Diane Calvert: Wellington City Councillor says prize money for better cycleway ideas is a bonkers idea

A Wellington City councillor isn't a fan of her Council's competition - hoping to get inspiration on cycleways.  

It's offered an $8500 prize pool for ideas on improvements.  

Councillor Diane Calvert told Andrew Dickens it makes no sense.  

“Well I think it is one of the many bonkers ideas that Wellington City Council has, and never really makes a difference to the city.” 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Sid Bey, So, Wellington City Council's a bit under fire
right now. They have offered eight and a half thousand
dollars a prize money for anyone who can come up
with a better cycle way. The competition brief says council
was focused on low cost temporary cycle ways which had
few benefits, and now they want the help from the
public to come up with an idea for a longer
lasting piece of infrastructure. The questions are being asked as

(00:22):
to why the council just didn't do the cycle ways
properly in the first place, and Wellington City Councilor Diane
Calvert joins me, now, hell, are Dianasis bonkers?

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Hi? Well, I think it is one of the many
bonkers ideas that Wellington City Council has and never really
makes a difference to the city or for its people.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Really, it feels like it's the council saying we can't
design a cycleway because we're useless. Can you do it
for us? And what you get from that is you're useless?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well, I think the thing is that the other cycle
ways were there to and to be honest, they've met
with a lot of dissatisfaction from but they were there
in a transitional way to say, well, maybe we haven't
got these rights. At least they're easy to move. Now
we go and put more permanent stuff in. I mean,
people are saying, you haven't got the cycle ways right now,

(01:12):
so making them even more permanent is just a further
recipe for disaster.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yes, exactly. Now. Look, I am a cyclist, and I
like myself a good cycle way, but I hate a
bad cycle way, And sometimes I give a cycle a
way that no cyclist wants to use, which is why
we then ride on the road, you know. So why
is it that we can't do a good cycle way
every time?

Speaker 2 (01:32):
Because what happens is the city council doesn't engage properly
with everyone that gets either users or is impacted by it.
And I took to look. My husband's a cyclist, and
I talk to many other cyclists, and even they are
scratching their heads in some of the places that our
council seems to want to put cycle ways.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
The cycleways I really hate are the cycle ways that
actually have you know, curbs on either side, and you're
trapped in there and if you vary very out, your
head over heels and into the road and then you
run over by a truck. They're terrible things.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
So yeah, that's right. So we need to do that.
We're going to do them. We need to do them well.
And in the summers we just can't put them in.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Where's the eight and a half thousand dollars coming from?

Speaker 2 (02:14):
Well we it's coming from a grant for money from
the Bloomberg Cycling.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Oh so this is not players money I've got. This
is right, This idea heres upset you so much? You
are Hecker, this is.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Yeah, so that looks I think the thing is that
you know, this is this is an large overseas organization,
you know, and good on them. But the thing is
what's happening is they've opened the checkbook and we just
rush and grab whatever money is there. Whether it's actually
going to do it make a difference or not.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Well, I can tell you I've got to take some rees. Diane,
just a few moments ago that says just get rid
of them. There do I win.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
Exactly, And many people are saying that, especially around Wellington.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Good stuff. Dian Calvert is our Wellington City Council. For
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Speaker 2 (03:09):
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