Battle over cycle plan

Linwood Ave not Ferry Rd should be the major cycling corridor in the area, says the Hagley-Ferrymead Community Board.

The interim draft Ferry Rd-Main Rd masterplan was approved by the city council last Thursday, and now goes out for further public consultation in February.

However, the cycle corridor is a sticking point for the community board, and chairman Bob Todd outlined their concerns when he introduced the interim draft report to the council by way of a chairman's report.

While the board endorsed the content of the report, its preference for the major cycling corridor in the area was Linwood Ave, not Ferry Rd, because of safety concerns, he said.

The board did not see Ferry Rd as suitable when it catered for so much traffic from cars, buses, pedestrians, and cycles as well as having parked cars.

"It carries a lot of traffic, and we have had several complaints from cyclists about the safety issues in Ferry Rd, especially around the Woolston area, over a period of time," he said.

Mr Todd said the councillors listened and their resolutions showed they realised clarification was needed on parts of the plan.

Cycle lanes are in place on Ferry Rd but the report admits they are narrow in some locations, and feedback to the plan showed the community considered cycling unsafe along the Ferry Rd corridor and at intersections. The report also notes that of more than 270 crashes on Ferry Rd in the past five years, 38 (14 per cent) involved cyclists.

The plan will be available from January 28 in the council's service centres and libraries, and people have until February 28 to make written comments on it.

Mr Todd said his board looked forward now to the consultation process. There were "lots of potholes to negotiate yet" before the process was finished, he said.