NEWS RELEASE
24 June 2015

Safe Island Bay cycling route to proceed

Work to build the new safe cycling route along The Parade in Island Bay should start within months following today’s meeting of the Wellington City Council.

The Council voted 8-6 to give the go-ahead for the construction of the first $1.5 million section of the Island Bay-CBD cycleway along The Parade.

“This has been a difficult process but I am pleased we have reached this point – the number of people cycling into and around the city has skyrocketed in recent years,” says City Councillor Mark Peck, who earlier this year masterminded a deadlock-breaking initiative to progress planning for the cycleway.

“The installation of safe cycleways is important to further the development of Wellington and mirrors the work already done by many major cities around the world who have also faced the challenge of culture change.”

Deputy Mayor Justin Lester, one of three Councillors on a working party that met to look at the Island Bay cycleway as part of Cr Peck’s initiative, says today’s vote to approve the necessary traffic resolutions to get the Parade route built is a step in the right direction. “It wasn’t that long ago that Wellingtonians could safely cycle to school, university or work, but we now have some of the worst accident statistics in the country. We need to address that.

“We’re all acutely aware that the Island Bay proposal has been controversial,
but we have listened to all sides of the submissions and made significant changes to reflect feedback.”

There will be extensive monitoring of the cycleway and how it performs in terms of safety and access for residents and businesses along the route.

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