E-scooter agreement extended in Waimakariri
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Pink Flamingo Scooters will continue zipping through towns like Rangiora and Kaiapoi.
The Wellington-based company has been confirmed as Waimakariri district’s e-scooter provider for another three years.
Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon said the community has been overwhelmingly positive since the e-scooters were first introduced in 2020.
‘‘There has not been much negative feedback and Flamingo has been proactive in engaging with the council.
‘‘E-Scooter companies could have come here anyway, but because Flamingo has chosen to work with us we have been able to get a better outcome for the community.’’
An online survey found two-thirds of respondents supported extending the agreement for the pink scooters to be available in the district.
Gordon said the scooters provided another mode of transport when people were travelling short distances.
‘‘It is a tangible way we can enable innovation that gets people out of cars and reduces emissions.
‘‘I have used them myself and they are fun to use. It is a fun way of getting around.’’
Flamingo Scooters chief executive Jacksen Love said user surveys found that 73% of users said the scooters made it easier for them to not own or use a motor vehicle.
The company has been operating in Waimakariri since December 2020.
A no-ride zone on High St, between Durham St and the BNZ corner, is enforced by geo-fencing, and the scooters are equipped with GPS trackers making them easier to locate.
‘‘The scooters are looked after and promptly picked up and returned to places where they will be used,’’ Gordon said.
Love said scooter use was monitored and Flamingo Scooters had the ability to terminate rides or suspend accounts of those who misuse the scooters.
There are 150 e-scooters available on the streets in the Waimakariri district and Flamingo Scooters has a licence to operate up to 200.
Local people are contracted to look after the e-scooters.
A report prepared by council staff said there were about 85,000 rides on e-scooters over the last 21 months, mostly in Rangiora.
The scooters were also available in Kaiapoi, Woodend and Pegasus, while users also rode them along the Passchendaele Pathway between Kaiapoi and Rangiora.
Council staff have referred 26 complaints to Flamingo for scooters blocking pathways, while the company has received 60 complaints from the public over the last 21 months.
There have been 18 minor crashes over the same period, all due to rider error, the report said.
The agreement between the council and Flamingo Scooters sees the council paid an 8 cent levy for each ride, which is set aside for e-scooter infrastructure.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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Waimakariri district plan faces more delays amid changing rules
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Changing Government legislation is causing headaches for council staff, as Waimakariri’s new District Plan is set to be delayed again.
Waimakariri District Council development planning manager Matt Bacon said he was relieved when the last of the public hearings ended last week.
But with final council reports due on December 13, staff will have just two working days to present the final District Plan on December 17. A district plan helps to control and manage the development of the district or city.
‘‘We are working through what it looks like and we will update the council at its meeting on December 3,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘But we will likely seek another extension from the environment minister and the Resource Management Act (RMA) minister.’’
The council first notified its draft District Plan in September 2021, but within months legislation was introduced with new medium density residential housing standards (MDRS).
‘‘We needed to call for further submissions and we had to create a separate hearing panel to consider the plan variations to allow for the MDRS,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘We have tried to merge the process as much as possible, as well as looking at re-zoning and incorporating other new legislation.’’
When the draft plan was first notified there was no National Policy Statement (NPS) for Indigenous Biodiversity, but an NPS was introduced - and then replaced.
The Natural and Built Environment Act came into being last year and then repealed, and then there is the NPS on Urban Development and the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
The Government is now working on more RMA reforms and Environment Canterbury is working on the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement.
And then there is the Fast-Track Approvals Bill, which includes three proposed housing developments in Waimakariri - two of them outside of the future urban development areas identified in the Greater Christchurch Spatial Plan.
All three housing developments in the Bill have been included in submissions to the District Plan, including a proposed 850-home development at Ohoka, near Rangiora, which is also subject to an Environment Court appeal.
‘‘We haven’t seen the detail, so whether it is the same proposals, we don’t know, but they are different processes so we have to just keep doing what we are doing, until we are told otherwise,’’ Bacon said.
‘‘It might just be a timing thing, but we just don’t know.’’
Bacon said delaying the District Plan until new legislation is in place is not an option.
‘‘We are looking at what we can control and having a watching brief, and we will look at transitional timings because we don’t always have to immediately change planning documents when new legislation comes in.’’
Planning manager Wendy Harris said navigating changing Government legislation is a normal part of council planning work.
‘‘If we waited we wouldn’t do anything and we would go nowhere.’’
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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