New Option on Marine Parade – Option C

Submission from Spokes Canterbury 

Reference: Let’s Talk Marine Parade

Tēnā koutou katoa 

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed improvements on Marine Parade.  

Introduction 

Spokes Canterbury (http://www.spokes.org.nz/) is a local cycling advocacy group with approximately  1,200 followers. Spokes is affiliated with the national Cycling Action Network (CAN – https://can.org.nz/). Spokes is dedicated to including cycling as an everyday form of transport in the  greater Christchurch and Canterbury areas. Spokes has a long history of advocacy in this space  including writing submissions, presenting to councils, and working collaboratively with others in the  active transport space. We focus on the need for safe cycling for those aged 8 to 80. Spokes also  supports all forms of active transport, public transport, and has an interest in environmental matters.

Proposal 

Spokes originally supported Option B which suited commuter cyclists but had some reservations about the design for less confident cyclists.   Spokes thought there were better options that go further to providing safe cycling  infrastructure for all types of cyclists.   Option C is a good solution for less confident cyclists and recreational cyclists.  Confident cyclists will remain on the road depending on their destination and the amount of traffic.

There are at least three types of cyclists who regularly use this section of Marine Parade: 

1. Commuter cyclists – who want to get to their destination quickly and efficiently. These cyclists  are confident in traffic and happy to use the road. They prefer cycle lanes on the road.
   
2. Interested but concerned cyclists – who are happy to cycle to their destination if it is safe. They  prefer separated cycling facilities.  
3. Recreational cyclists – who are cycling for enjoyment, often in family groups of mixed abilities, who also strongly prefer separated facilities. They are not keen on sharrows even in 30km/h zones and are more likely to use the footpath or the shingle path. 

There are speed issues in this section of Marine Parade (Hawke Street to Bowhill Road), particularly at  less busy times. While most drivers are considerate and move over where they can, less confident  cyclists can feel squeezed by vehicles at the current build outs, so they are using other options like the  gravel path. Vehicles are taking corners into the side roads too fast, and there are issues with vehicles  accessing the various car parks on the East side. 

This section of Marine Parade can get very busy in the summer with many vehicles coming in and out of  car-parks, particularly on the weekends and evenings. Marine Parade is the preferred route into and out  of New Brighton for cyclists traveling from the North and West. For example, a popular route is Marine  Parade, Bowhill Road, Rookwood Ave, Travis Road, and QEII Drive. 

Typically, around a third of cyclists are using the gravel path in preference to the road. More cyclists use  the gravel path and footpaths in the warmer summer months when there are higher volumes of motor  vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, which can lead to space conflicts with other users. 

The gravel path is currently narrow and rough in sections, and disappears occasionally around the car  park sections. It also has drifts of soft sand at times so it is not ideal for cyclists or pedestrians but it is  safer and more appealing than the road for some. 

There has been some discussion in social media that cyclists prefer Shaw Avenue and Rawhiti Domain.  This is a nice recreational route that many cyclists use but the path through Rawhiti domain is narrow and rough in parts.  There are conflicts with pedestrians, dogs, golf carts and golf balls.  This route is not suitable in the dark or in rough weather.  Bowhill Road and Hawke St would also need additional work as they can be difficult to cross.  The consensus from Spokes is that Option C is a more robust solution that suits a wider range of cyclists.

Spokes supports Option C, a 3.0m bi-directional cycleway/shared path on the East side of Marine Parade.  

Spokes Comments on Option C:

• Supports a 3.0m wide bi-directional cycleway between Hawke Street and Lonsdale Street, and a 3.0m shared pathway between Lonsdale Street and Bowhill Ave.   If there are opportunities to widen the shared path further, particularly at popular entrances to the dunes, then please take them.
• Retain the existing pathway where possible to reduce conflict with pedestrians
• Prefers the zebra crossing to be a shared pedestrian/cyclist crossing at Hawke Street.
• It is unclear if the shared cycle/pedestrian path continues on from Hawke Street towards Beresford St.  If not, then the sharrows should be reinstated on the road.  Rejoining vehicle traffic just before Hawke Street where the road sharply narrows is not a particularly safe place.
• Supports the refuge crossing at Bowhill Ave and the cyclists cut-down entrance onto Bowhill Road.   
• The cycleway/shared path keeps cyclists away from the many parking bay entrances and exits on the east (beach) side which is a lot safer.
• Supports the speed humps at Rawhiti Ave.  The give-way on Rawhiti Ave should be reinstated.
• The entrance to the car-park (opposite #188) crosses the cycleway. The car-park entrance should have stripped green paint to indicate to both drivers and cyclists to take care here.   This is a very busy car-park and drivers often turn right quickly to enter the car-park when they get a gap in the traffic. We support the build outs to remove the incentive of drivers to drive quickly into and out of the car park. Spokes would also support traffic calming measures here. 
• The cycleway / shared path needs to be well lit at night.

Anne Scott 

Submissions Co-ordinator Spokes Canterbury 

submissions@spokes.org.nz