FAQs on the Island Bay cycleway designs

Members of the public raised concerns about safety and potential intimidation before the start of this consultation. In order to address these concerns, and to maximise public engagement, the Council made the decision to collect addresses to aid in analysis, but remove them from submissions before they were made public.

On this basis, the consultation documents and submission form stated that names, but not contact details, would be made public. However, the Council received further feedback during the consultation that members of the public were concerned that identifying themselves could result in potential harassment. We reviewed the position again and in light of some of the behaviour experienced towards our own Councillors and staff, consider the concerns legitimate. Accordingly, we decided that names would also not be released. 

This means, when releasing the submission data and content, we will only include submitters’ postcode and suburb. The Council is meeting its obligations under the Local Government Act with regard to our position on disclosure and we are taking sensible steps to protect those who expressed concerns about participating in the engagement process.

No. This consultation is to help the Council understand the public’s views on the proposed design options. This is why we have asked submitters to either select their preferred option or rank all of the options so the Council can get a more complete picture of public opinion. Councillors will consider the consultation feedback alongside previous community engagement, NZTA best practice guidelines, engineering guidance and council strategies when they make their decision.

The cost estimates reflect community feedback to address safety concerns, environmental considerations, landscaping and broader urban design opportunities along the length of The Parade. All four options include a resealing and repainting of the full length of The Parade, which was previously due but postponed until the road layout was finalised. Depending on the option selected, implementation may also require changes to buried utilities, construction of new kerbs or changes to drainage infrastructure.

The Love the Bay project identified consistency of design along the length of The Parade as a key design objective. Consistent layout and markings are important for ensuring public safety and helping residents and visitors of The Parade know what to expect. This does not mean, however, that the Council may not consider a different treatment that also aligns with the design objectives, best practice and council strategy. If you prefer certain elements of a particular design, you may use the narrative box on the submission form to explain your rationale.

After a design is chosen by Council, engineers will need to develop detailed plans for the entire length of The Parade. These plans will include the exact placements of things like pedestrian crossings and parking spaces as well as precise measurements for changes to kerbs and road markings. Underground utilities also need to be taken into account. Next, there are a number of legal steps that have to be taken before construction, including a Traffic Resolution, which also requires consultation.

There has been a long and extensive process to date feeding into the design options. Through this process we have collected a large amount of detailed feedback about how people use The Parade, the current and former designs and ideas for the future that have gone into these design options. We have designed this feedback phase to be as easy as possible for people to participate, even if they haven’t been involved in the previous Love the Bay engagement. 

In coming to the decision of a two-week period for comment on the specific options, the period was tested with each of CAW, IBRA and a local business rep, each of who provided their support to the timeframe, and acknowledged the need to ‘get on’, reflecting the amount of conversation within the broader community that had already preceded. We also don’t think it would be fair to all submitters to extend the timeframe because that means changing the parameters of the consultation process part way through the process. 

The previous design no longer meets safety and best practice guidelines. Option A proposes a layout that, as close as safely possible, reflects the original design. Changes have been made to reflect the requirements of the 2016 post-construction safety audit and peer review, and current NZTA and engineering safety guidelines that the original design did not include. It is these requirements that preclude a return to the exact original layout. Changes also extend the cycle treatment along the length north of Medway Street to the Dee Street roundabout, which the original design did not include. The Wellington City Council Cycling Master Plan and Framework outline the Council’s commitment to improving infrastructure and encouraging uptake of active transport options

New projects are audited to ensure that opportunities to make them safe are taken. There are times when trade-offs need to be made but the audit process requires the Council to acknowledge why these are necessary. In existing situations we acknowledge that the cost to retrospectively bring all roads around Wellington to a safe standard can be prohibitive.

At the 31 July meeting, it was indicated that Council would investigate whether this was possible. Following investigation it has been confirmed that the Council cannot incorporate an additional formal option into this consultation process. However, any submitter can provide their comments and or details of an alternative option in their submission.

In particular, you may detail your proposed alternative option and its relationship to any or all of the four options. Submitters may propose the Island Bay Residents Association’s alternative “Option E - Island Bay Residents Association/Business Association” in their submission. The Council will take into account this feedback when making its decision, together with all other submissions received.

When comparing the three years prior to the introduction of the current layout in February 2016, we have seen a reduction in reported crashes. The following information is sourced from the NZTA Crash Analysis System (2016)

• 2013: 20 crashes in Island Bay, 6 on The Parade
• 2014: 17 crashes in Island Bay, 10 on The Parade
• 2015: 7 crashes in Island Bay, 3 on The Parade
• 2016: 5 crashes in Island Bay, 3 on The Parade

Submissions will be analysed by location to help the Council get a more nuanced understanding of public opinion. Your name, address and contact details will be held by the Council but will not be published in the public report. Read our privacy statement for more information.

Councillors will be available at the drop in shop at 132 The Parade at various times throughout the consultation period if you would like to discuss your views with them in person. To view the shop hours and times councillors will be in attendance, see: Love the Bay - Delivering on the Cycleway.

Yes. The NZTA Code for Cyclists encourages cyclists to use designated lanes when they exist, but also outlines situations where they can and should travel on the road to ensure safety.

The concept options all propose additional parking removal to mitigate safety concerns for users of The Parade, and to provide a consistent cycleway treatment along its length, including through the business zone. 

While the proposal presents an estimate of car park loss, the Council has flexibility in how it approaches the allocation of on-street parking. This includes the size of setbacks at driveways, non-allocation of spaces within the defined parking space along the layout, parking on side roads, and time limits. For more detail, please see page 18 of the Design Report.

There were 28 car parks to be removed agreed by the Council, acknowledging the need to work with property owners on a case by case basis. A subsequent six carparks were removed in the residential area after owners contacted the Council about safety issues around driveways.

A parking study of the shopping village has been undertaken to understand current usage and demand. Please view the Parking Occupation and Duration Survey document to see the full results of the study.

The Design Report and Concept Design Plans include information about the locations and layout of bus stops and pedestrian crossings. For all of the options, the city-bound Tamar Street bus stop will return to its previous location while other bus stops will maintain their current locations. Please view the Design Report and Concept Design Option Plans documents for more details.

The designs provided in this consultation are high level only. After the Council selects the preferred option, the detailed design stage will look at the entire route in close detail, and will address variations in the current road layout.

The development of a network of cycle routes across the city is intended to increase the uptake of commuter and utility cycling. Research undertaken in New Zealand, specifically Wellington, shows that more people will take up cycling if high quality protected bike lanes are provided. Each area has its own peculiarities that prevent a standard suite of options, so we will always strive for the solution that maximises safety and uptake along a route.

Inclusion of Dee Street intersection is not in scope as it had the potential to sidetrack and potentially delay the current Island Bay consultation. It requires a separate piece of work to interface between the Island Bay section and any future work resulting from the Berhampore/Newtown cycleway engagement which started on 29 July. As such it will be addressed through that engagement activity.

Inclusion of the Reef Street intersection is not in scope. It is subject to future work by Greater Wellington Regional Council in regards to the new bus changes.

Shorland Park was identified during the Love the Bay process as an important part of the Island Bay community and an opportunity for future improvements. It is discussed on page 46 of the Design Report along with other opportunities, but is not in scope for the designs included in this consultation.