Consultation on Island Bay cycleway options closes tonight

An estimated 3000 submissions have so far been received on the four new design options proposed by Wellington City Council for the Parade in Island Bay – including the cycleway. Consultation is set to end at 9pm today (Sunday 13 August).

The City Council’s Community Planning and Engagement Portfolio Leader, Councillor Diane Calvert, says there has been incredibly strong community interest in the consultation over the past two weeks.

Cr Calvert is not expecting the final tally of submissions to be known until tomorrow or Tuesday when last-minute submissions received via mail or posted in City Council after-hours slots have been received and processed.

A team of Council staff was today beginning work to input submissions and comments into an electronic database so they can be analysed as quickly as possible.

Given the high level of public interest in the cycleway debate, Cr Calvert says special care will be taken to audit and peer-review the receipt and processing of the submissions and the preparation of a report to be considered by the Council’s City Strategy Committee on 14 September.

A Christchurch-based company, Research First, has been hired to carry out the peer review and audit.

All submissions received will also be made available for public inspection probably in the week before the 14 September meeting – though names and addresses of submitters will be removed.

What happens next?
On 14 September the Mayor and Councillors will consider the consultation feedback along with the outcomes of the Love the Bay process, NZTA 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 before the end of this year. This will require detailed design and construction plans for the entire length of The Parade. When making changes to road layouts like this, the detailed plans must first be approved by the Council and accompanied by public consultation.

Indicative timeline
· 14 September - City Strategy Committee receives consultation feedback and makes decision on preferred option
· October - detailed 2-D designs developed
· mid-November to mid-December - consultation on road changes
· February 2018 - Council committee meetings and processes
· March-April 2018 - Construction and engineering plans developed, safety audit conducted
· May 2018 – Procurement
· Late May - construction under way.

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