Ask Phoebe: Bike lanes will need some car spaces moved

Cycle lane on Lake Rd between Takapuna and Devonport. Photo / APN

Homeowners’ off-street parking not affected

I have just been informed that the council is going to put cycle lanes on both sides of Roscommon Rd and Browns Rd in Manurewa. Does this mean that affected homeowners will no longer have off-street parking? If so, will they be compensated for the loss of value to their property?
- Rick Danilo, Manurewa.

Auckland Transport will put cycle lanes on both sides of Browns Rd.

This will not have any impact on off-street parking. Some on-road parking will be removed from Browns Rd.

Parking will be retained from Dagenham St to Rowandale Ave (outside the kindergarten), outside the shops opposite Dalgety Drive and Jellicoe Rd to the Manurewa school entrance outside the schools.

Auckland Transport has also completed a parking study and identified alternative parking sites on adjacent side streets.

It was blowing a cold southerly at our golf club the other day and someone said "It would freeze the balls on [or off] a brass monkey".

I vaguely heard once the saying came from sailing ships and cannons but I'm a bit hazy on it. Can you elaborate on this?
- Peter Reekie, Whangamata.

I happened to find on my bookshelves a copy of When a Loose Cannon Flogs a Dead Horse There's the Devil to Pay, a fascinating little book by Olivia A Isil.

Here's what she has to say about brass monkeys, although you might be advised to take it with a pinch of salt.

"When tall ships and great sailing navies dominated the seas, a first-rate ship of the line could carry as many as 100 heavy cannon along with many smaller ones, but the cannonballs occupied valuable space aboard the cramped vessel.

To solve the problem, balls were stacked in pyramid fashion on brass trays called monkeys.

"During long periods of very cold weather, the balls would shrink [thermal contraction], shift, and fall off the brass monkeys ..."

Auckland Council lists on its website that you cannot dispose of alkaline batteries, commonly sold in packs at most hardware stores (eg AA, AAA and 9 volt) at any of its waste processing plants. All other hazardous waste processors simply state that such batteries cannot be recycled. Where can I get rid of small quantities of disposable batteries in Auckland?
- Joseph Williams, Auckland.

The Ministry for the Environment website advises that single-use dry cell batteries (ie non-rechargeable) of types zinc carbon, zinc chloride and alkaline manganese, and of the sizes you describe, are not classed as hazardous waste and are acceptable to dispose of in household waste.

For more info on battery disposal go to here