The signs warning drivers of the Links Ave cul-de-sac trial. Photo / NZME
The signs warning drivers of the Links Ave cul-de-sac trial. Photo / NZME
Thousands of fines issued in the controversial Links Ave bus trial will not be refunded, Tauranga City Council has decided.
The decision was made at a council meeting yesterday and has been described as "particularly harsh" by a Links Ave resident.
The council's director of transport said there had been"plenty of warning": letters, advertising, social media, and newsletters had been sent out, and 20 per cent of the fines had been waived.
Several members of the public showed up to watch the council consider whether to refund the $150 fines, as was requested by a petition with more than 5000 signatures.
As of June 5, 16,947 fines had been issued in the trial, which has closed the Concord Ave end of Links Ave and turned the street into a cul-de-sac.
The NZ Outdoors Party's candidate for the Tauranga by-election Sue Grey spoke in the public forum.
She said the council was "basically saying no" to the community's input. She said people felt it was wrong to fine people "who are struggling to pay their bills".
NZ Outdoors Party by-election candidate Sue Grey. Photo / Talia Parker
The council's director of transport Brendan Bisley said 20 per cent of the infringement notices issues had been waived.
He said warning letters, media advertising, social media, and newsletters were sent out.
He said there was now a warning on Google Maps which stated that the road was potentially closed as well as between two and five signs about the closure before reaching the bus lanes.
Bisley said the council could not stop the trial because Links Ave had been identified as a safety concern, and was "likely to result in some serious or fatal accident" without behaviour change.
An alternative option was needed before the trial was removed.
Commissioner Anne Tolley said the focus throughout the trial was getting a safe solution for those who live in the Links Ave community.
She acknowledged it needed to come up with resolutions as the wider community was affected.
Bisley believed anything done on Links Ave only needed to be there until the B2B was complete as it would be a more attractive route.
He said the council might be able to return Links Ave to close to what it was once the B2B was done as lower traffic volumes would remove the need for a bus lane.
Director of Transport Brendan Bisley. Photo / Talia Parker
Commissioner Stephen Selwood questioned how many of the fines were issued to those in the immediate area versus people commuting through.
"If you live in the local area, you should be able to use your local street, as distinct from those who are using it as a rat-run".
This received applause.
The transport team did not have that data to hand.
Timothy Alexander, a resident of Links Ave who was at the meeting, said after the meeting he thought the decision not to refund fines was "particularly harsh".
While he did not support the fines being issued, he said the trial had created a "far superior urban environment" for him to live in as he was a paraplegic and spent a lot of time at home.
An Ōtūmoetai woman who attended the meeting had received a warning letter by mistake, despite never having driven through Links Ave.
She was concerned about "transparency around the process" of fining people and worried that people might pay mistakenly issued fines.
Petition creator Matt Nicholson said the council's decision was "disappointing".
He said the petitioners had not "expected [the council] to 100 per cent follow what we were asking ... but you did expect that they'd follow some of it".
He said the council had rejected immediate changes to the trial, which was what the petitioners requested.
Left to right: Commissioners Shadrach Rolleston, Stephen Selwood and Bill Wasley. Photo / Talia Parker
Community panel: 'A vital step' or 'A slap in the face'?
The council accepted the recommendation to establish a community panel to give feedback on the trial.
Bisley said the community panel would help design the future layout of Links Ave after the trial.
He said while there were criteria that any solution needed to meet, the council would be happy to have a look at recommendations and implement them if they would work.
Selwood said the panel was "a vital step" in the project.
Tolley said the council would be "in [the panel's] hands".
She said once the group was established, "why wouldn't we be taking their advice?"
"You haven't thus far," someone called out.
Petition creation Matt Nicholson said the offer of a community panel was "kind of a slap in the face".
"You've just had 5625 of the panel review the decisions you've made and they've disagreed with you.
"By the time they get it set up, with all the right people, we're going to be looking at the end of the trial."
He said the panel was "the right thing to do", but "it's come far too late into the piece".
"If you can't listen to 5600 people, how are you going to listen to 15?"
In response to Nicholson's comments, Tolley said the council "appreciates that there are a range of views on the effect of the Links Avenue trial".
"To have value in terms of identifying safety benefits and other effects for road users and residents, it is important that the trial period is long enough to generate reliable information.
"The purpose of the community panel is to design community-led, long-term solutions for a safer road, supported by independent transport advice and with the benefit of all of the relevant information."
