Plans for major changes to the Maitai Walkway has stirred criticism of the Nelson City Council process, leading the council to backtrack and seek further public consultation.
Friends of the Maitai representative David Ayre said proposed plans to widen a section of the walkway to up to four metres and potentially create a separate cycleway, make a section of Domett St one way and remove several trees from the riverbank should have wider public engagement rather than just that of affected residents.
The plans are for the section of the walkway between Collingwood and Nile streets.
“There are large numbers of people in the eastern area that haven’t heard anything about it as a project and we have strong encouragement to the councillors that we would like them to be going out for a wider degree of public consultation.”
He said because of the amount of money being spent on the project and the fact it was an integral link to the CBD the public should have a clear sense of developments because, “it’s a lot more complex to bring it to a halt when the bulldozers have arrived or fix it up afterwards”.
The 2014-15 annual plan said the section of the path between Collingwood and Nile sts would be widened to a minimum of 2.5 metres with wider sections in busy areas to reach shared path standards. This would cost $620,000, 53 per cent of which is covered by NZTA.
However, late last year the council released plans to extend the section between Collingwood and Bridge sts to widths of 3.5 to 4 metres, Ayres said.
He said that was out of scale to what Nelsonians expected. “It is very much a public space and it involves not only everybody in the eastern side of the city but also the wider public that use that area and therefore we want them to take a pause, go back a wee bit and say what are we actually trying to achieve in this.”
He said councillors and staff he had spoken to were supportive of that approach and he hoped they would listen to feedback on the Collingwood to Bridge St section, which was already in the detailed design stage.
During the consultation process over the section between Bridge and Nile sts council staff came up against “significant opposition” to widening the existing path, a report to the the works and infrastructure committee said.
“The majority of residents in Domett St oppose the widening of the existing path. Residents suggested a cycle path be built higher up the bank to minimise conflict between pedestrians and cyclists.”
The decision to either widen the existing pathway between Bridge and Nile streets or to create a separate cycleway was due to be debated at the latest council works and infrastructure committee. However, chairman Eric Davy removed the item from the agenda and said staff needed to conduct further consultation and develop a new report as councillors “did not have sufficient information to make a decision”.
The report that came to the works and infrastructure meeting listed three options for the section between Bridge and Nile sts: to widen the existing pathway to shared pathway standards, build a separate cycleway between Bridge St and number 50 Domett St and make Domett St one way between Bridge and Hardy streets, or to build a separate cycleway between Bridge St and number 50 Domett St and remove three parks to allow for passing bays between Bridge and Hardy sts.
Plans attached to the report showed the separate cycleway running along the eastern side of Domett St. However, those options are now subject to change with council staff writing a new report once further consultation has been completed. Council staff have said they cannot comment on the project as the plans could completely change.
An updated report will go to the next works and infrastructure committee meeting on March 26.
– The Nelson Mail
Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/66530732/Walkway-criticism-forces-review