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Everyone should be given a chance to familiarise themselves with Dunedin’s new cycleways before any enforcement is needed, a cycling advocate says.
People continue to park over sections of the newly installed cycle lanes heading both south and north on State Highway 1.
Cyclists using the southbound path in Cumberland St yesterday were seen by Otago Daily Times staff swerving out on to the road to avoid parked vehicles.
The Dunedin City Council is delegated to enforce parking bylaws along the state highway on behalf of the NZ Transport Agency.
Spokes Dunedin chairman Jon Dean said he was aware of some ‘‘teething’’ issues with the cycleway project but that just highlighted the work was not finished.
Mr Dean did not anticipate the issues would continue once the cycle lanes were completed; also people needed time to get used to the changes.
‘‘I think it will sort itself out, but it will take a little while until everyone, cyclists included, are used to it.’’
If people continued to park in the cycleway after the project was completed, then the council had to be tougher and increase its enforcement, he said.
A council spokesman said the new cycle lanes were monitored by enforcement officers.
The council was not able to provide any statistics on the number of enforcement notices issued to motorists who had parked on the new cycle lanes yesterday.
The timeline for completion of the one-way cycle lane project is September.