DOUBLE BUS LANES thru PAPANUI? No Thanks!
NO BUS-LANES!! WHY I VOTED AGAINST Bus&Bike Lanes thru Papanui as your elected Papanui Representative on the Papanui-Innes Community Board! My personal opinion is...
1) The radical changes to Papanui Village are proposed by Staff to make bus commuting faster and speedier northward; a saving of between 40 sec - 2 minutes. But these benefits do not justify the RADICAL changes to our Village and the severe impacts on locals. I feel it is an imbalance between competing ideologies about "community."
2) Our Ward is unique with a large demographc of retirement homes and mobile elderly. They will no longer be able to cross a much busier Main North Rd safely (3-5 lanes of North-South traffic depending on where you are).
3) We lose ALL northside on-street Main North Rd carparking. On the southside we retain only 4 P30s and only useable between bus-lane hours.
4) Our small business owners object. Like Riccarton, it will affect retailers' viability and jobs.
5) Always designated a "village" we are effectively cut in two; there were no negatives recorded in consultation for Mana Whenua (Nga Tahu), but I would argue as 'mana whenua Papanui' there are severe cultural impacts on our cultural rights of settlement here since 1850, which are not factored above the higher "needs" of City bus commuters heading north (faster bus travel times).
6) Papanui Village is severed and becomes a rapid transit commuter corridor v pedestrians.
7) There are 5 banks and a NZPost/kiwibank and lots of small shops, Aged Care, bars, takeaways, that draw quick in/out visits. Removing on-street car parks severely impacts this P5 local need.
8) Your Community Board proposed a P5 carpark on Harewood Rd corner, but due to frequency of use Staff felt a P60 designatuon was better for safety (less in/out car use) or none at all. However, if it's unsafe to have a P5 or P60 carpark there, due to the added buses and bikes, why aren't those safety concerns carried over to the rest of Papanui Village as a whole, which is a pedsestain community shopping area?
9) The Plan is saying - "it's unsafe to be road side anywhere in Papanui due to added cycles and buses speeding down a dedicated bus/bike land."
10) Merivale Village and Mall on the same corridor with the same buses and cycles has not had its on-street carparking removed, so there is an issue of village equity here.
One other colleague and I voted against the Plan as a whole but it was carried 4/2. See post below (with maps).
It’s Riddle Time – You Might Need an Extra Cup of Coffee!
Nobody has ever walked this way. Which way is it?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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84.6% Yes
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14% No
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1.4% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.