Another consultation round for the Albany Street Cycleway, hopefully the last one. 
The council is asking the public again regarding feedback on the Albany Street Cycleway and to add in more car parking.
Here is the link to the submission: Albany Street Connection Project Parking Restrictions - Dunedin City Council
Here is the article that appeared in the ODT today:
Cycleway plan consultation to take place: âDistinct amount of unhappinessâ | Otago Daily Times Online News
How are there still no spades in the ground on this project?!
Spokes has been, and still is, in the loop. @david is leading on this and will be attending the quarterly meeting with the DCC tomorrow. Unfortunately the issue of car parking remains key to getting a project over the line, hence the current consultation.
My understanding is that the DCC are constrained by the scope of the business case. I do hope that a more holistic plan will emerge in the coming years - something that Spokes can help with. But in the current climate, it is road-by-road, metre-by-metre⌠or nothing at all.
Thanks @frstep and @david for supporting this, but itâs unfortunately some people within council that keeps delaying and delaying the project.
Itâs important that with the upcoming elections we are voting! And especially voting for councillors / Mayors that do support bike lanes and climate resilient infrastructure.
Any specific recommendations for what to include in submissions this time around?
Thanks . . .
A reliable source has suggested that it would be highly valuable for the Albany Street improvements project if they received a few positive submissions on this.
Apparently there have been several negative submissions about the whole concept of improvements, and without some positive submissions the whole thing might go under.
While the proposed design isnât perhaps what SPOKES would prefer (a quiet street would seem to make more sense), this is definitely a step in the right direction and allows some very helpful cycleway / route connections.
If youâve got a spare 1/2 and hour, please do pop in a submission. It isnât cheating to get AI to help you draft it! Here is the submission link:
That is exactly what I talked to Simone about last FRiday - she reiterated that a positive, supportive submission from Spokes or us as individuals will be very important. I know that the Albany Street changes donât resonate with all of us - especially the notion of a separate cycle lane and the discussions we had around speed reduction and shared spaces. On a positive note though are the raised crossing and as an ensemble these elements will lead to speed reduction and a real encouragement to those cyclists who are scared without a separate cycle lane.
HI all, as far as i could tell when i submitted it was just on the proposed parking restrictions with no request for comment on the broader project? Slightly confused by threadâŚ
Yeah, it is. However, the process has been used to hijack the whole thing somewhat (apparently). Weâve been encouraged to put in some submissions which also communicate a more positive bent on the broader project to give some balance.
Itâs almost as if they are only asking about parking to generate lots of negative commentsâŚ. Interesting that they ask âwhy do you park hereâ as if the views of anyone who doesnât park there are not important! Grrr. Iâve submitted supporting their proposals with lots of additional comments supporting the broader project as a good first step.
Definitely needs some support.
Unfortunately, the DCC has chosen to halt this project, with a 7:7 deadlock broken by the Mayorâs casting vote. Here is the report in the ODT (which includes an excellent quote from @heike):
The recent decision of the DCC to stop the Albany Street cycleway by the narrowest of margins (casting vote by the Mayor) has certainly not been popular.
At SPOKES Dunedin, we full-heartedly agree that Albany Street is in desperate need of an uplift due to the high pedestrian traffic, connections to the existing cycleways, proximity to the University, and plenty of alternatives for higher speed traffic. Additionally, there has been a large amount of quality planning work done to get the project to where it is/was.
While we do wonder if a quiet street might be an even better way of meeting the needs of the community, the cycleway as planned would be a vast improvement on many fronts, and give something solid to build upon.
Here are some thoughts of some of the current councillors about it:
Weâll invite the other current councillors to share their views on Albany Street this week, and will share these here.
Update: The ODT reports that the councillors are trying to get the project over the line:
Our public line is that Spokes is always in favour of making active transport in Otepoti safer and attractive so would support these councillors in their endeavour.
Many of us have voiced our opinion that if Albany was designed as a âquiet streetâ it would not require the cycle lane. With 30kph, traffic calming and (above all) ensuring that it not used as a rat-run and through traffic uses Frederick Street, Albany could be a very nice place indeed.
However, the issue is not the cycleway (which we understand is a requirement to get the co-funding from central government). The issue is parking. Much as we would like to see parking reduced and cars discouraged, we have to pick our battles: Given the choice of no reduced parking and a redeveloped street or the whole project being dropped, we have to be in favour of whatever is needed to progress the project.
I think the DCC needs to move away from using cycleways as a mechanism to âcalm trafficâ.
Itâs counterproductive and just ends up alienating cyclists 
Yes, put in raised crossing, slow speed etc but donât add a cycle-lane to the mess.
I would LOVE to see a shared trail along the leith.
Imagine a project that pulls together Spokes, other stakeholders, the DCC, the University and the ORC.
The leith is right there and would be an excellent off-road trail, encouraging not only safe active transport but an overhaul of a neglected waterway.
This is what Iâd be pushing for if I was at the table 
I donât think that the DCC does utilise cycleways to calm traffic. Certainly, Iâve never heard that from any DCC staff or councillors.
You are quite right, Sarah!
An ideal solution would be to have Albany Street reconfigured as a quiet street, with a high quality (and well-connected) shared pathway along the Leith. In my opinion, this would represent a major win for all involved parties - and allow for plenty of scope for cafes / eateries using the pavement as well as preserving vehicle access. We discuss this here:
Cycleways are divisive
Cycleways have their place, but only works if what happens at either end of the cycleway is safe too. Many of us consistently expressed our views that in Dunedin, a better solution is to designate some streets as âquietâ and ensure that traffic is strongly discouraged from using them: slow speeds, modal filters, restricted turns, street furniture etc. There is a wealth of info from other countries as to how it is done. I am certain the planning department shares these views. The trouble is getting this vision past council, getting the right changes built and leaving it in place long enough for the public to understand why it improves the city.
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Oh my gosh ⌠that was in 2022 !
You talk of an opportunity to pivot if presented with a better idea ⌠was there any âpivotâ following submissions?
Are you listed for public forum on Tuesday?
And I did hear the Mayor at Mosgiel on Wednesday refer to cycleways as traffic calming .. maybe he said street calming ? Either way - Iâm not sure he has quite grasped the concept.
Keep up the great work you guys do 
Agree
Iâd go one step further to utilise âoff-road optionsâ for âshared trailsâ.
I know there is commuting for cyclists, but there is also electric scooters and children on bikes to consider, do they have a place on cyclelanes? Thatâs why I prefer the term shared trail. Perhaps they are entirely different in some cases ? Iâd be interested to discuss that with you further
Off-road is the likes of portsmith drive, port chalmers, the tunnels trail (mostly), the leith etc.
So, surely the cycleways on the oneway are not a favoured option for SPOKES? These are not healthy (large trucks!), not calming (adding lane in many places!), not safe âŚ(busiest roads in the city?)
Iâd certainly love to sit down with you one day.
Bit busy with this campaigning palaver on top of a full life, but fingers crossed Iâll get elected and be able to resign from current employment to take up council business full time
Off-road vs on-road: Ideally the line-of-desire would allow cyclists, scooters and pedestrians to travel away from the roar of traffic. But that is usually not an option. Building the best off-road cycleway⌠which does not take people quickly to where they want to be would be a disaster.
So, surely the cycleways on the oneway are not a favoured option for SPOKES? These are not healthy (large trucks!), not calming (adding lane in many places!), not safe âŚ(busiest roads in the city?)
Firstly I canât speak for all our members - there will be a mixture of views.
I absolutely donât think the one-way cycleway is unsafe. It is sub-optimal, yes, but if the alternative was a winding indirect and longer route that didnât take people where they need to go, then people would still try to take the direct route.The solution is actually to grasp the SH1 nettle more firmly.
(If you look at the traffic stats on SH1, the vast majority of the traffic is commuter, not through-traffic. Our need to give so much space to SH1 is all down to us as a city, not offering adequate alternatives to driving. That is something that one day this city will have to understand and address, but it is far too easy to ignore for now.)
Iâd certainly love to sit down with you one day.
Bit busy with this campaigning palaver on top of a full life, but fingers crossed Iâll get elected and be able to resign from current employment to take up council business full time
As with all the things wrong with the world, the solutions are all out there. The political will to implement them is almost entirely lacking.