mt victoria, wellington

Image credit: Joe Gratz, via Flickr

As residents may know, the Mt Victoria Residents Association is taking legal action in the High Court against the Wellington City Council, seeking a review of the resource consent granted to the brothel at 103 Pirie Street. This action is due to be heard by the Court on Monday 2nd March.

Image credit: vern, via Flickr

We need a few people to help with the smooth running of the Mt Victoria Inner City Festival on Saturday 28 February. There are some simple, straightforward tasks that we need a hand with, such as ...

The Police have issued a statement about the vehicle involved in the hit and run incident in the Pirie Street bus tunnel last week:

ESR forensic analysis of clothing worn by the victim of a hit and run in a Wellington bus tunnel nearly two weeks ago has revealed that a blue coloured vehicle was involved.

Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Thornton, Wellington CIB, said finding the vehicle with this coloured paint is crucial in helping to find the driver who was responsible for the hit and run.

There's been extensive media coverage over the last few days about the hit-and-run in the Pirie Street bus tunnel, much of which has highlighted the dangers for pedestrians.

And gratifyingly, the speed bumps at each end of the tunnel have now been reinstated by the contractor who failed to complete the resurfacing work correctly a few weeks ago.

But the Council seems quite reluctant to take the next step and install barrier arms to prevent cars illegally using the tunnel once the buses have stopped for the night. In this morning's Dominion Post, Council spokesperson Richard MacLean says:

"There have been discussions about gates, but we are taking a look at the whole issue, and we'll see if the problem continues."

That's not good enough.

Mark your calendars - Saturday 28 February is the day for the inaugural Mt Victoria festival in Roxburgh Street. From what we hear, the entertainment is nearly finalised, the stall holders are all confirmed, and it's shaping up to be a truly great event. Tell your friends and neighbours!

The Dominion Post has run a story about the proliferation of "tunnel runners" using the bus-only tunnel at the top of Pirie Street, including publishing photos of offenders taken by local residents.

We're gratified to see Wellington's paper of record taking an interest in these local issues, and hopefully the publicity will help reduce this dangerous driving behaviour.

The Wellington City Council is urging motorists to think twice about parking on the footpath – a common habit around the city that creates hazards for pedestrians and can cause accidents. The Council is launching a campaign to change drivers' attitudes to footpath parking today with a series of radio adverts and flyers.

Local residents have noticed an upswing in the number of motorists using the bus-only tunnel at the top of Pirie Street over the summer period. Rather than the occasional lost tourist or cheeky driver, the tunnel is rapidly becoming the thoroughfare of choice for a growing number of impatient motorists.

The tunnel itself is single lane, badly lit and quite heavily rutted due to the number of buses that travel through it. Under the Greater Wellington bylaw governing the tunnel, it is "No Entry" to regular traffic, with use restricted to scheduled bus services only. The restrictions are being completely ignored by this small group of motorists, who in many cases are also running the red traffic light that controls the one-way flow in the tunnel.

As part of the process for setting the Long Term Council Community Plan, the Wellington City Council is establishing a Residents Panel to provide input into the LTCCP.

Image credit: Johan Koolwaaij via Flickr, some rights reserved

According to the Council, "The aim is to establish a panel comprising a wide cross-section of the community to discuss the pros and cons of a range of options and ideas before the Council develops its draft LTCCP in April." Members are expected to attend four meetings of about 2-3 hours duration.

Nominations are now open, and anyone can nominate themselves or someone else. This can be done by filling in the form on the Council website, but nominations must be in by 10 January 2009 - so if you would like to be part of the process, take action today!