At the March 4 meeting, Councillor Lukes introduced a motion to cancel the Wellington bike lane pilot project. The amending motion she put forward from the floor deleted all mention of the plan for the pilot project. It instead called for more consultation and some financial wrangling to pull forward funding for permanent infrastructure to 2027. The amending motion originally didn’t pass, but then Councillor Eadie reintroduced it and it did pass, with support from Councillors Lukes, Eadie, and Sharma. Only Councillor Chambers voted against both motions, and we are grateful for his support. Further, there is some doubt about whether the amended motion will pass at full Council, and then we’ll be left with nothing but a dangerous raceway where death and injuries have occurred and will continue, without the safety interventions the public service has recommended.
Councillor Lukes put forward this amending motion despite hearing support for the pilot from 50 delegations in person and online, 136 written submissions, uncounted emails and phone calls, and over 80 people watching the meeting in person, plus more than the usual number watching on YouTube. Members of the public service responsible for the pilot also made a strong case for the necessity of putting the pilot infrastructure in place this year to improve safety and gather data that would inform a permanent design. There was no official opinion sought from or given by the public service on whether the 2027 timeline is feasible for the necessary studies and consultation, not to mention all the tendering and construction-related activities.
The amended motion now will proceed to Executive Policy Committee (EPC) on March 17 and to Council on March 26. For meeting schedules, agendas and information on how to participate, go to the City’s Council and Committees page.
A dedicated collection of people in the community, consisting of seniors, adults, children, residents, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists have been showing up at every step of the process for the past year and half.
We thank them for their service. It’s not easy to continue showing up. Some book days off or make other arrangements to attend, and the flow of these meetings makes it impossible for a delegate to plan around just when their turn to speak will come. This alone creates barriers to participation in the democratic process.
It also means some councillors see and hear some of the same people delegate several times, in different meetings. The unfortunate downside is that members of Council often don’t see the people who can’t afford to spend eight hours at City Hall, which is most people in the wider community.
And, to make matters worse, some councillors openly and disparagingly, and without consequences, dismiss citizens’ community commitment as radical, extreme and not representative of the needs of the wider community.
We know this isn’t true. Every poll suggests people want safer streets and to embrace active transportation. It’s the number one barrier to adoption of active transportation.
We need to show Council that people need safer streets. Look at the Wellington public engagement alone: the survey noted 83% of respondents consider the street unsafe.
We need the gallery at City Hall to fill up with fresh faces. If you have a job with a flexible schedule or are retired or have the time, we really need your help.
You can drop by City Hall on March 26 and simply bear witness in the gallery. And don’t forget to wear red—it was the favourite colour of Rob Jenner, who was killed by a speeding driver on Wellington in June 2024.
By showing up we will again send a message to City Council: the safety of all road users is crucial, and we won’t settle for anything less.