Cyclists protest outside Christchurch City Council this morning. Photo: RNZ/Niva Chittock
Christchurch City Councillors have voted to keep a controversial temporary cycle lane installed by council staff last month.
Some councillors believed they were not adequately consulted on the plan to replace a lane of central city traffic on Park Terrace with the cycle lane, and proposed to end the trial early.
Eric Low was among about 30 people who packed the public gallery today, wearing high visibility clothing and bike helmets to show their support for the trial.
He did not own a car and thought the proposal to rip up the Park Terrace cycle lane was "outrageous".
"Somebody died yesterday in the North Island, a car versus cyclist [crash]... No driver ever got killed by a cyclist, that's for sure," Low said.
"That's what worries us. People worry about parking or being slightly late to work - we worry about being struck and killed or maimed."
Pro-cycling group Spokes Canterbury's chairperson Don Babe thought the council should re-evaluate the cycle lane once the consultation period finished.
"The cycleway that's been put in is absolutely lovely. It's been well-designed and it's really fit for purpose," Babe said.
"It's been there for not quite a month, not really long enough for people to really notice it."
Don Babe, chair of pro-cycling group Spokes Canterbury. Photo: RNZ/Niva Chittock
Not everyone agreed.
Storm McVay spoke on behalf of nearby residents and said the "ill-considered changes had created serious issues".
The issues she listed included increased traffic congestion, a higher risk to pedestrians and bus stops now being in the middle of traffic.
"Thousands of [rate payers] actually, have had enough," McVay said.
"This madness has gone too far... Christchurch City Council and its out of control staff should know this is the beginning of scrutiny and accountability."
Deputy Mayor Pauline Cotter believed letting the trial run was the most democratic option.
"This to me is actually about a few councillors who don't like the roading changes," she said.
"And that's OK if you don't like them but it's not OK to interrupt a legitimate process by using a notice of motion."
Burwood Councillor Kelly Barber said the cycleway could have been put on the wide Hagley Park berm next to the road, instead of replacing a lane of traffic.
"It's controversial cycleways like this that make enemies for cyclists," he said.
"Drivers get annoyed with cyclists and I don't want to harvest their anger because they're frustrated that we haven't done the sensible thing with our cycleways."
Central Ward Councillor Jake McLellan wanted the council to take a balanced approach to the trial.
"It's rather incredulous to go out and talk to people and ask for their feedback on a project and then suggest you'll rip it out before you've even seen what they had to say," he said.
McLellan acknowledged the current temporary cycleway was likely not perfect.
But he thought the council should work to improve it instead of scrapping it.
A majority of councillors voted to keep the trial cycleway.
It will remain in place and public feedback will stay open until next month as planned.
The local community board will then report the results back to councillors.
Councillors also narrowly voted not to review delegated governance of work, such as this cycleway, to community boards.
