Govt's car ban plans divisive

Transport Minister Michael Wood. Photo: RNZ
Transport Minister Michael Wood. Photo: RNZ
Plans to give councils the power to ban cars on roads at certain times and remove kerbside parking in favour of cycleways and bus lanes without prior consultation have met with a mixed reaction from Dunedin mayoral candidates.

Transport Minister Michael Wood also wants councils to restrict traffic outside schools to encourage parents and children to walk or cycle.

He assured parents who drove their children to school they would still be able to drop them off nearby.

The proposals come from the "Reshaping Streets" report, which would allow councils to run trials of up to two years of changes to street layouts, vehicle access and speed limits, install speed bumps and remove parks.

The trials would replace traditional written consultation periods and serve as the consultation itself.

Instead, the street changes would be implemented, and then the public could give feedback on their experiences and views.

Mr Wood said the changes would also help meet the country’s climate change emission reduction targets and make roads safer for all users.

Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins, who is standing again, said the proposed legislation was a positive move.

He called the proposal a "test by doing" method that would allow residents to experience different ideas in action.

"This would give us the opportunity for more and more meaningful consultation with our communities, not less," Mr Hawkins said.

Mayoral candidate Cr Lee Vandervis called the form of consultation "a form of coercion" which would impose changes on those affected without any form of real feedback.

Cr Vandervis said the proposed law changes would enable councils to further restrict vehicle access, and force more people out of their cars.

Mayoral candidate Cr Jules Radich opposed the plans, saying he doubted the practicality of the approach.

The proposal did not take into account the everyday lives of citizens, and would force them into change rather than encourage people into greener methods of transportation, he said.

Fellow mayoral candidate Cr Carmen Houlahan called the approach alarming, saying councils needed to focus on consulting with their communities rather than forcing idealised change upon them.

"I don’t agree with it, I don’t support it and I think we need to think outside the square on other ways to reduce our emissions."

She said the proposals would allow Mr Hawkins "a carte blanche opportunity to pedestrianise our city, so watch out because that’s what he will do".

National Party transport spokesman Simeon Brown described "Reshaping Streets" as a radical proposal that revealed Labour’s deeply ingrained anti-car ideology.

Public consultation runs for six weeks until September 19.

— Additional reporting: The New Zealand Herald.

 

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