Our co-presidents Ann Mallinson and Jackie Pope have, after several attempts, finally managed to secure a meeting with the Deputy Mayor, Sarah Free. The meeting took place on Tuesday December 17th.
Ann and Jackie had set a clear agenda – the separation of foot from wheel traffic along the stretch of Oriental Parade that runs from the Freyburg Pool to the extension of the cycle way (currently under construction) at Point Jerningham.
The delegation from OBRA – Ann, Jackie, Bob Buckle, Andy Thomson and Kevin Isherwood – presented their recommendation for a white line to be painted along that strip. Cyclists and e-scooters riders would be directed to use the road side of the line, walkers using the other side of the white line, towards the waterfront.
A similar line had been introduced in the 1990s and had apparently worked successfully in separating cyclists from walkers and joggers.
Our suggestion is both pragmatic and cost effective, and if it worked, would mean significant amounts of money would not need to be invested in a far more elaborate dedicated separate cycleway which could well involve the removal of over 50 car parks. The meeting took place with two other councillors, Iona Pannett and Jenny Condie, plus two council officers.
The presence of three councillors and two council officials was encouraging. However, we were not encouraged by the negative response from our audience, with the exception of Councillor Iona Pannett. We also know that Councillor Nicola Young supports the concept of the white line. Essentially, the other officers and councillors at our meeting consistently rejected our proposal for reasons which we thought were not at all convincing. One suggestion, repeated a number of times by deputy mayor Sarah Free, was that walkers should not turn if they felt threatened by traffic coming from behind, but walk steadfastly onwards!
It was clear, with the exception of Iona, that the council representatives had pre-determined that our suggestion was never going to be an option. The only substantive point they made against the white line was that a dedicated path for motorised vehicles and cyclists may encourage riders to go faster, creating safety hazards. If this were to be the case, the Council has a responsibility to introduce a programme to manage this by a combination of speed limits, signage and enforcement.
We are determined to pursue our objective and urge all of you to write in and support our move to separate foot and wheel traffic along this stretch of Oriental Parade.
You all know how dangerous and intimidating this boulevard has become since the introduction of e-scooters, and we want urgent action taken to ensure the safety of our world famous promenade. If action is not taken soon, then a serious accident or series of accidents is inevitable.
Please write with your support of the white line separation of foot and wheel transport. Encourage all of your friends to do the same. This issue affects the whole of Wellington.
Send in your messages of support for the white line by leaving a message on our website Contact page.
Type in a brief support message in the Message box, and click on “Submit”.
Thanks for your help; the more support we have the more likely we are to see action.
– Kevin Isherwood, OBRA Committee