Our “Unsafe” Cycleway Campaign for the Devon Street West Cycleway.

In support of the Devon Street West Cycleway Petition, and to add weight to our story of the Safety Plan prepared by Beca also being audited by Beca at the end of the project, we want to start gathering actual information about injuries and near misses happening on the Barrett Street to Morley Street Cycleway.

We know people are contacting the NPDC with what they are seeing but we don’t have a lot of confidence this information is being gathered to be reported on by the NPDC.

We have heard of multiple injury situations, we’ve heard of how people have tripped and fallen and we’ve heard of how emergency vehicles have not been able to get through traffic. We’ve heard how cyclists’ wheels have bounced off the Tim Tams and cyclist have been injured, and how children have ridden their bikes into the traffic lane with the cycleway coming to an abrupt stop, We’ve heard of kids stepping in to the driving lane from a pedestrian crossing, as they can’t see if cars are coming due to parked cars in their view.

Anyone who knows a little of anything about Health and Safety principles - the more near misses that happen, the more chance an injury will happen. The more injuries that happen, the more chance a serious injury, or death, will happen.

Multiple injuries are already happening on this Cycleway route.

We would like to ask all the people using this route, whether you live there or just travel along it occasionally, to send an e-mail to the NPDC with what near misses (close calls), or actual injuries you have seen, and copy that email to us – so we can start tracking how “unsafe” this supposedly safe cycleway is.

• If you have already sent something to the NPDC, please send us a copy of that now.
• If you have seen things happen - even if it was months ago - and you haven’t already contacted the NPDC, please send that to the Council now, and copy it to us.
• Going forward from here, if you see something “unsafe” please e-mail the Council, and copy us.

We need to fill the inbox of the Council with the reality of how many “unsafe” events are actually happening on this cycleway, so we can get action to undo what is unsafe on this route.

The NPDC’s email address is:

enquiries@NPDC.govt.nz

our E-mail address is:

ratepayersnp@gmail.com

And if you haven’t already, at businesses all along Devon Street West – from Morley Street to Barret Road – there are copies of the Cycleway Petition to sign.  Please make sure you get out and sign the petition if you are not happy with this cycleway.

If you hear others complaining about the cycleway tell them about the Petition AND about our “Unsafe” Cycleway Campaign - to e-mail incidents to the Council and copy that to us.