Cynthia McConville, convemor of Nelson Walkers Unite, responds to a story on shared pathways in The Leader last week.
The call by Bicycle Nelson Bays for Council to take the lead on rules for shared pathways is admirable.
However, both the Nelson City Council and Bicycle Nelson Bays need to put themselves in the shoes of the less abled and elderly in our community along with other community members who simply wish to have a quiet peaceful place to walk.
At what point in time will we see a commitment from our council to provide some cycle-free walking opportunities in our city?
In Wellington the council have dedicated more than 25 per cent of walking tracks to walkers only – ie, they are closed to cyclists.
Nelson Walkers Unite is asking for the section between the Collingwood St bridge and Nile St East to be closed to cyclists. There is very good reason for this. It is the section of the Maitai River Walkway that is predominantly used by the elderly and less abled.
I attach to this email a letter of support from the manager of Green Gables to the Nelson City Council.
Bicycle Nelson Bays is correct when it says conflict on shared pathways has been brewing for years.
The reason for this conflict is because cyclists have been imposed on walkers without any consultation whatsoever.
Bicycle Nelson Bays’ calls for the use of bells to signal when cyclists are approaching are well intentioned but if you have a person on the walkway who is hard of hearing then ringing a bell is of no use.
There are many hearing impaired people who use this walkway.
Similarly suggestions on the Nelson City Council website and supported by Bicycle Nelson Bays that people try to keep the path clear by standing to the side of the path or off the path or track when stopped are both dangerous and ignorant of the fact that some of these people are incapable of doing that.
We already have one record of an elderly woman who stepped back and fell resulting in injuries that required care for three months afterwards.
She no longer walks there as she feels unsafe and this is the reality of what I am hearing from people who phone me. That they are being forced off walkways due to the presence of cyclists.
The mayor, our councillors and staff at Nelson City Council need to take on board what is happening to this group of people as a result of the ongoing mismanagement of our walkways.
Putting in place some cycle free environments in our city is long overdue.
PS: The letter from Oceania Healthcare, Green Gables, business and care manager Sonya Briggs states: Green Gables would like to support the curreny advocacy efforts of the Nelson Walkers Unite group to have Maitai walkway pedestrian only.
Residents from our rest home and independent villas walk along the Maitai walkway on a regular basis.
Many of these residents use walkers and are also hard of hearing.
With the walkway not hacing cyclists sharing, it would reduce the speed of people traveling along the walkway, making it safer for our residents to partake in recreational exercise which is so important for their physical and mental wellbeing.
Thank you for considering this option to keep our aged persons in the community safe and active.
– Stuff