Courtenay Place cycleway potentially on the cards

Friday, 23 August 2024

Business owners are circulating a Courtenay Place design with a cycleway cutting through pedestrian areas, but Wellington City Council says the design is not finalised. (file)

A cycleway may be on the cards for Courtenay Place, and business owners are concerned about potential disruption to their livelihoods.

The Golden Mile project’s website says the project is working to confirm its construction schedule, and the area’s business owners and residents are being engaged with to discuss upcoming plans.

The project looks to revitalise the beleaguered street by removing private carparks and increasing pedestrian walking spaces. It was inherited by Wellington City Council after Let’s Get Wellington Moving was abandoned by the Government following last year’s election.

A mock-up design of Courtenay Place is being circulated online, showing a potential vision of what the street could look like under the project.

A major change the draft shows is an off-road cycleway being added to Courtenay Place’s pedestrian area, following the road from Cambridge Terrace to Taranaki St.

Cycleways are a divisive issue in the capital at the moment. Supporters claim the cycle network will help combat traffic congestion and lower emissions, while opponents claim the loss of car parks will affect families and businesses in the area.

A Wellington City Council spokesperson said the Courtenay Place design was not finalised.

“Council staff continue to meet regularly with businesses on Courtenay Place and other key stakeholders to understand their needs for loading and servicing.”

At a council meeting in June an amendment was sought by councillor Tony Randle who moved a notice of motion to postpone the Golden Mile project until a full “integrated” transport plan for the city is done.

The motion was defeated with staff saying they would bring back a vision to the Wellington City Council before September 30 – the date that contracts would be signed.

The Cambridge/Kent Terrace intersection will be the first area of work for the project, then the upgrade of Courtenay Place.

However, Kaffee Eis Courtenay Place owner Karl Tiefenbacher disagreed, saying the council was not longer doing what they called “consultation,” now calling it “engagement”.

“Now they're basically like, this is what we're doing.”

A proposed design for Courtenay Place in Wellington that was shared with business owners in the area.

Tiefenbacher was a former centre-right independent council by-election candidate in the Pukehīnau/Lambton General Ward by-election who was named the provisional winner then lost to Geordie Rogers with a count of special votes.

Tiefenbacher has been vocal about his disapproval for the project, and was one of the 73 inner-city business owners who signed a petition against the proposed upgrades.

He said the changes were ludicrous, and he couldn’t find a single positive in them.

“There are none. I just can't see it. If anyone can give me two or three positives out of that plan, I'd be astounded.”

Regarding the cycleway shown on the design, Tiefenbacher said he was concerned with safety as there could be collisions between pedestrians and lane users.

Additionally, a number of delivery bays had been removed from the street in the design, making things much harder for delivery trucks looking to drop off supplies, he said.

Karl Tiefenbacher says he can’t find “one single positive” in a proposed Courtenay Place design. (File photo)

Tiefenbacher also said he was worried emergency services would not have anywhere to stop in the event of an emergency, as sometimes happened during late nights.

Instead of the proposed changes, he said he wanted more lighting and more CCTV cameras for Courtenay Place.

A Wellington City Council spokesperson said moving the cycle path away from the road removed the risk of cyclists conflicting with buses, taxis, or food delivery motor scooters.

The design also showed a clear separation between the cycleway and pedestrian walkway, with different pavements showing places where people should take care if crossing, he said.

“The draft designs have been through a rigorous safety audit to ensure this.”

Bar owner Jeremy Smith (right) says he is concerned there has not been enough consultation with business owners in the Golden Mile project. (file)

Courtenay Place Precinct group member Jeremy Smith said his understanding was that the plan was approved and was now being shown to business owners.

As business owners, he and other group members were in favour of reinvigorating and improving the street, he said, to create a better environment and a better Courtenay Place.

However, the group’s view was that had not been enough consultation with business owners during the process.

“Looking at the goals of the Golden Mile is that one of the key pillars is supporting businesses.”

Courtenay Medical practice manager Jayne Keogh, business owner Trevor Tillotson, podiatrist Kathy Hitchcox, and podiatrist Tanya Rainey say they are concerned proposed changes to Wellington's Golden Mile will drive their disabled or elderly customers away.

Smith said he wasn’t convinced that potentially removing the amount of outdoor seating with a cycle lane added to the street was a good way to go.

The plan appeared to have insufficient parking for Uber and other ride sharing apps, as well as not enough loading zones for suppliers to park at when delivering food.

He said, looking at outdoor cities like Amsterdam or Melbourne, having outdoor seating was an important part of the hospitality culture.

“We're excited, but are concerned that the process is not quite where it should be. We're hoping that we’re being listened to -- and yet having a cycle lane in the middle of an area that is supposed to be very pedestrian orientated, and with outdoor cafés and seating just doesn't quite make sense.”

Health providers concerned about potential changes

Business owners based in the health hub on 97-99 Courtenay Place, which includes a medical centre, a podiatry clinic, a blood test lab, and a dentist, say the proposed changes will spell disaster for them.

Courtenay Place Medical practice manager Jayne Keogh said, with elderly, pregnant, sick, and disabled customers already having trouble getting into town to visit the business, the removal of private parking would add an additional barrier.

Another concern was the removal of the bus stop outside the former Readings Cinema complex in the draft design, she said.

“We're dealing with disabled, elderly, young mums with little bubbies, injured people. If they can't park and they can't catch a bus, you're not going to find very many sick people riding their bike to get here.”

Podiatrist and co-owner of the Podiatry clinic, Trevor Tillotson, said he and other business owners who worked in the building were incredibly concerned with the proposed changes.

Bar owner Jeremy Smith on the challenges facing Wellington's major hospitality precinct.

His business had been in the Courtenay Place building for over 30 years, he said.

Since then, he had seen the slow removal of parking in the area, including a “slipway dividing Courtenay Place to Taranaki St that had a sizeable amount of parking.

“So we suffered dramatically when that happened, and we fear if this proposal goes forward, then our business is going to fail.”

With the majority of the clinic’s patients being elderly, they were unable to catch buses, so would either need to be dropped off, or come in vehicles, park, and then walk over.

The last eight years had been difficult for Courtenay Place businesses, after the closure of Readings Cinemas, Keogh said.

The business owners said they haven’t heard anything from the council, just Tiefenbacher, who had made an effort to contact all the businesses along the street.

Tillotson said he felt “angry, not concerned,” after hearing about the proposed changes.

“We're a small business practice … it’s taken us 40 years to develop this practice.”

Kathy Hitchcox, who owns the Podiatry Clinic with Tillotson, said they were initially drawn to the location due to the car parks outside, only to lose them seven years later.

Now, it appeared that history was repeating, she said.

“Not many of our patients come on the bus.You know, they're not able bodied enough to manage buses.”

In the draft Courtenay Place design, the nearest disability car park appeared to be on Allen St, which was too far away for their customers, she said.

Moving was not an option, Keogh said. The medical centre took up the entire fifth floor of the building, and would cost $500,000 to relocate.

Hitchcox said she was concerned that customers would stop going to the clinic if there was nowhere for them to park.

“What are the benefits for spending all this money because there's no benefit to the businesses. Do they want to kill the street completely, because that is what they all do.”

A Wellington City Council spokesperson said there already was an existing mobility park on Taranaki St at the corner of Courtenay Place, which would not be affected by the project.

“[This] would ideally placed for access to the health providers located at 97-99 Courtenay Place.

“Additional mobility parks are available on Dixon St, and once other construction is complete, Inglewood Place, which are also close to the health providers.

“Overall, Courtenay Place revitalisation will increase the number of mobility parks in the Courtenay Precinct.”

Capitol Resturant’s Tom Hutchison said he would only be indirectly affected by the new plan and while it might be a nice new view for his patrons, he felt for the other businesses on Courtenay Place that would have issues.