Dunedin cyclists are celebrating a win after the team building the new Dunedin hospital fixed a series of hazardous pinch points on State Highway 1. Last month, Spokes Dunedin members raised concerns about the temporary cycleway running alongside the hospital construction site. Photos and video shared online showed two problem areas heading northbound: half-height concrete barriers left smack in the middle of the cycleway, and a dangerous narrowing where they said fencing created a crash waiting to happen. Spokes secretary Nathan Kershaw took the concerns to the crew on the ground. “I rocked up on my tandem — slightly odd, but a great conversation starter — and one of the workers, Chris, happened to be a keen cyclist himself,” Mr Kershaw said. “He made a few calls, and then encouraged me to speak with Jason Tutty, the project manager for the building site.” “By good fortune, Jason came in through the office entrance a few minutes after me, having to walk close by my tandem to get through. “We had a constructive chat, watched the video footage together, and he agreed it needed urgent attention. He listened, he responded, and then he actually did something about it. That kind of genuine engagement is really welcome in cycling advocacy.” Within a week, the offending half-height barriers in the middle of the cycleway had been lifted. Gerard Hyland, the Spokes member who first captured the problems on video, said it made a real difference. “I rode through last night — much, much easier,” Mr Hyland said. The fix for the second issue — the dangerous pinch point further along — took another week and some gentle nudging, but the build team has since removed the offending barrier and improved the orange guides so cyclists have much cleaner run to the intersection. “A little bit of gentle nudging and we got there in the end,” Mr Kershaw said. “Thanks to Jason and his team for listening to us and taking it seriously.”
