to privatise more publicly owned land (such as the proposed sale of Jack Ilott Green and the sale, subdivision and separate titling of public land and assets at the civic centre.) In conclusion: the council carries out the functions of the proposed agency now, while retaining some semblance of democratic accountability and control. The council should not proceed any further with this. It should not risk loss of public land and loss of ratepayers’ funds for private developers’ gain. Public consultation on the agency plan begins on March 29. Helene Ritchie is a Wellington city councillor. First published on Wellington Scoop

    • Guest Post: Inside CAW’s latest meeting
      • Transporting Wellington “The natives are stirring chaps—we need to tweak our strategy.  It’s about winning hearts and minds and all that. We tried AVOIDING talking about the bad design, PRETENDING that the safety risks did not exist.  We tried REPEATING—there are no issues, just tweaks needed. It’s just NIMBY’s being NIMBY’s. We have failed knullen. Too many people see the pig for what it is now and they say we are NOT LISTENING.  Turd polishing is not working. We just can’t have this happening in Miramar, Lyall Bay, Kilbirnie and Karori. So here is the new strategy—ACKNOWLEDGE but MINIMISE.  Alistair has made a start.  It fits in with the ‘give it time you will get used to it’ message from our Prophet. Go out and spread the message mennesker—acknowledge but minimise”. Here are some talking points for you. The vehicle lanes are narrower—Bad but not any worse… View original post 332 more words

    • Cycling Advocates going Feral, missing the point completely
      • In the past few years, I have had a few personal attacks but nothing like the past few weeks where I have been bullied, abused and publicly vilified by members of the local cycling advocate groups. Emails, txts, facebook messages, calls, and the like. And now I am seriously pissed off. Because this was never about cycling, it was always about consultation and the lack of it. But those morons can’t see past the front of their cycling helmets, if they even wear one. So here is what is going to happen. Any more crap out of you lot is going to be published, with your name against it. Any comments that don’t identify who you are, are going to be trashed. If I put my name on what I think, then you can too. It’s time you got your head out of your arse and saw the bigger picture. This Council gives about as much as shit about you, as it does me. I’m leaving you with something from Simon Woolf. Try and read it without getting your underpants tangled up in your spokes. It shows the issue in plain writing. Simon Woolf Facebook Post The last few days have been tumultuous and tense. The Island Bay Residents Association Cycleway Survey was to be released, at a community meeting. In the background, once again The Community Engagement Portfolio has not been involved. Any engagement and consultation to date has been handled by our Transport Team. It is only recently that I have been given information on what was occurring in The Eastern Suburbs, re Cycleway engagement and planning. The information which I have seen is enough to make a call! Last nights Island Bay Community meeting was extremely well run. The survey was conclusive, and above all it was very fair and reasonable. Fair and reasonble is something the Council has not been with The Island Bay Community, or The Cycling Community, for that matter. That was so evident last night. Exceptionally poor political decision making, on the back of equally poor officer execution has been a hallmark of The Island Bay Cycleway. Moving forward. Councillors and Officers need to realise that just because the finance is budgeted for, it does not necessarily mean that it needs to be spent! Out of a robust consultation there maybe options which suit and area, which cost less than what has been allocated. We need to keep open minds, to different options and opportunities. What I have seen in the past two years with Cycleways, is that we have the money, and we at really need to spend it! Sometimes this all costs approach is not required. Moving forward, while I have no doubt most Wellingtonians wish to have a safer roading environment, and would be encouraging of safer cycleway infrastructure, I am willing to bet that many would now be shuddering as to what may be rolled out in their areas, and what the cost might be! Costs can be applied both financially, and in a more personal harmful manner. This cost is outlined by stress and danger to ones personal health and wellbeing. I saw so much hurt, and angst last night, from a very intelligent, caring, and well informed Island Bay Community. Safety is a paramount, and The Island Bay Cycleway is inherently unsafe. The Island Bay Community, and now probably a much larger slice of Wellingtonians will lack confidence in it. It is essentially damaged goods, and forever tainted. It needs to revert back, but with improvements to what existed previously. The improvements should only be made with the community being fully engaged. They need to involved in the decision making, something council has paid lip service to throughout, and is continuing to do currently, and at it’s peril! Having seen preliminary plans for The Eastern Suburbs, I am worried. It is not my ward, however it is the area I grew up in. I know the area intimately, and I know a large proportion of it’s community. It is an area I am passionate about, and care for deeply. It too is a great community with it’s special characteristics and identity. The Eastern Suburbs does not have a collective voice, a residents association like Island Bay has. Mind you Island Bay didn’t have an active residents association until The Cycleway, and what was a totally flawed engagement process took place! The Eastern Suburbs should be worried too, and so should the rest of the city. This is big spend infrastructure that could be rolled out. It could have a profound affect on the way communities are able to get around, or not. Island Bay is minimal compared with what could be proposed for the east! My biggest worry is that I do not believe the Cycleway Project is largely deliverable. One community has already rebelled, and others will follow. The reason is both Councillors and Officers have not learned too much from the mistakes of Island Bay. I viewed that last night, where at least two councillors went blithely on their way to try and justify and mitigate decisions made regarding Island Bay, and future Cycleway Development. I am concerned that important areas of real need will not happen. Real need is prioritised by safety concerns. The Hutt Road from Ngauranga to Aotea is one problematic area. Petone to Ngauranga is another high use cycling space that currently has large dangers. One vision, and a priority would be to have a Petone to Queens Wharf Cycleway, using the outer side of the motorway, heading down Aotea Quay, and involving cooperation and collaboration with NZTA Kiwirail and Centerport. An under, or overpass from Ngaio Gorge that would link in would also be a good thing. It would not be without expense, however would be a better spend than what is being proposed for our suburbs. To the Island Bay Community, your resolve and common sense based approach last night was impressive. I believe the survey you undertook was sound. It needs to be taken seriously. If your request for change is not met responsibly, your course of action is to return to the Office of the Ombudsman. It is something I, and very likely other councillors will assist you with. Communications, and emails in particular will be useful. Council has an obligation to be both transparent and accountable. In that manner there are useful trails, which should be discoverable, and very likely would provide a compelling case. In the first instance I would advise my colleagues, and officers to act with the same professionalism and integrity which you showed last night, and then resolve your concerns Finally Miramar you are next. I have seen plans which show the proposal for four sets of traffic lights in Miramar Avenue! It is one option, however it shows how silly things have become! I have seen documented, losses of parking in a variety of areas throughout the suburb. There are various options, none of which impress me. You have not been engaged with properly from the very start. You need to place your options on the table, and not be bullied like Island Bay has been. They stood up, and were courageous. You need to do likewise, but earlier! The Council says they have learnt from previous mistakes. They haven’t at all. There is finance available to improve cycling, and with respect to safety, within the Eastern Suburbs. If used wisely, the spend could be a good thing. You need to start asking some serious questions of your ward councillors. I believe they are concerned, and are working for you. They are being frustrated. They need your help, support, advice and contribution. Please stand up. Kia Kaha.

    • New Wellington City Council Appears
      • Brief one. An apparent Twitter parody account has appeared today that is, well, kind of funny. So, take a break from the tedium of the day to day thrust of bendy cardboard swords and have a look. Wellington Council

    • 87% vote to get rid of brand new cycleway in Island Bay. Mayor resorts to childish remarks.
      • Transporting Wellington Guess what, Island Bay residents don’t like their kerbside cycleway. Angry Island Bay residents have packed an emotion-charged cycleway meeting to hear results of a survey that shows overwhelming opposition to the southern suburb’s kerbside cycleway. About 300 residents attended the Island Bay Residents’ Association’s special two-hour meeting on Wednesday evening at the Baptist Church, which overflowed onto the footpath beside the controversial cycleway along The Parade. The association surveyed all the suburb’s residents in January, with 87 per cent of those who replied opposing the cycleway’s design, which ran between the footpath and parked cars. Of the approximately 5120 registered voters in Island Bay, 1792 replied to the survey, which was 35 percent of possible voters. This is what the pro cycleway blog Island Bay Cycleway had to say A clear majority are saying “we do not care enough about this issue to participate in a survey that was widely advertised and distributed to every single letterbox in the suburb”. The Residents Association… View original post 749 more words

    • A look into Melbourne’s most controversial cycleways. Part II – Are kerbside cycleways really safer for all?
      • Transporting Wellington In the first part of this series I looked at the City of Melbourne’s use of dodgy statistics. In this part, I will turn to cycling safety, with a focus on the La Trobe Street cycleway. The cycleway is a “Copenhagen style” aka kerbside cycleway that is easily as controversial as widening a cycle lane by removing one of the two citybound lanes on Princes Bridge. Look carefully at the ‘After” photo – see how the delivery driver has to unload goods onto the cycleway. Can you notice anything else? The La Trobe Street cycleway was done with very little consultation, again with the City of Melbourne asking the cycling lobby and a few other people through cafe meetings. More on this can be seen here. Greens Councillor Cathy Oke had this to say regarding the La Trobe Street cycleway back in 2013. Greens Councillor Cathy Oke said the La… View original post 612 more words

    • WCC proposes to reduce emissions by increasing congestion and encouraging more long haul flights
      • Transporting Wellington It’s amazing what the Wellington City Council gets up to. Living Wage. Supporting the airport runway extension by using overly optimistic figures. Jinxing NZTA’s plan to reduce congestion in the inner city and the Eastern Suburbs. Island Bay Cycleway. Zealandia bailout. Convention centres. Selling Jack Illot Green and the Michael Fowler carpark to build high rise buildings. The list goes on and on… I suppose the #WellingtonWay of reducing carbon emissions is to increase carbon emissions and destroy a marine reserve! Anyway, I will focus on the rank hypocrisy of the Wellington City Council in regards to its proposed Climate Action Plan. The plan is to wage a war against the car while preaching for an airport runway extension, more long haul flights and helping their developer mates. It is unbelievable that the Green Party is staying quiet about it. Maybe only the Greens are allowed to massively increase emissions… View original post 620 more words

    • Council’s Climate Plan far too little, far too late, and self-deluding
      • I often hear from people that they think the Council is full of Greens. It simply isn’t true. Cycle zealots and ideologues maybe, but Green politicians, absolutely not. The WCC, regardless of the various faces of the Councillors, is more centre-right, than left. With maybe a couple of exceptions; Ray Ahipene-Mercer and Iona Pannett. We’ve just experienced the warmest month on record for Wellington. In that same month, Cyclone Winston broke all the records as well, as long as “hurricane proof” housing that was obliterated during the storm. El Nino is proving a large feed to the agitated atmosphere in our region. But did you know that we may be about to experience back to back El Nino seasons? In the northern hemisphere, the most serious alarm on climate change has been sounded in the past week. Climate change is starting to go into overdrive. In fact, most of the northern hemisphere just skipped winter. Parts of the arctic were an average 16 degrees Celcius warmer over winter than usual. The average global temperature between Dec 2015 and Feb 2016 was .4 deg C higher than usual. Other cities around the world have moved into dual-mode. Driving down emissions while starting to increase money for mitigation. This is the norm. But not the Wellington City Council. Having achieved very little since the 2013 Climate Change Plan a new plan is on the table as part of this year’s annual plan process. It’s called the Low Carbon Capital and starts at about page 111 in these minutes. It’s really disappointing. About this stage, given we have known about this problem for three decades, you’d expect to see these kind of things being put in place: Tackling the worst offenders of emissions. They are all transport related. The traffic congestion is now generating thousands of tonnes more poison as the Council has failed to make any inroads into transport. Why? Because they have a single-eyed focus on getting rid of cars and they forget that there is actually several suburbs, not just the CBD. So the action really should be; getting all modes of transport unstuck and moving. You certainly wouldn’t be investing in an airport extension. Planes, along with ships, are one of the worst offenders for emissions. The action here is simple. Spending the money on selling Wellington to tourists rather than spending it on a massive chunk of tarmac. Not that it matters. No one will use it anyway. Those cruise ships and the ferries? Gigantic source of emissions. I walk around the bays and on a still morning between those ships and the motorway (fifty-thousand cars sitting idly) the air across the city is blue. We’re finally getting our own smog! Action; It’s hard to stop those ships, but they should be offsetting those emissions somehow. I’m just going to stop here for a second. I’m not anti-progress, the family owns two cars, and I’ve written about what I do for climate change. I am an environmentalist, which I would define as someone who shows common sense and realises that solutions have to be practical. What I am attempting to show here is the propaganda and hypocrisy, which I am getting too. Promise. We either need to start moving people living on the South coast and around the inner harbour or we need to start building sea walls. Wellington has the fastest rising sea level in the region. Partially because of sea level increases and partially because the entire plate we are on, is sinking. We can’t avoid the fact that the coast is eroding, rapidly. We can’t ignore the fact that while storms are less frequent when they arrive, they are super intense. Miramar would be best to start thinking about pumps again. Those old tunnels that were originally used to pump out the swamp will come in handy pumping out ever increasing ground water in the suburb. We probably should start buying pumps for businesses in the city as well that have basements. It’s becoming more common for premises in Featherston Street to find seawater in the basement during high tides. Building rules should be changed. In particular, we should identify areas that are likely to be subject to increasing winds. Codes will need to be changed to protect the buildings from severe storms. We probably should include rainwater tanks as well, water is going to become increasingly scarce. I suspect the trolley-buses won’t be made redundant by the GWRC, I suspect that the wind will simply get to the stage where once all the wires have been blown off twice a year we’ll need to figure out a new solution. I’m not a climate scientist as you will know. However, I do see that we need to do something about this before it really does get bad. You would expect the WCC to lead (actually I don’t anymore) on this issue. Right? The Draft Low Carbon Capital document is very long on rhetoric and very short on practicalities. It is, as usual, self-congratulatory without providing any evidence of its prior success. It trumpets loudly that “30 out of 34 actions completed in the 2013 – 2015 Climate Change Action Plan”. Yes, it’s worded that way, that was not my poor grammar or sentence structure, for once. It also points out, rather honestly, that even with all those things completed, they failed to meet their targets. That would mean that the actions were probably dumb to start with. Whatever they were. So we’ve seen no action for nearly six years? The document does not account for the greatest emissions that the WCC is directly responsible for. The appalling congestion the city is under. The zealot like love of the airport extension. The fact that the city will spend nearly four times as much on cycleways as it will on stormwater infrastructure. It notes that government has instructed Councils to plan for a .5 to .8 m sea level rise. But the document doesn’t explain how it will. They suggest that getting rid of carparks is a key pillar of their strategy. Seriously. We propose exploring the phase out of the minimum parking requirement where it makes sense, starting in parts of the city where car ownership rates are already low and comparable to CBD levels. By phasing out this requirement we can limit dependence on parking and allow developers, both commercial and residential, to build only the parking needed to meet demand rather than creating excess capacity that incentivises car ownership over alternative transport choices. Brilliant. Sheer genius. I guess that’s a good thing because they can start building boat ramps as that is likely to be our primary method of transport in a couple of decades. The other “ideas”, you couldn’t call them plans, including warming up houses. Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that is a priority given that the temperature is heading up rapidly. It’s too depressing to write any more about. I swear the more I get to know the Council the more I am convinced that collectively they are clinically insane. I’m not the only one that thinks this way, here is a (better) blog on the issue. WCC proposes to reduce emissions by increasing congestion and encouraging more long haul flights

    • Brief: Is Nick Leggett angling for the Wellington Mayoralty?
      • Over on Wellington Scoop today: Will Nick Leggett be standing as a candidate for mayor of Wellington? The question is being asked as news emerges that his Porirua council has expressed an interest in merging with Wellington. As Nick Leggett is keen on a merger, does this mean he aspires to be mayor of the capital? Would he have a chance of attracting Wellington voters who would otherwise be supporting Celia or Justin or Nicola (or Jo and Andy if they decide to join the contest)? He says this morning he believes any public vote on a merger is several years away. That being so, will he make his first move this year? Come to think of it, could he be mayor of both cities at the same time? For the full article click here

    • Coffee and Blankets: Today in Bunny Street
      • A really quick shout out this morning for Coffee and Blankets. A group that is collecting for the Soup Kitchen and are on the street today as part of the Wellington Parking Day. Wellington Parking Day is a bunch of installations in car parking spaces around the city. You’ll find them in Bunny Street, so people arriving by train today, look out for them as you wander in this morning. Coffee & a Blanket’ is an interactive community art installation by Bernie Harfleet & Donna Turtle Sarten,and part of WELLINGTON PARK(ING) DAY 9th MARCH 8am to 6pm Community members are encouraged through encounter and social media to visit the site and donate coffee (dry goods) and blankets for ‘Soup kitchen Wellington’. Visitors to the site will be photographed with their donation, and/or a sign they have written, referencing those held by those who ask for support in the streets of NZ. Image’s would be posted on a dedicated Facebook and Instagram page as an ‘online’ exhibition. All coffee and blankets will be given to Soup Kitchen Wellington, who are short of these resources.  

    • A look into Melbourne’s most controversial cycleways. Part I – Dodgy Statistics
      • Transporting Wellington Both the La Trobe Street cycleway and the Princes Bridge cycleway in Melbourne had been marred in controversy. In the first part of this series, I will look at dodgy statistics and the lies the City of Melbourne had told the public. The next two parts will cover traffic congestion and cycling safety. Particular attention would be paid to the La Trobe Street cycleway and the Princes Bridge cycleway, and how Wellington could avoid the mistakes the City of Melbourne had made. City of Melbourne is a Local Government Authority which controls an area of approximately 36 square kilometers and had a population of 127,742 people in 2015. The metropolitan area of Melbourne is approximately 7673 square kilometers as of 2010. This means that the City of Melbourne covers less than 1% of the metropolitan area of Melbourne, and that more than 97% of Melbourne’s population live outside… View original post 452 more words

    • Poisoned Chalice: Getting rid of the GWRC and a merger of Porirua and Wellington
      • In the Dominion Post this morning reporting on the latest attempt by WCC insiders to get rid of the Greater Wellington Regional Council. Long on the agenda from an inner cabal, apparently led by the CEO Lavery, secret meetings once again take centre stage, however, this is a poisoned chalice for any politician in an election year. During a session from which the public and media were excluded, Lavery raised the prospect of stripping Greater Wellington Regional Council of its functions in an enlarged capital, by creating a unitary authority. Wellington threw the idea of amalgamation out soundly. The architects of the designs were roundly beaten, tarred, feathered, and sent running off with their tail between their legs. They were sent away to come up with another solution. So why is the CEO of WCC running secret meetings outside of that continuing process to try and extend the WCC empire? The WCC mainly treats the residents with contempt, and we already know that anyone who has followed their “consultation” process over the last few years knows that the outcomes are often predefined and the process rigged from the start. So there is no surprise that backroom deals are being done without any input from either Porirua or Wellington residents. Justin Lester will be rueing the day that he backed the CEO as an outstanding success describing this move as an outrage and a handbrake on progress. Paul Eagle has weighed in as well. Wellington Deputy Mayor Justin Lester said Lavery’s proposal would be met with “outrage” from Wellington’s businesses, which would have to cover the cost. “It will be a handbrake on Wellington businesses for the next 10 years, just when we’re starting to see some real traction. We should scuttle it now and focus on what’s important.” Councillor Paul Eagle said the proposal was being driven by Lavery, with little input from councillors. “I think there’s some sinister plans here about getting rid of the regional council. People need to be upfront about that.” However, councillor Nicola Young said the plan should be considered. “We’ve got to look at areas for growth in Wellington, and Porirua is a natural one. I never understood why it was a separate city.” Now, Justin’s reaction on the face of it would seem to say that he didn’t know this was coming. Or did he? After all, Leggett, Eagle, and Lester are all in the Labour camp and if they didn’t know, then Labour is asleep at the wheel. Putting that aside, this is a poison chalice for supporters in an election year. Trying to sell this as anything other than politicking that raises Wellington’s rates (again), is going to be very tough. Especially when it increases business rates. As a business owner, and a residential ratepayer, it’s getting to the point where I am considering moving my business. Frankly, being based in the Hutt with their support for local business is a very attractive proposition and makes no significant difference to me. In fact, the Hutt is growing quite rapidly under their support of trade policies. Why on earth does the WCC think it can do better than the GWRC? Which is what this is really about. That war between the two has gone on for the entire triennium and the WCC feels like the little brother in the relationship. The new CEO, well a couple of years new, has an excellent reputation in the city. Certainly more so than ours, in my opinion. They are doing some great work. The other thing that I like about the GWRC, having met their CEO, is the commitment to public engagement. The CEO told me that public engagement was probably more significant an issue than the transport problems plaguing the region. So why would we vote for a secretive WCC led by a secretive Mayor and CEO with hidden slush funds of cash and secretive agendas all displaying zero commitment to listening to the residents when the GWRC is the direct opposite. Perhaps it’s time Chris Laidlaw made a move on the WCC. In fact, I would suggest that made more sense for GWRC to run Wellington than the WCC. In fact, when you put the performance of each alongside each other, Wellington is woeful. Not to mention the fact that the GWRC already manages transport, the economy, the infrastructure, and a tonne of other services region-wide. Rue the day that any candidate supports this new mad scheme. Telling the ratepayers that they are going to have to suck up, even more, rate increases and being seen to be part of yet another secret detail by the secret CEO and his cabal is going to play very badly for them. This is the Council that has done nothing. I think as residents we are far more interested in some actual progress as opposed to continued made schemes and plans that never get past the millions that are spent “investigating” them. Frankly, we should put Panda’s back on the agenda. I suspect that we’d get more support for that than a merger designed to dethrone the GWRC. In fact, I’d bet money on it.    

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