Councillors silence public on Courtenay bus lanes
09 July 2008
JIM CHIPP
Nine Wellington City councillors have put a stop to a public consultation on how bus lanes would work through Courtenay Place.
Late last month nine councillors signed a notice revoking a council decision and ordering a halt to work on the consultation on traffic in Courtenay Place.
Residents were to be asked which of five options they preferred. One would have banned cars between Cambridge Terrace and Taranaki Street during the daytime, except to access Courtenay Place businesses, three others would have imposed complete car bans at peak times of the morning and afternoon and the last would have banned cars at peak times, except for access to Courtenay Place businesses.
The revocation order's author, Onslow-Western Ward councillor Jo Coughlan says the key reason for the consultation was to deal with growing congestion on Courtenay Place.
"We went and had a look and it was apparent that the congestion as described just wasn't the case," she says.
"It would seem that there is less traffic on the road at the moment, so people are leaving their cars at home."
Ms Coughlan wants to take some time to watch the effects of rising fuel prices on city congestion. "I thought we were in danger of imposing a solution where there wasn't a problem."
A regular bus user, she took a peak-hour evening bus from Lambton Quay to Kilbirnie and timed it, finding Kirkcaldie's to Courtenay Place took just 10 minutes.
Among those who signed the letter of revocation were two councillors who had previously voted for the consultation, Mayor Kerry Prendergast and Eastern Ward councillor Ray Ahipene-Mercer. Eastern Ward councillor Leonie Gill was absent from the meeting but later signed the revocation. Councillors Ngaire Best, Jo Coughlan, Rob Goulden, Ian McKinnon, John Morrison and Hayley Wain also signed the order.
The revocation notice must be debated at the next council meeting on August 29.
Wellington regional council chair Fran Wilde says the bus lanes are an important part of the Ngauranga to Airport strategy, now out for consultation, but a lot of water is still to go under the bridge.
"We would hope that after the Ngauranga to Airport [draft plan] has been consulted on and we have got some views from the public the city [council] would reconsider that."
The Wellingtonian
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