New bike stand locations for Nelson City confirmed

Friday, 30 October 2020

One of the new bike stands would be located on Trafalgar St, outside the Nelson City Council building, and would remove seven car parking spaces.

The location of two new sheltered bicycle stands in central Nelson have been confirmed, with work to start when consents are secured.

Consisting of two tiers that can accommodate up to 60 bicycles each, the locations of the new stands will be at Montgomery Square and Trafalgar St (in front of Civic House).

Nelson City Council group manager for infrastructure Alec Louverdis said council was committed to providing sheltered areas for bicycles, with feedback from the community stating that sheltered cycle stands in the city centre were needed.

“The number of e-bikes and cyclists are increasing and we have also received complaints about cycles blocking footpaths and creating obstructions – this would indicate that the existing cycle stands are not meeting demand.”

Louverdis said one of the stated focus areas for councillors this term was to create a “sustainable transport culture”.

“Installing cycle shelters in our inner city is consistent with this focus, sending a clear message that cycling is a valued part of our city’s transport culture.”

The final options were confirmed following a council hearings panel in September.

Louverdis said there were multiple locations considered, but the alternative options were either not safe for cyclists to access or had underground services that would make installation difficult and costly.

The Montgomery Square stand will result in the loss of three, three-hour car parks, with the Trafalgar St stand resulting in the loss of seven, one-hour car parks.

While the proposal was supported at the hearings panel by Bicycle Nelson Bays, State Cinemas director Mark Christensen spoke against the removal of car parks.

Current bike parking options in Nelson do not provide shelter from the elements, which the new stands will.

“Further loss of car parks to the cinema would detrimentally affect our business and encourage cinema customers from Richmond and beyond not to travel into Nelson City,” Christensen stated in his submission.

“In our view it would be preferable to spread smaller cycle racks evenly around the central city area than to concentrate the racks into a couple of large high impact double level racks located at the periphery of the main street as is currently proposed.”

Initially announced in July, the decision to set up the bike racks caused dismay from some councillors, who felt they had been cut out of the decision-making process.

Approved and funded via the long term plan 2018-2028, the specific location of the stands had been an “operational” rather than elected members decision.

Louverdis said construction on the stands is expected to begin as soon as the relevant consents are secured.