Canterbury Charity Hospital considers legal action over 'inferior' cycleway design
From reporter Tina Law:
The Canterbury Charity Hospital is considering launching a judicial review against the city council over its decision to push ahead with an “unsafe and inferior” cycleway.
The Christchurch City Council last week approved the final design for the $22.6 million, 4.5-kilometre Wheels to Wings cycleway on Harewood Rd, following 19 months of consultation and more than 70 design changes.
The cycleway passes the hospital’s front gate and its bosses first raised concerns about its design early last year.
The charity hospital wants the council to go ahead with an alternative community-led design, which was considered by the council but eventually dismissed because it had “safety concerns that could not be resolved”.
The council voted 11 to 6 in favour of pushing ahead with the staff-recommended design.
Hospital chairman Phil Bagshaw and executive officer Carl Shaw said in a statement, they were dismayed at the council’s decision to accept an “inferior version” of the cycleway.
They said the hospital trust had grave concerns for the safety of its patients and staff and believed the community had been ignored.
A statement issued by the trust’s lawyer, Jamie Robinson of Duncan Cotterill, said the hospital believed the community option was safer and less costly than what the councillors approved.
She said the fact the community proposal was not given fuller consideration by the council had resulted in the hospital seeking legal advice on its options to judicially review the decision.
“The Canterbury Charity Hospital is frustrated by the decision of the councillors, and specifically that the alternative option strongly supported by the community was not given more consideration.”
Bagshaw and Shaw would not comment on how the hospital would pay for legal action or when a firm decision would be made.
They directed all inquiries to Robinson, who did not answer those questions.
City council chief executive Dawn Baxendale is on the charity hospital trust board, which presumably would make the final decision over legal action.
Bagshaw and Shaw said in a statement the council did not carry out an independent safety audit on the community design, which was created by three highly experienced engineers with more than 100 years of experience between them.
Council head of transport Lynette Ellis said staff had worked with the hospital throughout the development of the cycleway, most recently in the last two months.
She said staff were working to clarify their concerns and were confident that those could be mostly resolved through a design solution.
At last week’s council meeting, during some intense questioning from councillors, Ellis went to great pains to explain staff had seriously considered the alternative design but they could not make it work no matter how hard they tried.
Ellis said road safety audits did not provide a comparison between different options, so it went with an independent design review instead.
The review was undertaken by Chartered Professional Engineers, who were recognised in the field of road safety and design for active modes of transport, she said.
The council-approved design would see Harewood Rd reduced from four vehicle lanes to two lanes to make way for one-way cycle lanes on both sides of the road between Nunweek Boulevard and Greers Rd.
At Nunweek Park the cycleway will become two-way on the south side of Harewood Rd towards Russley Rd.
From Greers Rd towards the railway line in Papanui, the cycleway will be two-way on the north side apart from a small section outside Mitre 10 where it will become one-way on both sides of the road.
The community plan (pictured) involved a two-way cycleway on the south side of the Harewood Rd median strip.
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I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?
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Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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47.9% Yes
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50.2% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Hero
“I was born and raised in war. To be honest, those are not good memories.
I really like Iran, and I really miss it, but I couldn’t be myself there. Even though my family didn’t like my decision, I left Iran. I promised myself that I would do whatever I can for all communities, especially for the kids, so they do not have the same experience I had.
I studied software engineering in Iran and left in 2006. I went to Malaysia and stayed in Kuala Lumpur for seven years. I was admitted to Lincoln University to do my PhD here, but unfortunately, I couldn’t afford the expenses. I requested a scholarship, but they told me I had to be there for six months first. So, I stayed in Malaysia and did my PhD in network security. In December 2013, I came to New Zealand with a work visa.
It took me a while to connect with the Iranian community here. I volunteered with the Multicultural Council, SPCA, and community patrol, and I established the Christchurch Iranian Society in 2017. Before that, I started working on Radio Toranj, the only Farsi-language radio show in New Zealand.
One of the reasons I started organizing cultural events was to showcase Iranian culture. I wanted to show people that we have delicious food, colorful dresses, traditional customs, and our own instruments. My hope was to show people that we are not what you see in the media.
I am working to involve all the communities that celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in the Nowruz festival in March 2025. We want to share this celebration not only with our community but with the public as well. It’s better when it’s shared.
I remember the first time someone from Dunedin called me and asked, Hero, can you help? Something happened, and they keep declining Iranian visa applications. When I heard that, I felt insulted. We are still human, so how can they do that?
Through this journey, I’ve learned a lot. Every single day, people with different cases call me, and I try to share my knowledge and guide them as much as I can.
I have received several awards, including the Christchurch Civic Award and an Award of Recognition for my contributions to the community during the pandemic. In 2021, I established Canterbury Kia Ora Academy, a charitable trust. Through this charity, I can help other communities as well, not just the Iranian community.”
- Hero
View more stories, or nominate someone: @humansofchch
www.humansofchch.org......
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