RNZ: Government crashes plans for a more pedestrian/cycle-friendly Christchurch

At Twitter:

Govt threatens to pull funding for Chch downtown plan https://t.co/H2NIzs9rHz

— RNZ News (@rnz_news) April 15, 2017

Christchurch City Council proposes turning Victoria St into a cul-de-sac………

### radionz.co.nz Sun, 16 Apr 2017 1:37 p.m.
RNZ News: Politics / Canterbury
Govt threatens to pull funding for Chch downtown plan
The government is threatening to cancel its funding for a plan to make central Christchurch more pedestrian and cycle friendly if changes are not made. The Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration, Gerry Brownlee, said the government was paying 60 percent of the funding for the Accessible City plan, but last week he was granted authorisation by Cabinet to suspend its funding. Mr Brownlee said the plan, which has been partially implemented, risked creating a dysfunctional central city. “Its absurd. I’m hearing all the time from people who are going to have lunch or coffee in the central city and simply can’t park their car. Or end up parking such a long way away from it that they decide they may as well just drive to one of the suburban malls.”
Read more

****

Video link received Sun, 9 Apr 2017 at 9:53 p.m.

From the folks who brought you the self-driving car!

Google Nederland Published on Mar 31, 2016
Introducing the self-driving bicycle in the Netherlands
This spring, Google is introducing the self-driving bicycle in Amsterdam, the world’s premier cycling city. The Dutch cycle more than any other nation in the world, almost 900 kilometres per year per person, amounting to over 15 billion km annually. The self-driving bicycle enables safe navigation through the city for Amsterdam residents, and furthers Google’s ambition to improve urban mobility with technology. Google Netherlands takes enormous pride in the fact that a Dutch team worked on this innovation that will have great impact in their home country.

****

Link received from Hilary Calvert
Thu, 6 Apr 2017 at 7:53 p.m.

Message: Cycle lane cyclist truck turning left. Very dangerous.

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 07:03, Apr 7 2017
Former Hamilton teacher killed in collision with truck at Hamilton roundabout
By Phillipa Yalden – Waikato Times
Mike Leach taught Fairfield College students for 34 years. Some of the things he was involved in at Fairfield were outdoor education and building drama sets. He was a geography and social sciences teacher, and also a Dean. On Wednesday, as he cycled through the rain down Te Rapa Straight, the father of two’s life was cut short in a collision. The 67-year-old was killed when his bike and a B-train truck and trailer collided at the Te Rapa Road and Sunshine Avenue intersection at lunchtime on Wednesday. […] Quite a few people witnessed the crash on Wednesday, Waikato road police Senior Sergeant Gill Meadows said. “There are a number of people who were quite traumatised by the incident and we have referred them to Victim Support. There is quite a bit of work to be done on that particular incident.” Initial inquiries showed that the Halls refrigeration B-train truck was heading north along Te Rapa Straight when it went to turn left at the roundabout into Sunshine Avenue. “He was in the lane to turn left, and the cyclist was going straight ahead, and was on the left side of the truck. But we are still doing inquiries in regards to that.” There is a cyclist lane that runs along the straight, feeding into the roundabout. The crash occurred metres from shops and cafes at 11.30am. 
Read more 

Hamilton roundabout crash site [Christel Yardley/Fairfax NZ via stuff.co.nz]

—

Related Posts and Comments:
22.2.17 SH1 Cycleways : the real story
26.1.17 SH1 Cycleway : Carnage for Dunedin road users and city parking
21.1.17 Mayor ignores serious plight of DCC’s FAILED Otago power network in favour of urban cycleways and CBD
5.8.16 Informed : Flurry of cycleway chills at Dunedin
21.7.16 Not a bicycle accident, not a burst water main —sugar!
21.7.16 Cycleway planning at #DUD

█ For more, enter the term *cycle* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

SH1 Cycleways : the real story

Received from Hilary Calvert
Wed, 22 Feb 2017 12:40 p.m.

[begins]

NZTA has produced a Q and A sheet for their project news update on our cycle lanes along the one-way streets.

An annotated version is provided for reality junkies:

Q: Why is there a need for separated cycleways on the one-way system?

NZTA: Cyclists and pedestrians are over represented in fatal and serious injury crashes. There have been 2 fatalities since 2011. Short-term safety measure were put into place in 2013. Separated cycle lanes are the long-term solution.

Reality: There have been no deaths since the cycle lanes were widened in 2013. The two deaths since 2011 were likely contributed to by the very act of creating cycle lanes in the blind spot of vehicles. Had these cyclists been on the road they would have been safer.

Q: Where else in the country are they using these?

NZTA: These lanes are becoming familiar in major cities including Christchurch. Busy urban routes such as the one-way streets in Dunedin need higher standards of cycle lanes.

Reality: No one in their right mind would direct cyclists to State Highway 1, where all the trucks go. If these two parallel roads were returned to two-way streets, you might put trucks on one and bikes on the other. But this is mad.

Q: Why put the cycleways on the right rather than the left?

NZTA: Because it increases cycle safety and separates them from bus stops.

Reality: Bingo! NZTA has finally realised delivering cyclists to the blind side of trucks is very dangerous. But it was NZTA who chose to do that last time. A simple sorry would be a start.

Q: why not on the right-hand side from Duke St to Otago Museum then?

NZTA: This has been done in response to feedback received and supported by further cycle surveys. And there is a large number of cyclists who use this route who would have to cross the road.

Reality: Really? So feedback overcomes safety? Surely this brings into question whether they really understand the safety issues with the left-hand side. WE all know that cyclists are no different from the rest of us, they will take their bikes on the shortest route they can find. Which will mean that they are spending most of their time not on the new cycle lane. Actually, most of their time will be spent walking around campus because the University won’t let cyclists inside – safety issues, apparently.

Q: What impact will this have on parking?

NZTA: Keeping the cycle lanes on the unsafe side of the road will mean we lose 20 fewer parks. Parking will be provided in high demand areas. (see revised plans).

Reality: We will lose hundreds of parks, particularly in the highest parking areas around the hospital (made worse by the DCC proposal to build on the car parking area at Frederick St). Parking is already squeezed in high demand areas. These guys are in la la land, and I don’t mean the award winning movie.

Q: Will these cycle lanes disrupt traffic flows?

NZTA: The lanes are likely to smooth traffic flows and provide more reliable travel times because there will be fewer parking movements.

Reality: Yes more reliably longer times, which are likely to double for anyone using the one-way streets. More phases for cyclists and pedestrians, more traffic trying to find parks, more time needed to get to hospital appointments. It wasn’t that broke. Why are those from out of town so determined to get in the way of traffic in Dunedin?

Q: How many cyclists are likely to use the cycle lanes?

NZTA: Current usage peaks at 500 per day, but this could easily double. We will measure the change.

Reality: Weasel words. Try looking north from Lower Stuart St along the one-way street. There will be several vehicles on the cycle lanes and likely not even 1 cyclist. The reality is that we are likely to have fewer than 1 cyclist per kilometre of cycleway in Dunedin at any one time. The maximum of 500 is not relevant to the usage in general. (And indeed 500 per day is 500 over 1440 minutes, about one every 3 minutes. At the absolute peak. For a moment in time. So it may double to 1 cyclist at the absolute maximum every 1.5 minutes.) And having measured it later, we are still stuck with the cycle lanes even if they don’t create double the usage. Meanwhile there is no proposed monitoring of the time wasted on getting to hospital appointments, or the time spent by students walking further from free car parking to lectures, or any other flow-on effects of decreased parking where it is currently available.

Q: When is work likely to start?

NZTA: May 2017, taking around 15 months and in such a way as to ensure the one-way system is able to operate effectively and any disruption is kept to a minimum.

Reality: These streets are groaning at the seams already. Our entire one-way system will become impossible to operate usefully, and it will take double the time. By this time those who came to Dunedin because the traffic wasn’t so bad will have the start of every working day diminished and their Dunedin experience effectively destroyed around the central city. We have an elderly population, and this will be the last three years of the lives of some of us.

Q: Who pays and what will it cost?

NZTA: NZTA will pay for the work directly related to the cycle lanes. $8million.

Reality: More weasel words. There are large costs not included in the direct costs. Agencies are keen on doing guestimates of the multiplier effect of benefits to the city for, say, acts at the stadium. What about a study of the likely costs to the city of loss of parking revenue, loss of time spent driving around, loss of time spent walking from vehicles, anxiety around hospital appointments, loss of business for those relying on easy car access for their custom etc. There are also costs for the work connecting roads and footpaths etc between the cycleways and the rest of our DCC infrastructure, and the inevitable landscaping in the vicinity. And then the costs of fixing what we had to redo because none of the agencies are working together. An expensive nightmare.

Q: What is being done to provide more integrated transport in Dunedin?

NZTA: NZTA, DCC and ORC are implementing transport related projects: this is one. These cycle lanes will connect with cycling lanes being considered in North Dunedin linking University, Hospital, Otago Polytechnic and the CBD.

Reality: These institutions are already handy to each other. As regards the University the biggest obstacle to cycling is the size of the campus which cannot be crossed by cyclists.

****

Pity NZTA doesn’t have a booth in the heart of Dunedin where they could come and sit and listen to the issues. Perhaps on the corner of Stuart St and the one-way streets?

[ends]

—

█ NZTA Dunedin Urban Cycleways Programme
Cycling in Dunedin contributes to improving transport options, providing a more efficient and integrated transport network, improving health, economic and social outcomes and city liveability. The Urban Cycleways Fund, subject to council approval, will help to accelerate the City to Harbour Bridge and the Central City and North East Valley cycle network.

█ NZTA Urban Cycleways Programme [general information]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

█ GREEN ATTACK ON YOUR BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Two-way separated cycleway on Beach Road, Auckland [nzta.govt.nz]

SH1 Cycleway : Carnage for Dunedin road users and city parking

The cycleway construction MANGLE is a MASSIVE over reaction to the loss of just two lives – TWO academics(!), who individually decided to risk their lives on the State Highway rather than take available quiet streets.

NZTA corralled by the DCC upstarts such as Mayor Cull, Cr Wilson and the dreadful DCC transportation planners…. is about to cripple the State Highway one-way system that caters for motorists, our trucking companies and large freight movers – as well as savage the public resource of city car parks.
258 parks to be lost.

Expect more cycle deaths and maiming as a result of the new segregated cycleways.

New Zealand road deaths are rising. An indictment but not due to the use of pedal cycles in urban centres so much as motor vehicles and motorbikes on the open road —no one, it appears, likes to wear seat belts, keep their speed down, stay free of distraction, or drive on the correct side of the road, any more. The Road Rules represent real inconvenience for petrolhead homies and overseas nationals.

The Liability Cull council likes to believe cyclists are important in a hilly aging town – or that the absolutely Vast minority of toasted ones were important (just the 2). But cycling, like skiing and boarding, has the excitement of the odd bruise, graze, break or concussion. Mincemeat too, is an option. Not sure it isn’t ‘natural’ to dice.

So we all must pay. And pay again on the one-ways.

This is yet another disreputable DCC detour from putting public funds (ours!) to core infrastructure. We know what core is.

OF COURSE
Latest cost estimates for the SH1 segregated cycleways, noted as $8M in the DCC propaganda published by Pravda, are set to spiral wildly out of control – a certainty!

All that DCC touches in its project work FAILS, immeasurably so, since council staff time and labour costs are kept fully hidden to keep the populace from casting pitchforks at the suited ones (men and women with desks at the City) who pillow out on stipends and salaries.

Give us a break. People die every day.
Why should that disfigure our heavy transports of delight….
The evil DCC staccato of red lights through town is bad enough.

More information on UGLY….

█ New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA)
Dunedin one-way system separated cycle lanes

█ Dunedin City Council
Cycle lanes in the city | Proposed Cycle Network

****

### ODT Online Thu, 26 Jan 2017
SH1 cycleway work to start
By David Loughrey
Work will start soon on an $8 million separated cycleway on Dunedin’s one-way system. The project is intended to provide safe cycling on a roading system overrepresented in fatal and serious crashes, with [merely!] two fatalities since 2011. The first stretch to be built will run between the Botanic Garden and Albany St. Work is expected to start in May.
Read more

“The loss of parking [258 parks] is justified in terms of safety, and supporting cycling can reduce parking pressure in the long term.” –University

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

NZ road deaths [repeat flouting of Road Code] + Self-driving car technology

“It’s horrific. What’s meant to be a festive and family time have been completely shattered by these accidents.” –Greally

### NZ Herald 6:21 AM Wednesday Jan 4, 2017
Holiday road toll ends, 19 dead
Nineteen people lost their lives on New Zealand roads over the Christmas and New Year period. The youngest victim was 2-years-old. The official holiday road toll ended at 6am today. It began on Friday, December 23. Last year’s holiday road toll saw 12 people killed on New Zealand roads, with 71 people seriously injured and 296 minor injuries, according to the Ministry of Transport. […] National road policing manager Steve Greally said earlier the high number of deaths was disappointing and devastating for families.
Read more

█ NZTA Road death statistics

****

Published on Dec 13, 2016
Meet the Blind Man Who Convinced Google Its Self-Driving Car Is Finally Ready | WIRED
Google is getting serious about self-driving cars. So serious that it put a legally blind man in one that drove him around safely on his own. The successful trip means that the tech giant can now launch its own self-driving car company, which it’s calling Waymo.

—

Consumers will probably get their first taste of automated driving in the backseat of a robo-taxi.

### bloomberg.com ‎3‎ ‎Jan ‎2017‎ ‎1‎:‎01‎ ‎p.m.‎ ‎NZDT
It’s Aye, Robot, as Driverless Cars Finally Steer Near Showrooms
By Keith Naughton and Mark Bergen
● 140 CES exhibitors from Google to Audi seek auto-tech buyers
● Autonomy is ‘next major battlefield’ for global automakers
Car electronics supplier Delphi Automotive Plc went coast-to-coast in 2015 in a self-driving Audi Q5 sport-utility vehicle to prove the autonomous automobile had arrived. Now, Delphi is shifting from stunts to selling. In Las Vegas this week at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, the company will give test rides to hundreds of potential customers in driverless Audis over a course of rugged terrain and tunnels. The goal: to walk away from this critical conclave with a handful of hot prospects for its self-driving system. “The last two years at CES have been more about just showcasing the technology and saying, ‘Look what it can do,'” said Glen De Vos, Delphi’s vice president of advanced engineering. “This year, the discussion is all about the path to production.” Self-driving cars are finally making the leap from the lab to the showroom. Tesla Motors Inc., BMW, Ford Motor Co. and Volvo Cars have all promised to have fully autonomous cars on the road within five years. Alphabet Inc. just spun off its Google Self-Driving Car Project, renaming it Waymo, and then promptly unveiled its driverless Chrysler Pacifica minivan and said it’s in discussions to put its technology into Honda Motor Co. models. When CES officially opens Jan. 5, the talk won’t be about proving technology — it will be about selling to automakers, ride-hailing companies, transit services and, ultimately, consumers.
At a show once known for mobile phones and video games, vehicle technology will cover an exhibit space the size of four football fields, some 21 percent more than last year. Some 138 auto-tech exhibitors will all be seeking a piece of the autonomy business that Boston Consulting Group says will increase to $42 billion by 2025 and account for a quarter of global sales by 2035. And since it takes about four years to bring a car to market, now is the time to cut deals with suppliers and tech partners to outfit models with self-driving systems that will debut early next decade.
Read more

█ For a QuickTake on issues surrounding driverless cars, click here.

[click to enlarge]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Our loss-making public bus system, as for the colours *spew

Inner city Dunedin is NOT a freaking circus or Disneyland.
Obviously, the bozos at ORC/DCC think differently.

Here is something CHEAP-NASTY-like:

Troughing consultants, transportation planners and those who purport to be ‘urban design’ from both councils appear to be barely out of grade school —my god, it shows (see video).

PRIMARY SCHOOL
Colouring in, by non-learned non-contextualists —who manage do it so very BADLY. This is absolute proof that Landscape Architecture at Dunedin is DEAD, BANKRUPT and bloody SMELLY. My cardboard box of pet maggots could design “the interchange” better. They could: swiftly, cleanly, without the disease that is ‘the carnival-scathed’ at local government.

Junior short-term work experience only, no proven local body management expertise or ‘factory floor’ experience whatsoever, now make for ‘team leader’ placements at Dunedin. That’s how tragic the workpool is. Low shoulder-tapping at the tertiary institution is no substitute for a smart council workforce, not that we have a hope in hell of attracting one.

Business leaders need to Take Dunedin!
By Storm, from the doughbrains at local government.
But Business leaders, Entrepreneurs and Investors now have the Largest, most IMMENSE PROBLEM.

At this un-populous sinking town :
At the productive, growth-generating Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes :
THERE IS NO AFFORDABLY SAFE AND SECURE POWER SUPPLY
None! This is All down to leaders, councillors, directors and executives at DCC, DCHL, Delta and Aurora.

And ORC/DCC think the sorry ratepayers and residents can afford an improved, convenient and efficient bus system. Ho. Ho. Ho.

—

Apart from or because of the buses making losses….

Clearly, the proposed changes to the bus system are NOT designed to embrace the Accessible Journey —to enhance the experience of city travel for mobility impaired citizens.

The Regional Public Transport Plan 2014 and the Dunedin City Integrated Transport Strategy 2013 DO NOT anticipate the growth of Uber, new technology or ‘other’ vehicular modes of travel, or indeed anything that is the future of transport at (Our Place) Dunedin.

The proposed changes are NOT subject to ANY ECONOMIC STUDIES to safeguard businesses, vehicle users, and the users of public transport, city-wide. None! So Predictable. So Deficient. So Grossly Negligent.

Coloured road markings, a Fun Distraction when there’s a MASSIVE POWER BLACKOUT at Dunedin.

*Note: DCC does not have a spare ONE BILLION DOLLARS in the bank to right Aurora/Delta’s wrongs.

—

The Otago Regional Council says:

Dunedin Bus Interchange (hub)
Dunedin’s public transport is changing. Since the adoption of the Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) in 2014, Otago Regional Council (ORC) has been rolling out network wide changes to create an affordable and connected public transport system in Dunedin. While many of these changes focus on implementing direct and stable bus routes with regular frequencies, we are also looking to improve the accessibility of the bus services, information, and infrastructure. As part of these changes we are providing a bus interchange (hub) in the city centre to make your bus journey better.

█ To find out more and how to make submissions, go to http://www.orc.govt.nz/Information-and-Services/Buses/Bushub/

—

There are several things the ORC can do immediately to signal its serious intent in improving services to its ratepayers. (ODT)

### ODT Online Wed, 7 Dec 2016
Editorial: Bus hub challenges
OPINION Public transport is essential in any major centre and now Dunedin faces its own challenges with the release of the long-awaited central-city bus hub plans. The Otago Regional Council is seeking community feedback on the hub planned for Great King St, near the central police station. It includes five parking bays on each side of the street. […] The idea of a Great King St hub cannot be taken seriously if people are going to be forced off one bus and on to another in quick time. […] Dunedin’s central area is the Octagon and the regional council needs to recognise the need to keep buses flowing through the Octagon.
Read more

****

Bus hub part of $3million transport project, including “super stops”. 38 car parks lost from Great King St between Moray Pl and St Andrew St.

### ODT Online Mon, 5 Dec 2016
Dunedin bus hub details released
By John Gibb
The Otago Regional Council has unveiled its long-awaited central Dunedin bus hub plans and is seeking community feedback. The bus hub, also termed the “bus interchange”, is, as previously signalled, in Great King St, near the central police station. It includes five parking bays on each side of the street. […] The size and style of bus shelters are partly dependent on public feedback, and also on any negotiations required with owners of nearby land, to be undertaken early next year. It is also proposed to use paints or other coloured materials, including on part of the street, to give the hub area a more lively appearance.
Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

Cycleways and scattered nails

### radionz.co.nz 24 June 2016 at 9:23 pm
RNZ News
Cycleway truce called as review set up
By Michael Cropp
Wellington’s beleaguered cycleway programme will not be getting the shot in the arm some were hoping for – instead it will be reviewed, refreshed and recommissioned. The outcome of that process – a ‘refreshed cycleways programme’ – would go to the Wellington City Council’s transport committee in August, the council announced today. Meanwhile, Island Bay Residents’ Association had reached a truce with cycling advocates and councillors, and was planning to start on its own consultation. A New Zealand Transport Agency report this month on the council’s ability to implement its programme stated the fallout from the Island Bay project had jeopardised the council’s other cycleway initiatives, and had eroded the public’s faith in the council. It said the council had lost the confidence of officials and ministers. Today’s announcement was intended to provide a pathway to regaining that trust.
Read more

—

IDEAS !!!!

Earlier this year, nails were scattered on the cycleway and the local residents’ association threatened a rates revolt if it wasn’t dug up.

### radionz.co.nz 1 June 2016 at 6:44 pm
RNZ News
WCC told it let spokes fall off cycleway plan
By Michael Cropp
The way Wellington City Council conducted the rollout of a controversial cycleway in Island Bay has hurt its city-wide ambitions for the bike routes, an independent review has found. The report into the city’s cycleways, which was commissioned by New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), concluded people felt the path in the southern suburb was a poor solution that was delivered without proper community engagement and consultation. It recommended it be reviewed and modified after further community consultation.
Read more

█ Read the report commissioned by NZTA (PDF, 1.3MB)

Related RNZ stories:
Legal costs mount in battle over Southland cycleway
Modified Hutt Rd cycleway plans welcomed
Capital cycleway faces strong opposition

****

Meanwhile at Dunedin…. plodding incompetence. A recent series of city council-led (earworms: Spokes Dunedin and NZTA) technical planning and cycleway construction FAILURES, at Exorbitant Expense forced on Ratepayers. All this while South Dunedin core infrastructure maintenance and upgrades received little if no DCC attention, ultimately leading to Council-fuelled multimillion-dollar flood damage. And now, the ODT Editor exhibits gut-wrenching Cheek to devoutly urge DCC to YES, Build Cycleways!

Fri, 24 Jun 2016
ODT Editorial: Learning from cycleway errors
OPINION After a long year of construction, mistakes, remedial work, wasted money and public dissatisfaction the South Dunedin Cycle Network has finally been shunted down the council’s cycleway queue. In an Otago Daily Times report this month council infrastructure networks general manager Ruth Stokes said she could not say when the South Dunedin network would be completed. The new focus, she said, was to employ the limited available resources on fixing the Portobello Rd cycleway and the central city network.

“Build them well, build them smart and build them efficiently.” (ODT)

—

SPOKES Dunedin speaks out for cycling in Dunedin, New Zealand and represents everyone who rides a bike or would like to ride a bike in the city. SPOKES is a local volunteer cycling advocacy group founded in 1996 as an affiliate of the New Zealand Cycling Advocates Network. SPOKES Dunedin is an incorporated society registered under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908.

We look forward to working with the Dunedin City Council to develop a real cycle network for Dunedin. (Spokes)

God Almighty! Read this:

█ SPOKES DUNEDIN SUBMISSION ON DRAFT 2016-2017 ANNUAL PLAN
Posted on April 6, 2016 by spokesdunedin

Summary
A change of scope is needed for Dunedin’s cycling network, but it is unclear what the DCC’s change in scope actually means, and higher standard cycleways are only part of the story. Spokes Dunedin has a vision for successfully realising the cycle network. We want everyone to be able to cycle from North Dunedin to South Dunedin, out both sides of the Harbour, and through the tunnels to Green Island and Mosgiel on a connected framework of city-spanning arterial routes that are safe, direct, and convenient to use. This will focus work where there is a clear need for improved safety rather than on streets that are already relatively safe, and will create a solid initial network that can grow and develop in response to future demand. The great thing is that there already exists some cycling infrastructure on many of the routes for this initial network. Several things can be achieved by the end of this year that will help Dunedin catch back up to where it should be.

To do in 2016
1. Support NZTA to begin construction of the SH1 separated lanes by the end of this year.
2. Fix Portobello Road – it’s already been two years. We don’t need fancy landscaping, we just need the median barrier realignment so the road looks like a road and the cycleway looks like a cycleway.
3. Complete the Wharf/Roberts intersection as agreed – it’s already been two years. This intersection presents an identified safety risk on a high demand route.
4. Continue the SH88 path through the rail corridor to the railway station, thereby providing an alternative to the cycle lanes on Anzac Ave (heavy freight route and high risk).
5. Create a separated cycle lane from the intersection of Andersons Bay/Strathallan, along The Oval, to Crawford Street in place of the existing cycle lane between two lanes of fast-moving traffic.
6. Develop plans for a separated cycle lane on North Road and safety improvements for the Opoho intersection to tie in with NZTA’s forthcoming separated cycle lanes on SH1. This route is of very high strategic priority.

Introduction
Dunedin is a pro-cycling city, where a significant proportion of the population regularly cycles for recreation, transportation, or both. Year after year, cycling is one of the most strongly supported and heavily submitted-on topics in the annual plan. One of the biggest public consultation events in Dunedin history was held in 2013 regarding the proposed SH1 separated cycle lanes. In addition to widespread media coverage, NZTA and DCC staff solicited input from the public at information booths in busy locations including the Golden Center, Toitu, and the University. With over 2000 written submissions and roughly 800 survey responses, the SH1 separated cycle lanes received one of the highest response rates of any topic ever consulted on. The result was overwhelming support for the proposed separated cycle lanes. Independently, the AA undertook a survey of their local membership, with over 70% of the nearly 1500 respondents supporting the proposed separated lanes. The overwhelming public demand and support for better cycling in Dunedin cannot be denied.
In response to this demand, the City rightly undertook to develop a Strategic Cycle Network. But the South Dunedin portion of the cycle network has not delivered on the ambitions of the cycle network plan adopted in 2011. Nothing has progressed in the last year, leaving half-finished elements scattered around, with other things ripped out without consultation.
Some might argue that we should throw up our hands in despair, abandoning the possibility of future success under the fear of past failures. But others know that setbacks are par for the course when charting new waters and trying new things. Where would we be if the likes of Cook, Columbus, or Magellan had turned around after the first storm and torn sail? Those leaders stayed the course, their sailors gained experience, and they ultimately changed the world.
Read more

“SPOKES, CYCLE-SAIL OFF THE EDGE OF THE WORLD WHY NOT”

█ For more, enter the terms *cycle* and *christmas present* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Election Year. This post is offered in the public interest.

*Images: (from top) humancyclist.wordpress.com – fixed track racing | hdwires.in – nails | hbr.org – bike dog jun co-passage | en.wikipedia.org – sail wagon

John Evans: ‘Always Follow the Money Honey’ #DunedinCyclewayCRIME

Fair Go [tvnz.co.nz]

Received from John Evans
Wed, 28 Oct 2015 at 7:55 p.m.

Tonight on Fair Go – https://www.tvnz.co.nz/ondemand/fair-go/28-10-2015 – we find that the Bike Barn franchise has been in breach of the Sale of Goods Act and is being investigated by the Commerce Commission.

The great shame is that the councillors on the DCC will spend $47 million of your money to advance the commercial interests of a private business group.

When will we get some non naïve councillors – apart from Hilary and Lee.

For Jehovah’s sake Dunedin

WAKE UP.

Your representatives are naïve and being conned by outside interests and inside corruption.

[ends]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Image: 4.bp.blogspot.com – ScrollCornerJPRfinished, frame added by whatifdunedin

Bloody DCC —superlative cost blowout #cycleways #SUCKS

#GreaterDunedinNOTsustainable
#DaveCullNOTsustainable
#KateWilsonNOTsustainable
#JintyMacTavishNOTsustainable
#CouncilStaffManagersNOTsustainable

No photograph of Kate in lycra could be found. The Mayor and MacTavish were both camel shackled when our photographer called (say no more).

—

### ODT Online Thu, 22 Oct 2015
Dunedin cycleway cost blowout
By Craig Borley
Building Dunedin’s cycleways could cost “three to four times” more per metre than first thought. That news was delivered to the Dunedin City Council’s infrastructure services committee this morning by the council’s infrastructure and networks general manager Ruth Stokes

The committee voted to continue with the rollout of the network, ensuring the design and finish were of the more expensive, higher quality option.

Read more

█ Council Reports available at What if? via (12.10.15)https://dunedinstadium.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/dcc-cycleways-now-tied-to-more-urban-design-spend-after-rehash-numero/#comment-66330

Sandy Graham advises there is one amended page (item 6 ph 6.8) – a map was altered for clarity. The website copy will be updated with the amended page.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: [screenshot] youtube.com – Cycling Training Program – Crashing on a bike

DCC v Tauranga CC + costly stadium cycle/walkway :[

Updated post
Wed, 7 Oct 2015 at 3:14 p.m.

—

Received from John Evans
Tue, 6 Oct 2015 at 3:50 p.m.

Radio NZ advised today that job applications for Tauranga had increased by 50% from Auckland’s over the past year. Auckland jobseekers look for the exit (updated at 4:52 pm).

The number of Aucklanders looking to leave the city and get jobs elsewhere is up by almost half from last year, new job figures from Trade Me show.

Population increases since Dunedin Debt burden blowout

Click to access statistical_information_report2014.pdf

One of the reasons applicants will seek positions in Tauranga (and not Dunedin) is the greater efficiency of the Tauranga local administration where Tauranga has less than half of the council employees, Dunedin ratepayers support.

Tauranga does not have an expensive indoor stadium (and it rains just as much), it does not have a $50 million overspend on council buildings, no Chinese garden, no Toitu museum.

Is it possible or even likely that Dunedin council has got the reasons for living in a city completely wrong.

New entrants want well organised RUBBISH collections, good management of water, waste water and SEWAGE.

They apparently do not want hare-brained schemes, and they don’t need mantra promising 10,000 more jobs, they are getting them due to increased population and an absence of stupid council schemes.

The only jarring note is that Tauranga is actioning 150km of cycleways. But my take on that is the cycleways are a National government pushed scheme and probably all of the cities are developing cycleways at our expense. What this means of course is that no city will have a cycling point of difference and therefore tourist numbers will be hardly likely to increase simply because of cycleways at ANY location. After all how many cyclists do you see on our cycleways. Apart from the rail trail (a genuine cycle path), the rest of them have SFA, bugger all, None basically.

[ends]

—

Ah, Mr Coryn Huddy still has a top paying job after slinging a gun while drunk at Fubar Stadium, then losing it. Thanks Terry Davies for using our Rates to pay freaking idiots. See other references at What if? Dunedin. Why were the police never called by DVML management? —the firearm incident happened prior to Terry Davies’ arrival as chief executive.

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
New cycleway/walkway officially opened

This item was published on 06 Oct 2015

Dunedin City Council today officially opened the new cycleway and walkway linking the wharf area with the west harbour near Forsyth Barr Stadium. The walkway/cycleway completes the connection between the eastern and western parts of the harbour cycle network and also means safer and easier access for people going to the stadium. It includes well-lit shared paths across and under the State Highway 88 bridge over the Leith and connects with Wickliffe Street near the corner of Fryatt Street.

Mayor of Dunedin Dave Cull says, “The completion of this particular walkway/cycleway is an important milestone in Dunedin’s wider transport network. It ‘closes the loop’ on the harbour cycle network and also provides better connectivity and safety for a range of users.”

Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee Chair Cr Kate Wilson says, “I’m very pleased to see the extension of this shared path providing better connectivity towards the centre of town from State Highway 88.” Cr Wilson says the new link will be great for families gaining confidence on bikes and she’s now looking forward to further cycleway extensions which will open up cycling over time for many more commuters and recreational riders.

The completion of the new link also has several benefits for people going to Forsyth Barr Stadium. Dunedin Venues Chief Operating Officer Coryn Huddy says, “It is now a safer journey for stadium patrons because they no longer have to cross the busy State Highway 88.” “There is also faster access to the venue with walking times reduced by around 10 minutes for people parking in the vicinity of Fryatt Street. There are potentially more car parking options available as well because other spaces near the harbour may previously have been considered too far to walk,” Mr Huddy says.

█ The new cycleway/walkway project cost a total of $440,000.

This walkway/cycleway is the final stage of completing the State Highway 88 realignment project, for which the New Zealand Transport Agency was a co-investment partner.

Contact Transport Projects Team Leader on 477 4000.

DCC Link

—

Douglas Field Published on Oct 6, 2015
cull and kate cycleway opening 6 10 15
Propaganda talk by ‘Hatter’ Cull and ‘Turkey’ Infrastructure Chair on central city cycleway link in Dunedin.

—

### ODT Online Tue, 6 Oct 2015
Safer way to get to stadium
A new cycleway and walkway linking Dunedin’s wharf area with the west harbour near Forsyth Barr Stadium will enable safer and easier access to the venue. The Dunedin City Council officially opened the $440,000 cycleway/walkway today, which completes the connection between the eastern and western parts of the harbour cycle network. It includes well-lit shared paths across and under the State Highway 88 bridge over the Leith, and connects with Wickliffe St near the corner of Fryatt St.
Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin: The Final Solution *dearjohn

Link received.

Chris Burland Published on May 15, 2015
cycling and john wayne
Music: “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (From “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”) (Titles)” by Ennio Morricone (Google Play • eMusic • iTunes)

█ For more, enter *cycle* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Cr Kate ‘Cycleways’ Wilson —(disingenuous) fails constituents

█ Cr Kate Wilson says cycleways will bring myriad benefits to Dunedin.

ODT Online Sat, 25 Jul 2015
Why Dunedin is investing in cycling
By Craig Borley
Dunedin appears divided over the cycle network. Some see it as unnecessary. Others see it as vital. ODT reporter Craig Borley spoke to Dunedin city councillor Kate Wilson, chairwoman of the infrastructure services committee, about why the city is investing in cycle infrastructure.
Read more

—

█ The Dunedin City Council is sleep-walking to yet another poorly thought out cycleway project. (ODT)

### ODT Online Thu, 20 Aug 2015
Time to put brakes on cycleway
By Hilary Calvert
OPINION Somehow, the Dunedin City Council has been so beguiled by the gift-horse that is the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) that it seems to have completely forgotten to carry out its proper role of looking after the interests of the citizens of Dunedin in respect of the State Highway 1 cycleway plans.
Read more

—

ODT 26.8.15 (page 8)
– shot in a half-lit Dunedin café off the beaten cycle paths

—

█ Proposed: Separated cycle lanes to run along north and south one way routes, between Botanic Garden and Queens Gardens.

### ODT Online Thu, 10 Sep 2015
Dedicated cycle lanes get closer
By Craig Borley
Nationally-funded separated cycle lanes along Dunedin’s one way system are now two steps closer as the project moves swiftly through the New Zealand Transport Agency machine.
Read more

NZTA said it had resolved to:
• Incorporate high turnover short term parking for businesses, particularly those reliant on short stay kerbside parking and deliveries
• Incorporate medium term parking close to the hospital and museum.
Updated plans were now being prepared to show where the parking would be included. The plans will be available for public comment at the end of the month.

—

ODT 11.9.15 (page 16)

—

Related Posts and Comments:
● 3.9.15 Dunedin support for extensive cycle lanes and Free bicycles
● 22.8.15 DCC cycleway$ now tied to more ‘urban de$ign’ $pend….
● 18.7.15 DCC Cycleways: SEEING RED, apology NOT accepted
● 10.4.15 DCC cycleways propaganda continues #SpendSpendSpend
20.3.15 DCC Shame: First, John Wilson Dr … now Portobello Rd cycleway
11.2.15 Dunedin Cycleways: Pet project staff, ‘entitlement’? #irony
3.12.14 Cycling at Dunedin —boring debate, network spending continues #DUD
22.5.14 DCC Transportation Planning —ANOTHER consultation disaster
6.5.14 Roading network screwed by council staff
● 14.2.14 DCC: Broadband AND bicycles #fraudband speed
14.1.14 DCC: Hospital area parking changes #cyclelanes
5.1.14 Norman Foster: SkyCycling utopia above London railways #ThinkBig
24.12.13 Daaave’s $47 million Christmas present to Jinty. We’re paying.
4.12.13 Dunedin cycleways: Calvin Oaten greeted by DCC silence
17.11.13 Dunedin cycleways: Calvin Oaten’s alternative route
17.11.13 Cull and MacTavish… “Have you fixed the debt crisis?”
14.11.13 Cycle lane explosions and puncture kits (SPOKES grenades launch)
8.11.13 Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal [how to make a submission]
29.10.13 DCC (EDU) invents new job! [GigatownDunedin]
19.10.13 Cycle lobby games and media tilts
24.9.13 Mediocrity and lack of critical awareness at DCC [council reports]
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering… [route maps]
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering
21.11.12 Safe cycling -Cr Fliss Butcher
5.11.12 DCC, NZTA: Cycle lanes controversy

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC cycleways propaganda continues #SpendSpendSpend

GREATER DUNEDIN ELECTIONEERING ALERT

—

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Another Busy Year Ahead With Cycleways

This item was published on 10 Apr 2015

Dunedin residents will be able to make the most of safer cycle routes in coming months as the city’s cycleway network continues to expand. Dunedin City Council Infrastructure Services Committee Chair Cr Kate Wilson says cycleways make the streets safer for all road users and hopefully encourage more people to get on bikes.

“For years people have been asking the Council for enhanced cycleways in Dunedin. We have a responsibility to provide networks that give people travel choices, whether that be cycling, walking or taking a bus or car. The more of the network that is completed, the more we can provide for people who want to use cycleways, whether it’s a child cycling to school, an adult cycling recreationally, or anything in between.”

It is also a central government priority to rapidly expand and enhance networks of cycleways around the country, recognising the benefits to health, the economy and the environment. The DCC has received $570,000 from the Government’s Urban Cycleway Fund and the Council has decided the funding will be used to enhance and expand the South Dunedin Cycle Network. The DCC also receives funding from the NZ Transport Agency to build the network.

“Taking advantage of Government funding now is important as we have a limited window of opportunity to capitalise on our position as one of only a few cities with the requisite Strategic Cycle Network Plan. We are a financially constrained Council and the more funding we get from outside sources the less we need from ratepayers.”

In August 2011, the Council adopted the Strategic Cycle Network for Dunedin, which gave the South Dunedin network of routes the highest priority for design and construction. Cr Wilson says 40% of people living in South Dunedin do not have access to a car, which is a key reason for South Dunedin cycle routes being prioritised.

“We understand introducing cycleways to our streets has been a big change for some people, but we’ve got a great opportunity here to improve our city in a very positive way for current and future generations.”

Here’s an outline of what’s happening with South Dunedin cycleways over the next month.
● Portobello Road (between Timaru Street and Portsmouth Drive) – wider consultation on a revised concept plan for this stretch of road.
● Hillside Road/McBride Street – staff are reviewing the proposed cycleway design after meeting with local businesses.
● Neville/Wilkie Streets – a final decision on the type of cycleway for these streets will be made in April. Construction is scheduled to begin in May.
● Harbourside/Roberts Street – the Harbourside Working Group will meet again in mid April.
● Richardson/Coughtrey, Fingall/Tedder, Bellona/New Streets – Construction of these ‘quiet streets’ and dedicated cycleway should be finished in the next couple of weeks.

Residents, businesses and property owners in areas where cycleways are planned will be contacted directly.

█ General information is also available at http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/sdcn and more details will be added as projects are rolled out.

Contact Cr Kate Wilson, Infrastructure Services Committee Chair on 027 443 8134. DCC Link

—

Related Posts and Comments:
20.3.15 DCC Shame: First, John Wilson Dr … now Portobello Rd cycleway
11.2.15 Dunedin Cycleways: Pet project staff, ‘entitlement’? #irony
3.12.14 Cycling at Dunedin —boring debate, network spending continues #DUD
22.5.14 DCC Transportation Planning —ANOTHER consultation disaster
6.5.14 Roading network screwed by council staff
14.2.14 DCC: Broadband AND bicycles #fraudband speed
14.1.14 DCC: Hospital area parking changes #cyclelanes
5.1.14 Norman Foster: SkyCycling utopia above London railways #ThinkBig
24.12.13 Daaave’s $47 million Christmas present to Jinty. We’re paying.
4.12.13 Dunedin cycleways: Calvin Oaten greeted by DCC silence
17.11.13 Dunedin cycleways: Calvin Oaten’s alternative route
17.11.13 Cull and MacTavish… “Have you fixed the debt crisis?”
14.11.13 Cycle lane explosions and puncture kits (SPOKES grenades launch)
8.11.13 Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal [how to make a submission]
29.10.13 DCC (EDU) invents new job! [GigatownDunedin]
19.10.13 Cycle lobby games and media tilts
24.9.13 Mediocrity and lack of critical awareness at DCC [council reports]
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . . [route maps]
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering
21.11.12 Safe cycling -Cr Fliss Butcher
5.11.12 DCC, NZTA: Cycle lanes controversy

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: (from top) odopod.com – cycle hero; blogs.independent.co.uk – cycling getty [Getty images]

Mangawhai, Kaipara: Latest news + Winston Peter’s speech

Received.
Tue, 9 Sep 2014 at 8:53 a.m.

A SERIOUSLY GOOD READ from the MRRA Executive (Mangawhai Residents and Ratepayers Association Inc). The newsletter follows their public meeting at Mangawhai Gym on Sunday, 7 September 2014, to which New Zealand First’s Winston Peters gave an address.

Dunedin residents and ratepayers take heed.

—

[begins]

Another remarkable turnout in Mangawhai
This is the staunchest, toughest, fairest community in New Zealand. The solidarity you have exhibited in the face of vilification, lies, corruption, deceit, bullying and state-funded spin puts the Mangawhai people into a category that verges on martyrdom. And Sunday was proof if proof was needed that nobody is about to give up on the quest for justice.
Yesterday, 200 MRRA members and numerous members of the public turned out to hear some of the candidates for election this month talk about their policies. The MRRA had extended an invitation specifically asking the candidates to speak on local government, and what they would do in office to prevent a recurrence of what happened in Kaipara. Several parties didn’t show up, possibly because they did not have an answer to that question, and those parties that voted for the Validation Act that effectively stymied our application to the Court have to be assumed to be in favour of council law-breaking and mis-treatment of ratepayers, because they keep on rewarding it by passing retrospective legislation.

Most of those who sold us out didn’t show up
The Green candidate, David Clendon, defended the Green party’s stance by saying that if the Act hadn’t been passed the cost to the ratepayers would have been even greater. He may have believed that at the time, and that is one thing. To believe it still, after everything that has happened, demonstrates that the “Fairer Society” the Greens espouse is just another slogan to be taken with a grain of salt. However, David Clendon did have the courage to show up and take the lumps. The same cannot be said of National and Labour, the other two parties who sold us all down the river in 2013.

Can they be Trusted?
The Conservative Party’s Northland candidate promised to come to the meeting, then she phoned to say she wasn’t coming, but that Colin Craig (party leader) was coming instead. Then, on the morning of the meeting, we got a text saying he wasn’t coming either. Could people who behave like that be relied upon if they got into government? Did John Key tell him that he wouldn’t get a clear run at East Coast Bays if he fraternised with us? Where do the dirty tricks begin and end?

Those who did show up
The start-up local party led by Ken Rintoul (Focus New Zealand) sent a strong delegation along, and participated energetically in proceedings. ACT’s number 3 man, Robin Grieve likewise.

And those who answered the question posed
Only one candidate really responded to our call for information about their party’s local government policies. That was New Zealand First, represented by their leader Winston Peters. His full speech is reprinted below for those who were not present but are keen to hear what he said. In summary, he catalogued the litany of crime and wrong-doing that led to the Kaipara debacle, stated that central government had, through its persistent failure to heed the warnings, effectively (and possibly knowingly) let the whole catastrophe happen under its nose, and that it needed to make reparations.

Clive Boonham moved to tears!
A week previously, the National candidate convened his own meeting in the same venue and mustered about a third of our audience. His audience included a coterie of diehard supporters, at least one of them probably being paid by ratepayers to attend. At that meeting the candidate made the announcement that he had been in Bruce Rogan’s house and Bruce Rogan had said “Mike, if you will go after the auditor general I will hug you!”. I did once attend a meeting with Mike Sabin, at Helen Curreen’s house. When Mike made a characteristically motormouth claim that he was prepared to leave no Fairy tern unstoned in pursuit of the Auditor General, I think I responded that I would embrace any move to bring the culprits in this saga to justice. Mike is clearly in need of affection to have turned that response into an offer of man love. Why he assumed the Curreens’ place belonged to the Rogans is anyone’s guess, but perhaps he thought it didn’t much matter, because once the Validation Bill was passed all the houses would end up being owned by the banks anyway!
But the point of that little anecdote is that sometimes politicians’ speeches generate emotional responses in the audience. When Winston Peters finished speaking, the normally undemonstrative Clive Boonham rose to his feet (an event of greater significance in Clive’s case than for the ordinary citizen, owing to the distance involved in the rising), and said that the speech had brought tears to his eyes. That probably reflected the sentiment of quite a few others in the room – to hear, most of them for the first time, confirmation that we were not the villains in this piece, and to hear it from someone who just might be in a position to do something about it after the election, is very moving.

Two to Tango?
As he left the meeting Winston made it clear, with that famous disarming smile on his face, that he would study the returns from the Mangawhai polling booth very closely, and his commitment to go into bat for us would be directly linked to how hard we went to bat for him!! Sounds like a fair deal, perhaps? Rest assured that if we get shafted again in the Courts we are certainly going to need someone in the political system to be batting for us. Seriously though, SOMEBODY has to go into bat on behalf of the country’s ratepayers, and very soon.

GST on Rates
NZ First said GST should come off rates because rates are a tax and it is wrong to tax taxes. Focus NZ said that the GST on rates should not go to central government but should be used in the district in which it was collected. ACT said that under a government in which it was a part rates would not rise by more than the inflation rate, which would require regulation, which ACT said it was going to remove.
Most of the proceedings were videoed, and a sound recording was made of all the speeches and the exchanges afterwards.

Our Appeal of the High Court judgment
Clive Boonham addressed the meeting with a very clear explanation of the case at the Court of Appeal. He was concerned that it might have been a bit dry after all the hurly burly that went before. Nobody in the room thought that was the case at all.

Our case has three prongs:
● The true legal effect of the Validation Act
● The true legal meaning of the Protected Transaction Provisions of the LGA
● The breach of the Bill of Rights by the Commissioners in bringing their vindictive and vicious Bill to the House while our case was before the High Court.

The Rates Strike and the Bully Boys
The questions were asked “What should we do about withholding rates?”, and “What do we do if we are threatened with legal action?”
You are safe for now.
Nothing further can be added to your rates bill until the 20th November. If you are still not paying rates, hang on until we get some properly considered advice out to you about that, in good time for you to make a decision before any further penalties are applied.
If you are being sued and if you need help, we will help you.
If you are threatened with legal action and you would like help, get in touch with us. We believe that the council will have to climb some very steep hills to successfully sue any Kaipara ratepayer for non-payment of rates, and when the time comes we intend to be ready to provide a vigorous defence to anyone who is sued by this council.

Contest for YOU!
Lastly, on a lighter note, Tom Parsons made the observation that these commissioners call themselves the council, when they are not a council and are in reality nothing remotely like a council. Think of a more appropriate name for them and email it to mrra @ vodafone.co.nz We will publish the (printable!) results, and award a prize (Bennett’s chocolate fish) for the best entry.

Winston Peters’ Speech
Winston Peters spoke at the Meet the Candidates’ Meeting at the Mangawhai Gym today (Sunday the 7th of September 2014):

Posted at 3:07pm Sunday 07 Sep, 2014

There needs to be a corrective history of how this sorry saga came about.

• About 14 years ago the Beca group became head consultant for the Mangawhai sewerage project, it evaluated tenders, and awarded the tender to itself, receiving $675000 of ratepayers’ money to manage the bid process.

• The Beca group in association with the council’s chief executive officer Jack McKerchar settled on Simon Engineering from Australia as the preferred bidder.

• Simon Engineering had claimed experience in dozens of engineering projects in Australia like Mangawhai.

• Simon Engineering had no such experience other than a trailer park equivalent to a single subdivision in Mangawhai.

• Councillor Bruce Rogan sought a referral from one of Simon Engineering’s purported happy customers in Australia.

• This cautious request was attacked by Beca group project group leader Johnson and the Mayor and no information was forthcoming.

• In 2002 the local government amendment Act banned the concept of a 25 year old –build-own-operate-transfer project.

• Neither Beca or the chief executive observed the law change because the deal had already been secretly committed to.

• Councillor Rogan’s request that Simon Engineering be warned of exceeding its budget was ignored by the chief executive officer who later said that his failure to follow a council resolution was because it might have frightened the horses.

• Councillor Rogan directly advised Simon Engineering of the council resolution, which caused the company to bolt and financially go belly up.

• What remained of Simon Engineering’s skeletal remains morphed into a new creation Beca-Simon which promoted itself as a multinational infrastructure builder.

• So the project manager became the builder, or put it another way, had now organised a contract with himself.

• In time the contract ended up with Water Infrastructure Group now running the entire waste water system project.

• Quarterly reviews were denied the Kaipara councillors under threat of legal action.

• Some councillors were asking difficult questions of the relationship of Mr McKerchar and a council staff employee working on the planning for the sewerage scheme.

• The council employee transferred from the council to the Beca group who then contracted her back to provide services to the Kaipara council.

• Another sewerage scheme on the west coast of Kaipara went to the same contractors for $7 million despite the financial blow out on the Mangawhai scheme, or that another proposed tenderer at $5 million was warned off because of the affect that this tender might have on the roading contracts in the Kaipara district the following year.

• The Auditor-General was aware of the chief executive officer-council employee-cum Beca employee connection but she did not think it was relevant.

• Staff at the council lived in fear for their positions if they questioned decisions. And the chief executive officer, when appointed commissioners took over the council, was given a $240,000 handshake.

Ladies and gentlemen this is not the script for a novel or a bodice-ripping bestseller. This is a sorry litany of negligence, corruption and coverup.

The Simon Engineering connection puts one in mind of Novopay, another bunch of Aussie Ned Kellys, who took over our education payroll system despite having no experience in that business whatsoever. Costs have blown out to around $60 million, some teachers are still not getting paid despite the government picking up the skeletons of Novopay.

New Zealand First, as a result of extensive investigation, discussions, and analysis, opposed the Kaipara District Council (Validation of Rates and other Matters) Bill.

The National Party, Labour, Greens, Māori, ACT and United Future parties all supported it.

Hone Harawira, believing that New Zealand First was on to something, opposed it as well.

Illegalities in entering into loans are not mere technicalities or formalities but go to the heart of local government’s obligation to consult ratepayers before entering into large financial commitments.

Especially where the rates can be set to cover illegal loans.

In Kaipara’s case community consultation stopped at $34 million. But the scheme’s cost ended up being far more than double the price.

Contractors have taken large margins. The ANZ bank acquired the original loans at a 40%mark down, clearly having done some due diligence on the whole scheme. But that bank is insisting upon the full loan. Where Beca Group sits in this is a good question requiring answer. They were contracted to manage the project so why are they not taking a haircut as well.

But the key issue here is what is the responsibility of central government in this sorry mess. The auditor general’s office is a key agency in central government.

Retrospective legislation that is harmful to any party should be an abomination in a democracy.

In this instance, it was used as a device to brush incompetence and corruption under the carpet.

New Zealand First’s view is clear; inconvenient truths should not be buried but exposed to the cleansing light of public scrutiny.

Cover up – deny – and avoid scrutiny whilst the innocent suffer and the guilty walk away unscathed and fully paid.

How the Audit Office allowed five years of clean audits to go through on the Kaipara District Council while the sewerage scheme racked up so much debt is incredible, especially as some of you were voicing concerns early on.

How the Auditor General refused to consider many questionable matters, saying they were irrelevant, begs the question.

If that is not relevant what is?

The Auditor General’s office has a reputation for integrity but what went wrong here?

Was it that some the participants looked too big to be questioned?

However your political representatives in Parliament, from all parties, except New Zealand First and Mana, were no better.

They defended the Auditor General and take no responsibility for forgetting about you.

Former Prime Minister Norman Kirk once pointed out to MPs that it was not their job to defend the Government Department from the people; instead their role was to defend the people from the Department.

He was precisely right. So instead of defending you, 112 politicians rushed to defend the Audit Office, and they went further collectively sweeping all the wrongdoing under the carpet by voting for retrospective legislation.

The National government has wiped its hands of your problem, as have the other parties and there’s been no attempt to try and renegotiate the loans, to lessen the load, or step in do their duty by you.

There’s been no admission of the culpability of the Audit Office which should see Central Government pick up the bill for the bloated cost.

We are 13 days from an election and some of you want New Zealand First to declare its position on Coalitions now. I trust you now all understand what a betrayal of you it would be to enter pre-election Coalition arrangements without securing your interests in negotiations first. Or would you prefer someone who is ‘all tea and sympathy’ with no objective of backing it up.

National and its local MPs, past and present, should be ashamed of their underhand way of allowing the guilty to escape accountability and leaving you with the cost.

A similar matter is occurring under your eyes where the SuperGoldCard is concerned.

It has a free travel component which is under review in November, after the election.

We know the National Party wants to wind it back, although its annual cost would be a third of the Novopay debacle.

It benefits 630,000 Seniors.

Last night Minister Woodhouse on TV denied our allegations. Well, Mr Woodhouse, how do you explain the discussions between government and local body transport authorities being held behind closed doors as I speak.

Four years ago the master of Novopay was caught out on a similar denial. And now another Minister, Woodhouse, has been caught out doing the same.

With 13 days to go before the election you can vote for your political choice and remain with an albatross around your neck, or can you see with great clarity what you now must do.

Party vote New Zealand First because for you, more than probably any other group in New Zealand

It’s Common Sense
– See more at: http://www.sunlive.co.nz/news/81874-winstons-speech.html

Bullet points from Clive’s address:
Appeal Process
We have been criticised by Robertson, Pooley and others, for appealing.
If we had won would the KDC have sucked it up like they are telling us to do, and not have appealed?
If we had won would KDC have immediately refunded all the illegal rates, pending appeal outcome?
Yeah RIGHT!

Grounds for Appeal
● Validation ACT – What did it really validate?
● The so-called Protected Transactions-
– What do they protect
– Who do they protect
– Who is responsible for honouring them?

● New Zealand Bill of Rights Act
– There was a breach (High Court said so)
– Who committed the breach? (we think it was the commissioners, who simply cannot commit breaches of the Bill of Rights Act)
– Are they accountable for that?

Funding
Sincere thanks to those who made financial contributions at the meeting and to those who continue to help out with funding. If you have donated to the cause please don’t feel any obligation to do so again, but for those who haven’t….? As we said at the meeting, the award of costs by the High Court will go a long way to funding the cost of the appeal(s).

Our bank account number is:-
38-9012-0318164-00 and our postal address for cheques is PO Box 225 Mangawhai 0540.
Please attach your membership number 2012047.
Thank you again to those who came along and made the meeting on Sunday such a success. It might not have been our biggest turnout ever, but it was a much bigger community turnout than most politicians ever see in their lifetimes!

Kind regards,
MRRA Executive.

[ends]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dunedin City Council | Consolidated council debt

Recent ODT stories:

██ Mayfair Theatre, South Dunedin, learnt on Monday an adjacent public car park on the corner of King Edward St and Cameron St used by often elderly patrons was for sale, with tenders closing this week.
● Car park sale ‘kick in guts’

██ Anger from Caledonian Bowling Club members, who last Friday learnt the council would sell the Andersons Bay Rd land the 135-year-old club was on.
● Dismay as club hears of sale plans
● Community institution feels the pinch
● Bowlers buoyed by support over council sell-off plan
● Club will fight sale

██ Council to sell up to 150 plots of surplus land and property over the next two to three years in a move expected to raise about $10 million, targeted for paying off debt.
● Councillors urge rethink of land sale
● Council may net $10m in sales
● Southern suburbs among poorest 10%

****

### ODT Online Wed, 30 Jul 2014
Councillors urge rethink of land sale
By David Loughrey
Some Dunedin city councillors are urging a rethink on the sale of a council-owned car park near the Mayfair Theatre, but Mayor Dave Cull is adamant the sale should not be a political decision. Mr Cull said yesterday council chief executive Sue Bidrose had been delegated to make the sale, and it was not a matter for councillors. “That’s her job.” But three councillors want at least a discussion on the issue.
Read more

****

SOUTH DUNEDIN CYCLE NETWORK
“Based on what it now knew about costs […] the council would only be able to build 12km of the original 25km cycleway network within its original $4.5 million budget. The network would cost as much as $7.85 million if built as originally approved by the council.” (ODT)

### ODT Online Wed, 30 Jul 2014
Cycle project scaled back
By Debbie Porteous
The Dunedin City Council has been forced to pare back original plans for the controversial South Dunedin Cycle Network, as the true costs of the project become apparent. Despite being reduced by almost half, the curtailed network is expected to cost about $5.5 million – $1 million more than original estimates for the whole network. The blowout may eat into funding set aside for the rest of the city’s cycle network.
Read more

—

“I’m not surprised given the dickheads we’ve got around that table. It’s just another nail in Dunedin’s coffin; we’ve got a council not focused on business and focused on cyclists, but there are no cyclists.” –Roger Fewtrell

### ODT Online Wed, 30 Jul 2014
Threat to move over cycleway
By Debbie Porteous and Chris Morris on Wed, 30 Jul 2014
A Dunedin business owner potentially affected by changes to an intersection on the route of the new harbourside cycleway has threatened to move his enterprise to Auckland. […] Southern Hospitality managing director Roger Fewtrell said the council’s decision meant his company would consider its options at its board meeting early next month.
Read more

24.12.13 Daaave’s $47 million Christmas present to Jinty. We’re paying.

█ For more on DCC’s cycle network project for Dunedin, enter the terms *cycle*, *transportation* or *disaster* in the search box at right.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Great quote: men

Received.
Sunday, 13 Jul 2014 at 5:56 PM

Symbiosis across a number of threads (including for DCC, CST, DVML, ORFU, Highlanders, University of Otago, NZRU, DIA) but go to recent comments here and here.

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Roading network screwed by council staff

█ UNDEMOCRATIC—Council staff agendas are directing major changes to Dunedin’s road networks. Continued use of exclusive ‘workshops’ lacks transparency and accountability.

Cr Hilary Calvert asks ‘why councillors were not more involved in developing the strategic cases’. (ODT)

Cr Lee Vandervis says ‘the problems identified were based on ”absurd or probably false” assumptions’. (ODT)

STAFF ASSUMPTIONS
► There is too much parking in Dunedin
► Restricted parking will increase use of public transport
► Encouraging more people to cycle makes roads safer

### ODT Online Tue, 6 May 2014
Council notes roading strategic cases
By Debbie Porteous
The first step towards securing funding for major changes to Dunedin’s road networks has been taken by the Dunedin City Council, even though exactly what those changes will be is yet to be decided. Councillors yesterday noted council staff had taken the first of six steps in a new process for applying for funding from the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).
Read more

****

█ Strategic Case Development for Improvements to Dunedin’s Central City and Freight Network
Report – ISC – 05/05/2014 (PDF, 993.6 KB)

Excerpts from the report…

Council staff have recently submitted two Strategic Case applications to the NZ Transport Agency; one for investment to improve the access, mobility and safety of the Central City; and the other to enhance Dunedin’s Freight Network. Pending approval from the NZTA, Council staff will begin the Programme Business Case stage, where investment options and alternatives will begin to be developed and defined. Staff will seek Councillor support and input prior to the submission of the Programme Business Case to the NZ Transport Agency, anticipated to be later this year.

The NZ Transport Agency has recently adopted a Better Business Case approach to guide the planning and project development for investment applications. It is a principles-based approach that clearly links their investment goals to outcomes, and defines problems and their consequences thoroughly before solutions are considered. This approach ensures a shared view of problems and benefits early in the transport planning process. The business case approach encourages early engagement with stakeholders to confirm:
● fit with strategy and need to invest
● the way forward with short-listed options
● that the best value option is affordable and deliverable and that the risks are acceptable.

To execute many of the projects outlined in Dunedin’s Integrated Transport Strategy requires funding from external sources. A significant source of transportation funding is potentially available from the NZ Transport Agency. As detailed above, Council must now apply for funding from the NZ Transport Agency through their Better Business Case approach. This stepped approach ensures that any solutions are in response to clearly defined problems, and are aligned to the NZ Transport Agency’s investment goals.

Council staff held initial discussions with key stakeholders, the NZ Transport Agency and the Otago Regional Council to define the areas of focus for investment. The group agreed that the Council should focus on establishing two Strategic Cases: 1. Dunedin Central City: Access, Mobility and Safety; 2. Dunedin Freight Network. These areas strongly align with those set out in our Integrated Transport Strategy.

The first step of establishing the Strategic Case is to develop an Investment Logic Map (ILM). The ILMs set out the key problems and the benefits of solving the problems. Two ILM workshops were hosted for each of the areas of focus. Participants included the key stakeholders (DCC staff, Council Committee Chairs – Cr Wilson, Cr Benson-Pope, Cr McTavish; NZ Transport Agency and the ORC) and relevant partner organisations (including Otago Chamber of Commerce, Public Health South, Port Otago Ltd, Kiwirail, and Heavy Haulage Association).

[see ILMs for each Strategic Case at Attachment 1]

…

Strategic Case – Executive Summary
Staff from the Dunedin City Council (DCC), the NZ Transport Agency and Otago Regional Council (ORC), as well as the Public Health Service and the Otago Chamber of Commerce participated in two Investment Logic Mapping (ILM) workshops to identify the key access, mobility and safety problems in central Dunedin, and determine the benefits of investing in solutions that address these problems.

This report sets out the strategic case for improving access, mobility and safety in central Dunedin. Part A provides the strategic context and fit of the proposed investment and the evidence to support the justification for investment. Part B describes how the three contributing organisations intend to develop the next stage of business planning – the programme business case. This section outlines the further planning needed to achieve the identified benefits.

This application shows that that there are some key synergies between the strategies and objectives of the three key stakeholder organisations, where priorities for future investment align. Evidence supporting each of the key problems identified in the ILM workshops is outlined section 3.4, and reveals a strong case for change and need for investment.

…

3.1 Defining the Problem
Dunedin City Council convened a facilitated investment logic mapping workshop that was held on 10th February 2014, with key stakeholders to gain a better understanding of current issues and business needs. The stakeholder panel identified and agreed to the following key problems:

Problem one: SH1, the railway and north/south arterial routes bisect areas of high pedestrian use resulting in dislocation and poor connectivity of key areas

Problem two: The design, use and management of central city routes results in intermodal conflict

Problem three: Management and provision of car parking is not integrated into the transport network, which favours car use, impacting adversely on the quality of life in the City

Problem four: The design, management and lack of integration of public transport discourages use and leads to low patronage

[see the Investment Logic Map at Appendix A]

…

3.2 The Benefits of Investment
The potential benefits of successfully investing to address these were identified as part of a second facilitated investment logic mapping held on 17th February, 2014. The stakeholder panel identified and agreed the following potential benefits for the proposal: (CONFIRM)

● Benefit one: Reduced severance
● Benefit two: Improved safety
● Benefit three: Central City is a ‘nice place to be’
● Benefit four: Greater resilience

[see Benefit Map at Appendix B]

…

Figure 1: High risk areas identified through risk mapping

A risk assessment process known as KiwiRAP maps the collective crash risk of roads based on the physical and operating characteristics of intersections and corridors, as well as crash history. The map shows that Dunedin’s high risk areas (shown in black and red) are predominantly located within the central city, as demonstrated in Figure 1.

…

4 Strategic Context
This section demonstrates how the investment proposal has clear linkages to existing strategies of each of the stakeholders. There are some key synergies between the three organisations, where priorities for future investment align. A summary of the strategies that support this investment proposal from each of the stakeholders is detailed below. The goals and/or objectives selected are those with direct relevance to this investment proposal.

…

6.4 Scope
The evidence to support the three problem statements developed during the Investment Logic Mapping workshops generally provides a strong case for change. It is also evident that many of the problems have existed for some time as many of the issues raised were recognised in the MWH 2003 Strategic Corridor Study and the 2006 Transport Strategy.

…

7.1 Risk/Issues and Opportunities
Key risks for this business case are likely to include:
● Alignment with Regional Land Transport Plan and Council’s Long Term Plan Timeframes
● Ability for Council to raise funding co-contribution
● Support for the projects from Councillors
● Support for the projects from the community
● Further deaths and serious injuries from crashes should the project not proceed
Appropriate risk management strategies for these key risks will be identified at the Programme Business Case stage. As the busine ss case evolves and projects are defined it is likely that other risks are likely to be identified and these will be added to the risk register.

Read full report here.

****

█ Dunedin City Integrated Transport Strategy 2013
Developing, maintaining and operating any transport system requires investment, and investment requires decision-making about what to invest in, how much to invest and when that investment should be made. Such decisions need to be informed by an understanding of the key issues and opportunities to be addressed, a clear vision of what is to be achieved, and a clear set of priorities that will move toward that vision. In times of financial constraint when funding is tight the need to clearly identify the right priorities becomes even more important. The DCC have adopted a Financial Strategy which aims to help steer a course between the competing tensions of affordability, keeping up and investing for the future. This Financial Strategy states the limits to rates and borrowing that the Council has set, and any investment in transportation infrastructure must be managed with regard to the Financial Strategy.

Dunedin City Integrated Transport Strategy 2013 [links]
Pre-election Report 2.8.13 [links]
Financial Strategy

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC promotes Riccarton Rd as sole heavy traffic bypass

█ City council and spooks menace Riccarton Rd property owners
█ Conflicted Mosgiel-Taieri community board pushes agendas
█ What’s really going on ????

Former Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board member Brian Miller, a resident of Riccarton Rd, is one of four landowners along the stretch who have declined to sell part of their land to the council for the project.

### ODT Online Wed, 23 Apr 2014
Get road fixed – board
By Debbie Porteous
The Mosgiel-Taieri Community Board has again urged the Dunedin City Council to get on with improving Riccarton Rd, saying it is even more of a priority now the council has agreed to allow 50-tonne trucks on local roads. The board made the plea in its submission to the Dunedin City Council on its 2014-15 draft annual plan. […] The council plans to widen and strengthen Riccarton Rd to improve its safety, and is working through land purchases to that end.
Read more

—

50MAX vehicle carrier with HPMV H-sticker (NZTA)

NZTA | 50MAX
Updated: 15 April 2014
50MAX is a new generation of truck that allows for safe and more efficient transport of freight goods.
50MAX vehicle combinations have one more axle than conventional 44 tonne vehicles combinations, meaning the overall truck load is spread further and there is no additional wear on roads per tonne of freight.
50MAX gives operators an option to carry increased payloads on parts of the network that, while economically important to New Zealand, carry lower volumes of freight. The increased payloads of 50MAX can lead to economic benefits for producers, customers and our communities.

The New Zealand Transport Agency is now accepting 50MAX permit applications for State Highways in the North Island and South Island, as well as a steadily increasing number of roads delegated by local authorities.
50MAX permits for other local roads will be rolled out as they become available (in the meantime, 50MAX operators can apply for higher mass HPMV route permits from local authorities).
Read more + 50MAX vehicle designs

On the road
● Trucks will be permitted to carry loads of up to 53 tonnes on specified routes.
● Some types of trucks, including logging rigs and vehicle carriers, will be allowed to extend to 22m “as of right” instead of by permits.
● Some buses will be allowed to be 13.5m long – up from 12.6m now.
● Farm machinery will be allowed on roads at all hours, as long as it occupies no more than one lane.

50MAX 23m logging combination [NZTA] (click to enlarge)

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DCC: Hospital area parking changes #cyclelanes

—

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Parking Changes for Hospital Area

This item was published on 14 Jan 2014.

Some changes to on-street parking outside Dunedin Hospital are coming soon as part of measures to improve cyclist safety. The changes will occur in the block of Cumberland Street between Hanover and Frederick Streets and should be implemented in late January/early February.

Dunedin City Council Senior Traffic Engineer Ron Minnema says, “The objective of the changes is to reduce the risk to cyclists by reducing the number of conflicts between vehicles manoeuvring into car parks and northbound cyclists.”

The changes will also complement the wider cycle lanes. The changes involve increasing the maximum time period on the 13 pay and display parks from four hours to all day, removing the bus stop, installing no stopping lines immediately south of the entrance to the Hospital car park and construction of two extra mobility parks. That will mean there will be four mobility parks (two more than at present) and 2 P5 parks (one less than at present).

The Southern District Health Board, the NZ Transport Agency, the Automobile Association and the Otago Regional Council have been consulted about the parking changes, Mr Minnema says. The changes, which are part of short-term safety measures to improve cyclist safety in the central city, were discussed by the Council in May 2013.

Once the changes have been made, the DCC will monitor the on-street parks outside the Hospital on Great King, Hanover and Frederick Streets. The results will be discussed with the Health Board to determine whether any further changes are required on these streets.

Earlier in 2013, minor changes to parking took place at 17 sites in the central city. All these parking changes are in response to the Council in November 2012 asking the NZ Transport Agency to identify short-term measures to improve cyclist safety, as well as developing a long-term plan with the same vision.

Part of the long-term plan is a separated cycle lane proposal which involves two preferred long-term options for improving the safety of Dunedin’s one-way sections of State Highway 1. Consultation on this proposal closed on 6 December last year.

Contact Senior Traffic Engineer on 03 474 3706.

DCC Link

—

Related Posts and Comments:
5.1.14 Norman Foster: SkyCycling utopia above London railways #ThinkBig
24.12.13 Daaave’s $47 million Christmas present to Jinty. We’re paying.
4.12.13 Dunedin cycleways: Calvin Oaten greeted by DCC silence
17.11.13 Dunedin cycleways: Calvin Oaten’s alternative route
17.11.13 Cull and MacTavish… “Have you fixed the debt crisis?”
14.11.13 Cycle lane explosions and puncture kits (SPOKES grenades launch)
8.11.13 Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal [how to make a submission]
5.11.12 DCC, NZTA: Cycle lanes controversy
19.10.13 Cycle lobby games and media tilts
24.9.13 Mediocrity and lack of critical awareness at DCC [council reports]
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . . [route maps]
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering
21.11.12 Safe cycling -Cr Fliss Butcher

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
 

Daaave’s $47 million Christmas present to Jinty. We’re paying.

SOLD OUT: Santa’s in the vocal minority

—

ODT 14.11.13
OPINION: Cycleways and parking issues
Dunedin City Councillor Jinty MacTavish is happy the cycleway proposal has sparked discussion, but wants to keep the conversation grounded in fact. Cont/

Comment to article:
DCC’s +$47M cycleways project
Submitted by ej kerr on Thu, 14/11/2013 – 11:13pm.
Cr MacTavish has better things to do. She knows it. Her job as a city councillor is to take the air out of her various tyres and acknowledge that her loose-assemblage greenwash ‘political party’ should stop its spendthrift ways. Far better that they bend over backwards on quickly retiring the council’s +$623M consolidated debt. A harder workout than cruising on SH1 with the wind up their tails.

Reply:
Cycleway clarifications
Submitted by Jinty MacTavish on Fri, 15/11/2013 – 11:41am.
It’s an unfortunate urban myth that the DCC intends to spend $47M on cycleways, which seems to have originated from this article which double-counted the cost of a bunch of projects. I’ve asked staff to send through the breakdown and will post again here when I have the full details in front of me. Cont/

Discussion at What if? Dunedin:
JimmyJones
Submitted on 2013/11/17 at 9:25 pm
Sustainable Jinty commented in the ODT article referred to and said It’s an unfortunate urban myth that the DCC intends to spend $47M on cycleways, which seems to have originated from this article which double-counted the cost of a bunch of projects. I’ve asked staff to send through the breakdown and will post again here when I have the full details in front of me.
Here we see her claiming that the $47 million is a myth and that it has been wrongly calculated. She says this while not having the actual figures and not even knowing where it came from.
The figure actually came from the DCC at a forum in May this year involving the DCC and the NZTA ODT: City to lead country in cycle safety. We were told:
Dunedin is set to lead the country in cycle safety.
Projects worth more than $47 million will form a cycle network unlike any other within urban New Zealand, those at a forum in Dunedin heard last night. Mayor Dave Cull welcomed the almost 100 people present and explained why cycle infrastructure deserved significant investment.
It is clear that Jinty lied to us about the double counting. The figures are in the article, and there is no double counting. There is also no double counting in Jinty’s figures, because she doesn’t have any. Her attempt to discredit and minimize this estimated cost of bicycle projects has failed. Note how she re-interprets the claim as being DCC-only spending, whereas the claim has always been DCC + NZTA spending (Straw man). Richard Thomson on Radio Dunedin has been up to the same mischief (12/11/13). I say “mischief” but these statements could be offences against the Financial Reporting Act or other legislation. In any case this is very disappointing because the misinformation seems intentional. Desperation breeds dishonesty.

Reply:
Elizabeth
Submitted on 2013/11/17 at 10:38 pm | In reply to JimmyJones.
JimmyJones, I looked upon Cr MacTavish’s comment on the $47 million (in reply to a comment I made at ODT)… with sheer incredulity. I couldn’t believe what I was reading so didn’t even bother to reply.
However, glad you brought it up. You correctly place the councillor’s comment in context here and of course (!!!) what she says does not shine in a pure angelic or intelligent light. The quality of her ‘homework’ has dropped out the bottom, as ’twere.
Well done, JJ.

Related Post and Comments:
17.11.13 Cull, MacTavish: (to borrow a phrase) “Have you fixed the debt crisis?”

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Cull, MacTavish: (to borrow a phrase) “Have you fixed the debt crisis?”

Responding to an espousal on ‘Cycleways and parking issues’ at ODT Online:

DCC’s +$47M cycleways project
Submitted by ej kerr on Thu, 14/11/2013 – 11:13pm.
Cr MacTavish has better things to do. She knows it. Her job
as a city councillor is to take the air out of her various
tyres and acknowledge that her loose-assemblage greenwash
‘political party’ should stop its spendthrift ways. Far
better that they bend over backwards on quickly retiring the
council’s +$623M consolidated debt. A harder workout than
cruising on SH1 with the wind up their tails.

****

Hype O’Thermia kindly forwards this link for serious entertainment…

Published on 13 Nov 2013. ClarkeandDawe.
An Honest Assessment, Project by Project
“Tony Abbott. Head Prefect.” Originally aired on ABC TV: 14/11/2013.

ABCTV: For 25 years, John Clarke and Bryan Dawe have been engaged in discourse on a range of issues. These interviews appear each week on television, radio and online and several collections have been released on CD, DVD and in book form. Every Thursday a fresh interview is loaded and fired into the blithersphere. It can be seen at mrjohnclarke.com, their YouTube site or the Facebook page.

More Clarke and Dawe at Quiz on politics

—

Related Posts and Comments:
14.11.13 Cycle lane explosions and puncture kits (SPOKES grenades launch)
8.11.13 Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal [how to make a submission]
5.11.12 DCC, NZTA: Cycle lanes controversy
19.10.13 Cycle lobby games and media tilts
24.9.13 Mediocrity and lack of critical awareness at DCC [council reports]
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . . [route maps]
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering
21.11.12 Safe cycling -Cr Fliss Butcher

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Cycle lane explosions and puncture kits (SPOKES grenades launch)

“Whilst I know there will be a lot of people that are very favourable towards these changes, overwhelmingly the business community seems to be bearing the brunt of the impact.”
–John Christie, Otago Chamber
ODT Link

Uploaded on 18 Sep 2006. — Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle! / I want to ride my bicycle / I want to ride my bike / I want to ride my bicycle / I want to ride it where I like / You say black I say white…

Published on 6 Mar 2012. Sons of Silence. — I rise in the morning, and greet the day / pull out the bike and I’m on my way / The transportation shows I care / Every turn of the pedal – cleans the air…

Published on 3 Jul 2012. — Riding on my bike on a Tuesday night I’m collecting rhymes / I pedal to the left then I kick it to the right and then I change my mind / I met a man who’s shipping bikes to Africa…

—

Related Posts and Comments:
8.11.13 Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal
5.11.12 DCC, NZTA: Cycle lanes controversy
19.10.13 Cycle lobby games and media tilts
24.9.13 Mediocrity and lack of critical awareness at DCC [council reports]
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . . [route maps]
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering
21.11.12 Safe cycling -Cr Fliss Butcher

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: dreamstime.com – cartoon explosion 17525964

Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal

### dunedintv.co.nz November 8, 2013 – 7:16pm
Public consultation on State Highway safety options begins today
Dunedin residents are being asked for their views on two preferred options for improving the safety of the one way sections of State Highway One. There have already been some short term safety improvements made, but as the cycle network is expanded and developed the focus is on the long-term.
Video

—

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Feedback Sought on Cycle Safety Options

This item was published on 08 Nov 2013.

Residents are being asked for their views on two preferred long-term options for improving the safety of Dunedin’s one-way sections of State Highway 1.
The NZ Transport Agency (Transport Agency) has been working with the Dunedin City Council (DCC) to improve cycle safety on State Highway 1 between the Dunedin Botanic Garden and Queens Gardens.
Since 2003, there have been 13 crashes on the State Highway 1 one-way streets in the central city that resulted in serious injury to cyclists, including three fatal crashes. There was also a cyclist fatality in 1998.
There have already been some short-term safety improvements and the focus has now shifted to long-term cycle safety as an expanded cycle network is developed for the city.

Public consultation on the two preferred options begins today and ends at 5pm on Friday, 6 December.

Under both options, the cycle lane would be shifted to the right-hand side of the road and physically separate cyclists from traffic. For the first option, the separated cycle lane would continue to run along both of the one-way routes, with cyclists travelling in the same direction as the traffic. Option two involves a wider separated cycle lane. It would run along Cumberland Street (linked in the vicinity of the S bends by Emily Siedeberg Place), with cyclists able to travel in both directions.

The proposal is at a very early stage and if it goes ahead it could be 2-4 years before construction starts.

The estimated cost for the project is $3.5 million to $4.5 million.

Feedback from the community on the two options will be used to develop one preferred option for a separated cycle lane that is expected to be considered by the Council early next year.

Transport Agency Projects Team Manager Simon Underwood says a separated cycle lane would support the Safe System approach which underpins the road safety work of both the Transport Agency and the DCC. This approach recognises road users do make mistakes and whether injuries result is influenced by the nature of the collision or impact.

“This is highly relevant to cycle lanes where cyclists have to interact with other road users in many ways. Even in collisions with relatively low vehicle speeds, there is still a risk of severe injury. The aim of the separated cycle lanes is to reduce crash risk by reducing the extent to which cyclists and general traffic interact.” –Simon Underwood

“This proposal is all about safety. Concern about cyclist safety is what led the Council to ask for options for the central city and now we want to know which option people prefer.” –Dave Cull

Other possible ‘north-south’ cycle routes were considered, but the two preferred options out for consultation are the only feasible routes.

DCC Transportation Planning Manager Sarah Connolly says both options will have an impact on parking spaces on the street, with 391 spaces affected under option one and 185 under option two.

Feedback is also being sought on ways to address parking provision for the area, should the proposal go ahead. Options include moving affected parking meters, P5s and other time restricted parking to adjacent streets where practical and promoting the use of vacant parks in existing car parking areas and buildings. The DCC could also consider providing extra angle parking in Union, St David, Dundas, Howe and Duke Streets, and providing more commercial parking, such as a new parking building.

To access an online survey form or for more information on the separated cycle lane options, visit www.nzta.govt.nz/dunedincyclesafe, or email your comments to dunedinshcyclelanes @ nzta.govt.nz. Alternatively, ring 03 477 4000 for an information pack, or post your comments to:

Cycle Lane Feedback
C/o NZ Transport Agency
PO Box 5245
Moray Place
Dunedin 9058

People are also welcome to come along to the following drop-in sessions:
● 12 noon – 2pm, Thursday 14 November, Wall Street Mall
● 3pm – 6pm, Tuesday 19 November, Otago Settlers Museum
● 12 noon – 2pm, Wednesday 20 November, The Link (University of Otago)

Contact Transportation Planning Manager on 03 477 4000.

DCC Link

More council information at Dunedin Separated Cycle Lane Proposal

****

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
Remember – Share the Road

This item was published on 08 Nov 2013.

Scooters, skateboards, horses and vintage cars will be among the forms of transport on the move during Sunday’s Share the Road Parade. The parade will launch the Dunedin City Council’s Share the Road campaign, which encourages all road users to be considerate so everyone can use the road safely.
DCC Safe and Sustainable Travel Co-ordinator Charlotte Flaherty says, “The parade offers an opportunity for many different road user groups to get together and celebrate each other and our transport system.

“People assume the road is for motorised transport only, but it is used by numerous groups, such as horse riders, cyclists and pedestrians as well.” –Charlotte Flaherty

The parade will start outside the Dental School in Great King Street at 2.30pm. It will travel along Frederick and George Streets and arrive in the Octagon at 3pm. A Master of Ceremonies will give a commentary as the various groups arrive at the Octagon.
Read more

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: NZTA – (top) Option for a two-way separated cycle lane on Cumberland St, shown near North Ground; (bottom) option for a separated cycle lane, shown near hospital entrance on Cumberland St.

DCC, NZTA: Cycle lanes controversy

Starting Friday…
Four weeks of consultation to encourage submissions on two preferred options – both involving a separated cycle lane on one-way sections of SH1. So, you wanna ride your bike on the state highway, up-close to fast moving vehicular traffic that can’t see you, through barely controlled intersections? Then this one’s for you, Cull’s ‘moving backwards’ scheme (modern technology never stepped up for citizen travel and efficient freighting).

### ODT Online Tue, 5 Nov 2013
Public submissions invited over cycling lane proposals
By Debbie Porteous
A proposal to install separated lanes for cyclists on parts of the State Highway 1 network through Dunedin will be open for public opinion this week.
Read more

—

Related Posts and Comments:
19.10.13 Cycle lobby games and media tilts
24.9.13 Mediocrity and lack of critical awareness at DCC [council reports]
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . . [route maps]
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering
21.11.12 Safe cycling -Cr Fliss Butcher

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Image: spinningmixes.wordpress.com – bicycle cartoon (text added by Whatifdunedin)

Archaeological site: Castle Street

### ch9.co.nz August 8, 2013 – 6:58pm
Slice of history comes to light
A slice of Dunedin’s past came to surface today outside the city’s historic railway station.
Video

Ch39 – nineteenth century footpath edging or water channel unearthed in Castle Street [screenshots]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Dear DCC: Dunedin’s [choke] $47M cycle network

Received from Lee Vandervis
Thursday, 18 July 2013 7:16 a.m.

—— Forwarded Message
From: Lee Vandervis
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 07:09:10 +1200
To: Dave Cull, Mayor Cull, Kate Wilson, Colin Weatherall, Richard Thomson, Chris Staynes, Teresa Stevenson, Andrew Noone, Paul Hudson, Jinty MacTavish, Neil Collins, Fliss Butcher, Syd Brown, John Bezett, Bill Acklin, Lee Vandervis
Cc: Paul Orders, Sue Bidrose, Sandy Graham
Conversation: An inspiration for Cycling in Dunedin
Subject: Re: An inspiration for Cycling in Dunedin

Dear Councillors

This video link below to the Indianapolis new Cultural Cycle Trail has been sent to us by Mayor Cull as “an inspiration for Cycling In Dunedin”.

The salient points if you do not have 8 minutes to watch the whole video are:

1 – NO RATES OR TAX MONEY WAS USED TO PAY FOR IT! The whole US$63MILLION for the Indianapolis cultural trail was DONATED by philanthropy. [Like Eion Edgar’s $1 million donation to the stadium, but more so. – It actually happened, and 63 times.]

2 – It looks great with the ADDITION OF US$2MILLION of donated Art.

3 – From Wikipedia, – “Indianapolis’ population is 829,718. It is the 13th largest city in the United States, and one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States.”

4 – It is catering to only a few of their 800,000+, entirely financed by a much fewer hyper-rich philanthropists.

What does the Indianapolis Cycle Trail have in common with Dunedin’s proposed $47 million cycle network that our Mayor is getting all inspired about??

In short, nothing.
Absolutely nothing – a far removed and totally rich American dream.

Please do not be inspired to spend us even further into $600,000,000+ plus interest worth of debt for this ‘inspiration’.
The time to stop digging into more ratepayer debt was at least 3 years ago.

Cheers
Lee

—————

On 17/07/13 10:25 AM, “Dave Cull” wrote:

FYI
Spokes, and Hank and Robert in particular have been working very constructively with staff on the network plan. A great example of partnering up with the community. We are doing the same with the business people around Robert St to work out a win-win there too.

Dave

—————

From: Hank Weiss
Sent: Tuesday, 16 July 2013 4:58 p.m.
To: Dave Cull
Cc: Jinty MacTavish; Teresa Stevenson; Richard Thomson; Kate Wilson; Andrew Noone; Fliss Butcher
Subject: An inspiration for Cycling in Dunedin

Dave:

Here’s an 8 minute video, I hope you will consider sharing it with the rest of the Council. http://www.streetfilms.org/the-indianapolis-cultural-trail/

It’s a great idea and implementation success story from an unexpected U.S. City – Indianapolis. They turned the vision of an urban cycle track into a unique cultural celebration.

The best line: “We didn’t talk about this as an infrastructure project, we talked about it as a quality of life and an economic development project” (Brian Payne).

As you know very well, it’s not about catering to a few. With stories like this we might just swing and inspire all the Councillors along (well almost all)!

Thanks for being an inspiration yourself today, Dave. I am proud of the leadership on display from you and your colleagues.

—
Cordially,

Hank Weiss

—— End of Forwarded Message

—

Related Posts and Comments:
8.7.13 Bloody $tupid cycleways and Cull’s electioneering . . .
28.3.13 DCC DAP 2013/14: Portobello Harington Point Road Improvements
26.2.13 DCC binge spending alert: Proposed South Dunedin cycle network
22.2.13 DCC: Council meeting agenda and reports for 25 February 2013
31.1.13 Who? 2010 electioneering

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr