How part of the proposed cycleway might look. Photo: New Plymouth District Council / supplied
The New Plymouth District Council had to eat humble pie at the beginning of three days of submissions on its controversial cycleway plans.
It got its maths wrong and rather than costing $17 million, the three proposed routes tally up to more than $35m.
The council already has more than 1600 written submissions on the project, which will be funded from New Plymouth's share of Waka Kotahi's Transport Choices programme.
Chief executive Gareth Green delivered the council mea culpa on costs.
"The current funding of $17 million will not cover the construction of all of the three proposed routes. The reality of this became clearer as the project progressed.
"We acknowledge that the communication and our documentation regarding the ability to deliver the three routes could've been clearer.
"As such council officers will be preparing a number of options to consider including the recommending the construction of only one of the three routes."
Bert Fisher. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Bert Fisher was among the dozens of locals who turned up to have a say.
He was astonished at the cost blowout.
"The rise in cost from $17 million to $35 million is unbelievable. That nobody picked it up beforehand.
"The size of the job $17 million would not even start anything. It's unbelievable that nobody even picked it up until not even 24 hours ago."
Mayor Neil Holdom blamed the costing error on the government's insistence that the project be completed by June 2024.
Fisher thought the cycle routes were a waste of money anyway, but Tricia Thompson was a fan.
She goes everywhere by bike.
Tricia Thompson. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
"I bike to meetings and appointments, yes, I biked here today. I bike across town to the hospital when I work casual shifts.
"I bike to cafes and restaurants. I bike to visit family and friends. I bike to parties and I bike to funerals.
"I bike to do my volunteer work. I bike to the library, the art gallery, the movies, the beach, the pool, the gym, the rugby, the basketball. I bike to shows."
But there was a catch.
"What's not so good about biking in New Plymouth? Why do so many of my friends, many of who have bikes and e-bikes, not bike around town so much?
"Because they're scared. They're scared because of cars, scared of so many cars and so many bigger cars and not being separated from them."
Allan Riddick. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Like Fisher, Allan Riddick was opposed to the cycleways.
The original plan for three routes included taking out about 900 carparks.
Riddick owned several shops in Moturoa and had crunched the numbers to figure out what losing parking would cost his tenants.
"Each of these businesses would potentially have a loss of revenue per financial year of $49,000.
"On top of that effect there's the construction programme that would mean the loss of all parking for a number of days at the cost of about $2000 a day."
Annabel Mazzoni. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
On the other side of the argument was Annabel Mazzoni, who shared the experience of her 82-year-old mum who had moved to Copenhagen from the UK.
"Her hips are bad so she finds it hard to walk and she's actually quite a bad driver as well, but when she gets on the bike ... she'll go to the shops multiple times a day because she just enjoys going out.
"She goes to visit her friends, she'll ride the bike to the station and catch a train with her bike and go out in the evening to the opera or whatever."
Mazzoni said it was time to embrace bike power.
The council had not officially decided what, if anything, the project would deliver.
Following this week's hearings a report would go to councillors ahead of a special meeting later this month.
If a cycleway was approved, Waka Kotahi would make a final decision on it in October.
The Transport Ministry said it was considering a New Plymouth District Council request for an extension to the June 2024 deadline for completing the project.
