mt victoria, wellington

In response to local concerns about the safety of the Pirie Street bus tunnel, the Wellingtonian has piped up and called us a bunch of NIMBYs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

For the record, the Wellington City Council voted last week to allow Not In Service diesel buses to use the bus tunnel, lifting a restriction that had been in place since 1993, and opening the narrow local streets to dozens more buses every day. This will, of course, do nothing to help the already dangerous state of the tunnel, will increase congestion for public transport users in the Eastern suburbs, and will add to the danger of local roads.

But to the central point - calling Mt Victoria residents a bunch of NIMBYs over changes to the tunnel is a bit rich. Every day:

• We play host to 400 buses (now increased by the Council to 480) through the bus tunnel
• A further 60 buses use Majoribanks Street and Hawker Street every day
• We provide for 600 coupon parkers as overflow parking for commuters, meaning that local residents are unable to find parking near their homes
• Local homes in Paterson Street are being threatened by demolition thanks to a second Mt Victoria tunnel
• The proposed Basin Reserve flyover will increase the pollution and noise in the southern part of our neighbourhood whilst decreasing property values and quality of life.

To add insult to injury, Council traffic engineers have been refusing local residents safe pedestrian crossings over Kent and Cambridge Terraces for 25 years, and last year refused to put a pedestrian crossing on Pirie Street for the local school children. No other residential suburb in Wellington plays host to so much transport infrastructure.

So it's especially disappointing that a coterie of Councillors - led by the Mayor - voted to increase Infratil's profits by allowing Not In Service diesel buses back through the tunnel, aggravating the congestion for local residents and public transport users alike. Apparently the diesel savings for Go Wellington and the resulting increased profitability for Infratil shareholders are more important to these Councillors than any safety issues in the tunnel, and it's disappointing that no-one - such as an attentive local media - has asked why corporate profits rate ahead of the legitimate safety and congestion concerns of residents.

For the record, the changes were opposed by Cr Iona Pannett, Deputy Mayor Ian McKinnon, Crs Stephanie Cook. Bryan Pepperell and Helene Ritchie. Those in favour were Mayor Kerry Prendergast, Crs John Morrison, Jo Coughlan, Ngaire Best, Hayley Wain, Rob Goulden, Leonie Gill, Ray Ahipene-Mercer and Andy Foster. Cr Celia Wade-Brown abstained due to a conflict of interest.

Cuisine Magazine has just announced its Restaurants of the Year 2010, and local icon Ambeli has been named winner of the Best Neighbourhood Restaurant award - and co-owner Shae Moleta (pictured) has won the Restaurant Personality Of The Year award.

For anyone who's been lucky enough to sample Chef Sam Pope's inspirational food and Shae's warm and generous hospitality, the award is well-deserved. Ambeli has more than earned it's place in our community, both as an outstanding local restaurant and as a huge supporter of community initiatives. As the judges noted:

You walk out of here feeling at least a small part of the world has been put to rights.

We couldn't have said it better ourselves. Congratulations Shae and Sam!

(And just in case you've eaten at Ambeli too many times this week, Mark Limacher's Ortega Fish Shack & Bar just a few doors down the road was awarded Best Specialist Restaurant Runner-Up by the Cuisine judges. Congratulations, Mark!)

Nominations for the local body elections closed today, and there's a healthy list of contenders for both our local ward (Lambton) and the mayoralty. The confirmed ballot looks like this:

Lambton Ward Nominations

• John Bishop
• Stephanie Cook
• Adam Cunningham
• Michael Fowler
• Marcus Ganley
• Mark Greening
• Ian McKinnon
• Iona Pannett
• Kris Price

Mayoral Nominations

• Al Mansell
• Bernard O'Shaughnessy
• Bryan Pepperell
• Kerry Prendergast
• Celia Wade-Brown
• Jack Yan

The total lists of candidates in every Ward can be found on the Council's website. We'll have some analysis of how the various contenders stack up for Mt Victoria residents over the next few days, as there's a high degree of variability - from the serious players to the outright space-cadets. It's going to be an interesting campaign!

.... get your electronic copy here!

The recent outburst from "Swampy" Marsh on the alleged necessity for a second Mt Victoria tunnel should give all Wellingtonians pause - and not just the voters in the eastern suburbs he was attempting to rabble-rouse. Because it's hard to remember a press release from a politician (or even an aspiring politician) that packed so many factual errors into such a small number of words.

Swampy seems completely oblivious to the fact that the Wellington City Council - the body he's trying to get elected to - has negligible influence on whether a second tunnel is built, as it's part of State Highway 1. As any student of NZ's transport system will tell you, this means that central government are the decision-makers, not the Council. If Swampy didn't know that, he needs an immediate remedial course in the mechanics of democratic government. And if he did know that, it means he's cynically dog-whistling.

Secondly, Swampy claims that he's being approached by people complaining about ever-increasing commuting times. Unfortunately the facts about congestion aren't on his side. The Greater Wellington Regional Council's recent Regional Land Transport Strategy pointed out that both congestion and traffic volumes had dropped (not risen) over the last two years - the very period Swampy was complaining about. The objective traffic surveys demonstrate that it's getting faster and easier to move around the Wellington region, in direct contrast to Swampy's pronouncements. The report is freely available on the Internet, but perhaps he doesn't have Google at his house.

And thirdly, Swampy's pointless and un-implementable plan would result in the demolition of the homes of some Mt Victoria residents - which is hardly a good look for someone who is trying to get elected to a Council that needs to act in the best interests of the entire city. He may think it's a local vote-winner to run the bulldozer through someone else's neighbourhood, but it fails to demonstrate that Swampy has the clarity of thinking or the good judgement necessary to effectively balance Wellington's complex needs around the Council table.

Our advice to Swampy: stick to broadcasting. Or if you're going to run for one of the more responsible public offices in the city, take the time to check your facts first - it will save some rather awkward back-pedalling later.

The historic Ettrick Cottage in Paterson Street - just one of the Mt Victoria homes that Swampy Marsh wants to see demolished as soon as he's elected to the Council.

Some months ago the Mt Victoria Residents Association wrote to the NZ Transport Agency proposing that the pilot tunnel drilled alongside the main Mt Victoria road tunnel in the 1970s should be put to use - specifically, that the pilot tunnel should be re-fitted to allow pedestrians and cyclists to use it, thus escaping the noise and fumes in the main Mt Victoria tunnel.

This seems like an eminently sensible idea. The pilot tunnel runs parallel to the main tunnel on the opposite side of Paterson Street, and it would provide a much better experience for pedestrians and cyclists alike if it were made available. Car traffic in the main tunnel would also benefit, as it would allow the existing pedestrian walkway to be removed and the lanes widened. In fact, it's hard to see a downside. Even the costs seem reasonable, with lighting and ventilation upgrades for the pilot tunnel likely to be a tiny fraction of the $175 million the NZ Transport Agency is currently budgeting for a second road tunnel.

The pilot tunnel runs on the far side of Paterson Street, above the main tunnel, and starts near the clump of trees in the middle of the photo.

Now the local Green MPs (Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman, Gareth Hughes and Sue Kedgley) have thrown their weight behind the idea, and have written to the NZ Transport Agency to express their support. According to their letter to Agency head Geoff Dangerfiled, "Wellingtonians are the highest users of public and active modes of transport in the country and this trend will be enhanced if ideas such as [MVRA committee member] Mr Palmer's cycle and pedestrian pilot tunnel are embraced."

So far the NZ Transport Agency has remained silent on what they think of the proposal, other than to decline to answer specific questions under the Official Information Act. This really isn't good enough, as the changes proposed would be a cheap, effective and welcome improvement to Wellington's transport network - and surely it's the job of the Transport Agency to make exactly these kind of upgrades.

Thanks to the efforts of local resident Jane Tolerton and the advocacy of Deputy Mayor Ian McKinnon, the cut-off date for consultation on the changes to the Pirie St bus tunnel - which will see not-in-service buses allowed to use the narrow one-way tunnel - has been moved to 5pm on Friday 16 July:

Councillor,

In reply to the request for an extension to the close of submissions on the traffic resolution regarding the Pirie St Bus Tunnel, I propose that the close date be extended to Friday 16 July. This is the latest date we can extend to and still comply with reporting requirements for the Committee meeting in August.

I trust this will assist.

Cheers,
Maria Archer
Acting Director, Infrastructure

This is a welcome development and should give local residents a better opportunity to have a say about the changes proposed by Council officers. It's the view of many local residents that allowing not-in-service buses to use the tunnel will cause significant additional congestion, further damage the Pirie St road surface, pose an additional danger to local residents, and materially decrease amenity in Mt Victoria.

Mayoral hopeful Cela Wade-Brown launching her campaign in early July

The local body election season is upon us, with postal voting on who we would like to represent us on the Wellington City Council, the Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Capital Coast DHB due to commence in mid-September.

As usual, the Mt Victoria Residents Association and Mt Cook Mobilised are convening a joint community event for local residents to meet and question the candidates. This year there will be two meetings, both held at the Crossways Community Centre in Roxburgh Street:

Local Ward candidates meeting on Tuesday 14 September at 7:30pm
Mayoral candidates meeting on Thursday 16 September at 7:30pm

Everyone is welcome and refreshments will be provided. If past experience is anything to go by, these will be entertaining evenings with plenty of debate and banter and witty exchanges, so mark your diaries now!

The Dirt Doctor will be presenting sustainable gardening workshops on August 7th, 14th and 21st in a beautiful garden in Mt Victoria. Dirt Doctor is an organisation started by Jim O'Gorman in Kakanui focused on soil rehabilitation and bio-intensive gardening. He runs a one man farm, and has turned the worst soil he could find into some of the most productive in NZ using materials he could gather within walking distance, and working only with hand tools. Our workshops teach Jim's methods, and provide the knowledge needed to turn any garden into a productive, sustainable system. All local residents are welcome!

These 3 workshops will be followed by a weekend Urban Eden workshop hosted by Jim himself on August 28th/29th.

For bookings and more information, contact Jacob Perkins or Hana Miller, phone 021-766-827 or email jacob@dirtdoctor.co.nz