Diane Calvert: Wellington City Councillor on the installation of a $550 thousand bike rack

There’s outrage in parts of the capital over the price-tag of a new bike rack. 

Ratepayers have forked out $550 thousand to install a two-tier bike rack in central Wellington. 

Independent Wellington City Councillor Diane Calvert told Mike Hosking she's gobsmacked the project became so expensive. 

Calvert says costs snowballed due to work on the footpath, installation of CCTV, and wiring electricity to the bike rack. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So Wellington they're at it again. Shell Lane, which is
just off the Terrace, has had a bit of a makeup.
Part of its new bike rack holds twenty four bikes.
Apparently the cost is half a million dollars. In fact,
it's more than half a million dollars. It's five hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. Are the Wellington City councilor Diane
Kilbot's with us on this, Diane, very good morning to.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
You, Good morning Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Just for clarity's sake, is the lane five hundred and
fifty thousand dollars or just the bike rack?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Well, the bike crack was around about one hundred and
twenty thousand. But to put the bike rack in they
needed to make the footpath wider, and then they also
put some CCTV cameras in, and then they need to
put some power to the bike rack. So all and
out it costs sort of round about five hundred and

(00:44):
sixty two thousand dollars.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Do excuse me, why do you need power for a
bike rack?

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Well, you need to have the cct that the camera's there.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
Oh okay, look.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
Over twenty four bikes, which it seems quite bizarre when
we don't have enough CCTV cameras through this CBD with
and lots more people around.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
I'm guessing there aren't twenty four bikes. There's never been
twenty four bikes, am I right?

Speaker 2 (01:07):
Well, look I've been down there last few weeks and
either there's the most spikes I've seen, there is one okay.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
One point so twenty three gaps so play, plenty of parking.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
And fifty meters up the roads the Council's building and
there's a public bike rack outside and that's never.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Full right, How is it the stuff happens from your experience?

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Well, it's it's probably hidden away in some budgets that
we never see the light of day. But I mean,
obviously an example like this, we need to make sure
we've got better transparency because also this is a half
a million dollar budget as it's turned out to be.
But if we think about the Golden mar and Thornton Key,

(01:55):
which are millions of dollars, If we're doing this on
a simple bike crack, what on earth are we going
to be doing on those projects?

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Couldn't agree more? Are you cognizant that Wellington's dead has
and Wellington City's debt will go up by ninety one
percent this year from three years ago to one point
eight billion dollars.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah, I think it was around about one point eight
one point nine billion, And.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
When we're talking about half a million dollar marks, well.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
I do. But for Salmon, I've been really surprised by
some of my colleagues reaction as if they're not really
that concerned, which is really concerning to me because we
just had a twenty percent rates increase and literally I've
got residents saying we can't afford this. Yeah, we're on
fixed incomes, we can't afford this, can and we are

(02:41):
spending half a million dollars on a bike crack that's
not required in that particular area.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Do you find your life frustrating as a council of Diane.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Absolutely absolutely. But you know somebody's got to keep on
the good fight.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Yeah, that is true. You have a good weekend. I
appreciate your time, Diane Calvert. I couldn't stand it. I'd
rather shoot myself. Wellington's debt up by ninety one percent
to one point eight billion, Hut up by one hundred
and thirty nine percent to five hundred and thirty nine million,
and Pory rus up by one hundred and forty three
percent to three hundred fifty five million. For more from

(03:16):
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