Kapiti Cycling Inc. is a voice for Kapiti Coast cyclists — we are a volunteer organisation representing cyclists of all ages and abilities who wish to cycle safely within and between the district towns.

General

Vision statement & values

We strongly support all statements and values. We wish to point out that traffic pollution such as diesel and rubber dust end up in our streams, rivers and the sea through storm water drains. It is therefore important to reduce motor traffic as much as possible.

5. Managing Growth for Local Benefit

We support all the bullet points and would like to add one more:

• "Sustainable Growth"

Comment: Cycle Tourism is a high income earner for tourism and is low impact tourism with no damage to the environment. Our history and beautiful beaches will attract this type of tourist.

6. Passenger Transport & Sustainable Transport (Please add)

We support all services mentioned. We wish to add:

• The Coastal Cycleway/walkway completed to Otaki and Northern Border to allow access for commuters & school children to cycle between towns, recreational cyclists and tourists. This would also mean improved, safer and cheaper access for young people to visit/commute to larger centres on the Coast.

Background: Completion of this cycle/walkway was put under The Greater Otaki project at the Community Board meeting on 14 December 2005. We would now ask that it is included in the final Greater Otaki Project document.

Bike lanes Main Street: We were distressed to discover at the "Community Vision Celebration" on 7^th October, that the cycle lanes which were on earlier discussion documents and which were presented to the community at a special Community Board Meeting early July — this meeting was a positive and well-supported meeting and we thanked the Council for listening to us in respect of provision for especially child cyclists in the way of cycle lanes through Main Street.

The explanation that we have received from a Council Officer is that: Mr Gary Clark from Duffill Watts Tease Roading consultants had rejected the idea in preference for putting in a median for motor vehicles to wait on when turning. We suggest that motorists who wish to turn into side roads can leave Main Street at the roundabout and use back streets to enter side streets and that directional signs are erected at both ends of Main Street for this purpose. We also point out that if the Council continually provide easy solutions for motorists and obstruct cyclists and pedestrians there will be little take up of cycling and walking or using the bus.

Our understanding is that KCDC wishes to promote sustainable transport such as cycling and walking. We urge the council to ensure that this latest change is reversed to what was agreed on earlier.

Background: the background for our request of cycle lanes is that school students are cycling on the Main Street Footpaths, which engender continual complaints from the Business Community. We also refer to a recent study done by the University of Texas, reported in ChainLinks issue 5 2006: the results are posted at the CTR’s Web site at: www.utexas.edu/research/ctr/pdf reports/0 5157 1.pdf.

"by studying the interactions of drivers and bicyclists on Texas roads transportation engineers at the University of Texas at Austin have discovered that having painted bike lanes on streets and roads helps both commuters (cars & cyclists) stay in safer, more central positions in their respective lanes."

Kapiti Cycling has offered to help educate children and college students in how to use the cycle lanes once they are installed.

7. Main Street and Otaki Railway

• 7.3 Vision for the Railway Area: The 7th bullet point (provides better access from Rahui Road to Arthur Street — possible road or walkway). We wish to state that this Cycleway/Walkway is listed as one of the 15 most important pathways in the district in the KCDC Development Management Strategy (which closed for submissions on 27/10). We are distressed to see that this might now be turned into a roadway. We remind you of Council’s efforts to encourage sustainable transport choices. Such a walking/cycling pathway fits perfectly the carrot and stick concept.

9. Te Horo, Hautere and the Wider rural Area

We wish to add another bullet point:

• Provides a cycling link to Otaki

Background: This link is a section of the Coastal Cycling/Walkway and would further sustainable and healthy transport solutions for commuters & school children. It would also serve as a round trip between Otaki and Hyde Park for visitors to the area and a beautiful ride for recreational cyclists.

10. The Coast (including harvesting)

We support points 10.1 to 10.7. We wish to add another bullet point:

• 10.8 sustainable transport such as cycling and walking or using the bus is encouraged to limit pollution from road run-off.