Richard Martin: Wellington cyclist on Wellington Council spending $84,000 on a bike rack nobody uses

Wellington Council is copping backlash for spending over $84,000 on a bike rack that goes largely unused.

Reports claim the bike rack only sees an average of just 2.7 bikes per week - even during busy days.

One Wellington cyclist, Richard Martin, has lambasted this move as the council warns of rate hikes and water shortages.

"We're facing 17 percent rate rises and we're also being told that we may have to conserve water next summer because the pipes still leak - and the council goes and spends $84,000. I'd much rather use that money to fix the leaks."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Wellington. Wellington City Council is coppying it, yes again, for
spending too much money on something people don't need. It's
eighty four thousand dollars they've spent on a bike crack
that hardly anyone's using. They've put this thing outside Frieburg
Pool and Oriental Bay. It's been there since last year
and even though it can fit twenty four bikes at
a time, on average only two point seven bikes are

(00:20):
using the thing every week now. Richard Martin is a
long time Wellington cyclist. It did some detective work when
he noticed the mostly empty rack and he's.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
With us now.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
A Richard, Hello, why do you decide to look into it?

Speaker 2 (00:33):
Of course I've walked past it so often and don't
see anything in it. It's a very fancy bike crack.
It's a Rolls Royce bike crack, and I thought, well,
to spend that much money on it, why isn't it
being used?

Speaker 1 (00:44):
Why do you think no one's using it?

Speaker 2 (00:47):
I didn't think there's a need for it. Frankly, I
think that places out in the front of the Frieboog
Pool to put your bikes. There's other racks on the
footpath outside the pool, and they're often not for Richie.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Can you explain something to me because looking at it
in the photographs it looks like you have to sort
of hoist your bike up to be able to put
it in there. Is that how it works?

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Well, it's yes, it's quind of expensive because it's quite
a marvel of engineering. It's all spring loaded, so you
pull the racks out and they're spring loaded. You pull
it down, you put your bike in, it goes back
up again. You know, I'm thinking that they could have
used two inch galvanized pipe bend in the U shape
and put in the ground with a bit of concrete

(01:30):
for the same number of racks, for five grand, not
eighty four grand.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
They reckon at the council that the problem is that
you've busted them in the middle of winter, right, and
nobody really wants to cycle in winter. But come some
of the things going to be full. What do you reckon?

Speaker 2 (01:45):
I think that's a real hearing. The other day it
was a lovely weekend summer's day in Wilmington that do happen,
and there were lots of people walking up and down
the parade, bikes everywhere, and it was still empty.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Yeah, waste of money. I Richard, it's a pussy that
they waste your money like this.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Well, I mean we're facing seventeen percent rate rises and
we're also being told that, you know, you may have
to conserve water next summer Forgosta pipes. Sorely, and the
council go and spend eighty four grand I'm not sure
they use that money to fix the leaks. Yep.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Yeah, you should be on council, you should be the
mayor actually with such common sense, Richard, Thank you, Richard Martin,
longtime Wellington cyclist Geez Wellington. Yeah, honest and get you
act together. For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen
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