Island Bay cycleway consultation: clarifications

Contrary to media reports in the past two days, a meeting scheduled for 31 July will not present the “final chance” for the community to have its say on four proposed options for the Island Bay cycleway.

The Island Bay Residents Association is hosting the 31 July meeting – however a number of other interested community groups have also indicated they intend to hold meetings to discuss the cycleway options.

Consultation on the cycleway options will start on 31 July. The community will be able to make their views known via the City Council’s website - wcc.govt.nz/theparade from that date but it is intended people will be able to visit the website to examine the options from Saturday 29 July. Submissions will also be able to be posted, emailed or dropped to designated locations.

The consultation period ends at 9pm on Sunday 13 August, not 15 August as reported in the media this week.

Some 5300 letters will be mailed next week advising of the consultation, its start date and where to access information. The mailout will cover a broad triangle of Berhampore, Owhiro Bay, Houghton Bay and Island Bay.
Letters will also be hand-delivered to commercial properties.

The Council website will be the central source of information and we want to encourage its use for information retrieval and making submissions. However we also want to respond to people’s restrictions or preferences on how they want to engage with information and provide feedback so hard copy will also be available.

A ‘drop-in’ shop will be opened at 132 The Parade during the two-week consultation period. The cycleway options will be on display and an independent contractor (who has not been involved thus far) will staff the shop. Councillors will also be at the shop on a yet to be determined schedule. The shop hours will be:
• Monday 4pm to 7pm
• Tuesday 11am to 4pm
• Wednesday 11am to 7pm
• Thursday 9am to 3pm
• Friday Closed
• Saturday 10am to 4pm
• Sunday Closed.

Hard copies of documentation and a submission box will also be available at:
• City Council Service Centre, 101 Wakefield Street
• Island Bay Community Centre
• Island Bay Library
• Drop-in shop, 132 The Parade.

The results of this consultation will be presented to the City Strategy Committee on 14 September. The Council (Mayor and Councillors) will consider the consultation feedback along with the outcomes of the Love the Bay process, NZTA and engineering best practice and guidelines, budgetary implications, and council strategy when making their decision.

The Council will then agree on the preferred option with the intention for implementation to begin in spring 2017. Implementation will require detailed design and construction plans for the entire length of The Parade.

A traffic resolution and further public consultation will also be required before construction can get underway, a process scheduled for late 2017/early 2018.

Councillor Diane Calvert, the City Council’s Community Planning and Engagement Portfolio Leader, says it is important to note that the consultation submission process is not a vote that will determine the cycleway option result – however it does aim to give the Mayor and Councillors a good sense of community preferences and feedback on options.

“Ultimately my colleagues and I will consider a broad range of information - including feedback from the many different communities interested in the outcome - decide what weight we apply to officers’ recommendations and hold responsibility for the final decision.”

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