Council makes ‘bonkers’ decision to keep Cranford St bus lane
Wednesday, 4 December 2024
A rush-hour bus lane on a busy Christchurch street will become permanent, following a decision described by one councillor as “bonkers”.
The Christchurch City Council decided, 9 votes to 8, on Wednesday to make one lane on an 820m stretch of Cranford St, between Innes Rd and Berwick St, a bus lane during peak hours.
A bus lane has been trialled on that stretch of road since 2021 and making it permanent was supported by the Waipapa Papanui-Innes-Central Community Board but not council staff, who wanted a clearway to enable cars to use the additional lane during peak times.
The council’s decision followed a tense debate where councillor Victoria Henstock said she was embarrassed to say the recommendation from her community board and the decision-making was “nothing short of bat shit bonkers”.
She apologised if her language offended anyone, but said she was struggling to find anything positive to say about the recommendation.
Henstock pointed out that even if the council wanted a clearway, it was not able to make that decision because it was up to the community board.
The council only had the ability to make a decision on the bus lane. If it had decided not to go ahead, the issue would have gone back to the board.
“We are in this ridiculous position today with no real decision making options because [of the] majority of my colleagues at community board. They knew this would be the result. They denied all elected members here from having an opportunity to make a decision of metropolitan significance.”
Henstock wanted to send the issue back to the community board if there was not a resolution on Wednesday.
However, councillor Jake McLellan said there was no conspiracy here, the community board had a job to do and public consultation showed no overwhelming view on any option.
“It’s really hard to see what would be achieved by sending it back the the community board.”
Deputy mayor Pauline Cotter said Cranford St was not a motorway, it was a community road.
“Putting four lanes in there is stretching a long bow.”
Councillor Aaron Keown said he would have been happy to trial a clearway so people could see what it looked like.
He criticised his fellow councillors for going against expert advice and the views of most residents. When this happens, he said, “you become a dictator”.
The public was asked to rank three options in July and 629 people commented on the issue.
About 48% preferred a clearway while 42% preferred the bus lane to remain and about 10% supported a T2 lane, which allows vehicles with more than two people in them to use the lane.
All the options were only to be operated during peak hours - southbound from 7am to 9am and northbound from 4pm to 6pm. Outside of peak hours the lane would revert back to on-street parking.
The work is being done to mitigate the downstream effects of the Northern Corridor motorway, which the council legally has to do following a direction from the Environment Court.
A bus lane was supported by the National Public Health Service, Environment Canterbury, St Albans Residents’ Association, St Albans School, Spokes Canterbury and Greater Ōtautahi.
A report on the issue said more people were taking the bus now than in 2021, when the bus lane trial began, but there were also more cars on the road.
If a clearway was created, someone driving to the city from Tram Rd in Waimakariri would save between one and two minutes. The bus lane option gave bus users a 48-second advantage.
Council staff said last month no matter which option was selected, congestion would worsen so long as more homes were built in Waimakariri.
Councillors who voted for the bus lane were: Jake McLellan, Tim Scandrett, Tyla Harrison-Hunt, Melanie Coker, Sara Templeton, Pauline Cotter, Tyrone Fields, Yani Johanson and Celeste Donovan.
Against the bus lane: Aaron Keown, Sam MacDonald, Victoria Henstock, Andrei Moore, Mark Peters, Phil Mauger, Kelly Barber and James Gough.