Cambridge businesses are on a collision course with Waipā District Council over the removal of parking spaces in the central business district for a $10.2 million pathway project.
Thirty two carparks will disappear from the south end of the CBD, just north of the high level Victoria Bridge near Bath and Wilson streets, outside four businesses.
A public meeting was called last week to address the issue and a reporter from The News registered to attend. On the day, district councillor Roger Gordon declined The News’ access, saying it had become a private meeting.
‘When media are present people tend to think more of what they are going to say, they restrict their comments’ – Cr Roger Gordon
The car parking spaces which will go when the pathway project extends towards Victoria Street bridge. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Roger Gordon
Gordon, who is the council’s representative on the Cambridge Connections project, arrived with heavy artillery in the form of four senior council staffers.
“When media are present people tend to think more of what they are going to say, they restrict their comments,” Gordon subsequently told The News. “We did have a good roundtable discussion and council will be going away with their concerns.”
The project, jointly funded by the council and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency through its Climate Emergency Relief Fund’s Transport Choices programme, is expected to be finished by May.
Present at the meeting were businesses affected by the parking decision – Herbert Morton, Shelley Tweedy and Associates and Triton Hearing – plus landlords, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce chief executive Kelly Bouzaid and Cr Mike Pettit, also there representing Cambridge Primary School.
Kelly Bouzaid
The News understands they were told there had been broad community engagement about the project but nothing specific about the loss of the car parking spaces.
Before the meeting, hundreds of comments had been posted on social media about the bigger problem of a lack of car parking spaces.
When it looked like a large number of people would attend the meeting at Herbert Morton Accountants, the chamber stepped in and said it would “facilitate a conversation with stakeholders” as part of its advocacy role.
Last week’s meeting and social media backlash is not the first the criticism council has received over its cycleway and walking network plans.
Two years ago, there was strong opposition when polka dots, pink traffic sticks and planter boxes appeared as part of the Streets for People project.
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Looking south from Wilson Street towards the Victoria “High Level” bridge.
