The City is Ours pushing bikes.

The president of the City is Ours has announced the association is keen to help develop better strategies around the use of bicycles in the greater Wellington Region. Presenting examples from European cities with the Netherlands leading using schemes designed to give rise to increased patronage on trains with cycle rental schemes now owned by the Dutch Railways. The scheme started in 2003 with as much as 350.000 commutes under its belt it aims to reach 1 million in 2011.

Regional Councillors Paul Bruce and Daran Ponter recently showed an interest in rejuvenating railway stations and making them safer. The proposed scheme as adopted in the Netherlands could do just that providing enough "safe" cycle storage was provided. Once adopted the scheme could overcome the need to install CCTV cameras by employing a cycle minder qualified in bicycle maintenance to beef up the service, with demands for "on train" cycle storage going into decline. Meetings with stakeholders are in the pipeline says president Maria van der Meel after she meets with a representative of the New Zealand Green Bike Trust a non for profit organization dedicated to providing free or low cost sustainable transport solutions for every day New Zealanders.

As a start to this new initiative the E-petition "Demand the 2008 Walking & Cycling Policy apply to all WCC roading projects at the planning stages", was launched on the Council website. The e-petition closes on the 4th of August 2011 and came as a result of the Golden Mile Plan going ahead without both policies being applied despite their DM (demand management) status. http://www.wellington.govt.nz/haveyoursay/e-petitions/ep/details/156

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