A key route of the city's Paneke Pōneke cycleway network plan has been put on hold after the sewage disaster. Photo / Mark Mitchell
A key route of the city's Paneke Pōneke cycleway network plan has been put on hold after the sewage disaster. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Wellington City Council has put plans to expand its cycleway network on hold amid the fallout from the Moa Point sewage plant failure, saying it must turn its attention to the city’s “most pressing infrastructure needs”.
As part of its Paneke Pōneke cycleway network plan, the council was consultingon a “key missing link” of the inner-city cycleway between TSB Arena and the Wellington Railway station.
But consultation on the project, named the Bunny St connection, has now been paused after the catastrophe at the city’s sewage plant, which has been dubbed an “environmental disaster“.
“We’re currently looking at options to find savings right across the council in an effort to reduce next year’s forecasted rates increase,” a council spokesman said in a statement.
“This includes ensuring we can prioritise our most pressing infrastructure needs, including Moa Point.
“Due to this, we’re pausing any consultation for capital projects that may have been decided on, but not yet commenced. This includes the Bunny Street and TSB Arena service lane consultation, which was originally scheduled to run from 9 February to 2 March.”
While consultation has been paused, it cannot be cancelled unless councillors formally revoke their previous decision approving the project.
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little said he believed all consultations on upcoming capital projects should be paused, given the council’s financial situation.
“That has been reinforced following the failure at Moa Point, where so much is unknown,” the mayor said.
He said consultation would go ahead “in time” because the project had been signed off by the previous council.
“In my view, the Moa Point response and recovery must be the greatest priority and focus for Wellington City Council at this time. That’s what Wellingtonians are telling me they expect,” Little said.
The cycleway was pitched as providing “a safer, more coherent link between the Thorndon Quay cycleway, the railway station, and the waterfront”.
The cycleway was pitched as fixing a key missing link in the city's bike network programme. Photo / WCC
Pukehīnau Lambton ward councillor and cyclist Geordie Rogers supports the Bunny St Connection, but said he accepts the decision to pause consultation in light of the Moa Point incident.
As an operational matter, pausing consultation was a decision made by council chief executive Matt Prosser, Little said.
But Rogers said he understood the CEO’s decision was made after discussions with the mayor.
“I’m seeking further meetings to clarify what authority the mayor used to direct the chief executive to pause all consultation and capital projects already agreed by the council,” Rogers said.
Fellow ward councillor Nicola Young said the decision to put it on hold was “hardly surprising” because of the “huge financial implications of the Moa Point failure and other fiscal pressures”.
“These cycleways are probably just the beginning, with the upside of fewer road disruptions and those wretched cones around the central city, Wellingtonians are sick of them!” Young said in a statement.
An update on the status of the project could be expected after decisions on the council’s annual plan, which will be made in May, the spokesman said.
The pause comes amid debate over cycleway spending and water infrastructure investment, following claims that previous councils prioritised bike lanes over upgrades to the city’s wastewater network.
The claims surfaced in an online blog post referencing a 2021 Long-term Plan meeting.
While the council did vote at that meeting to nearly double its cycleway budget, the additional funding was never diverted from water infrastructure spending as has been claimed.
Councillors also agreed in that meeting to fund Wellington Water at the level recommended by officials.
Contractors at work at the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant following its failure. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Since the Moa Point plant failed this month, millions of litres of raw, untreated sewage have been pumped into the ocean fringing the city’s coastline every day.
The facility remains inoperable, and the capital’s South Coast beaches are off limits until it is back up and running, which is expected to take months.
Ethan Manera is a Wellington-based journalist covering Wellington issues, local politics and business in the capital. He can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
