BICYCLES IN WELLINGTON

 

Our transport planners are endeavouring the impossible, making our narrow streets efficient and safe for Cars, taxis, bikes, scooters, public transport, goods delivery, emergency vehicles, and pedestrians while also allowing for parking and bus stops. The efficiency theory of commuting by bicycle is flawed. Very little can be carried on a bicycle, the elderly, handicapped, and young children cannot realistically be expected to use them. Walking is, by far, a better option for short journeys, slower but safer. You don’t need to wear a safety helmet, or find somewhere to leave your bike, and can enjoy the landscape, shops, and gardens without having to concentrate on traffic hazards.

The citizen’s preference is plain. In the CBD the ratio of pedestrians to cycles, or cars to cycles, would be approximately 30/1.

Commuting by bicycle reduces the economic viability of public transport, something that even cycle owners need on a bad weather day. It is foolish to plan a traffic system which includes a form of transport that only operates in good weather, for a minority of its citizens. Cycling is a wonderful leisure exercise but should take place on dedicated tracks and mountain biking routes.

Published  Dominion Post  June 2022