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A brand-new zero emission eBus service is a wonderful thing, Nelsonians agree, except for those who may be forced to cede parking space in front of their homes and businesses.
Before a Nelson City Council hearing panel on Friday just over a dozen members of the public came to express their views about Nelson Tasman’s new bus service, set to roll out from August 1.
Jenner Road resident Dana Hanson has lived in the neighbourhood for six years. She said she regularly observed a Nelson city bus coming through “literally almost empty” once every 30 minutes.
She did not see the need for a bus stop that was going to remove 35 car parks from the street, and the “tight-knit” community was concerned, she said.
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Hanson said she had had a meeting with Nelson Mayor Nick Smith last week, who told her that 96% of Nelsonians get to school by work or car, 3% biked, and 1% went by bus.
“It’s great that we want to increase that, but the reality is that we need somewhere to park our cars, we have no other option and this is quite a scary proposal in the number of spots that it will take away from us.”
MARTIN DE RUYTER/STUFF
Nelson deputy mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens said he was “bloody nervous” before the Hearing Panel, as it was the culmination of 36 months’ work.
Should it be put in, Hanson said she would “probably sell her house because it wouldn’t be possible to live in that area”.
The council said in a statement on Friday afternoon that the bus will still run along Jenner Road, but the bus stops on the road would be removed.
Several submitters spoke of their fears of a decline in property values if a bus stop was installed outside their homes.
Brook St resident Lisa Post said her concerns around the new bus stop would be around its “unattractive imposing appearance” of a concrete pad on a grassy berm in an area with a “country like setting”.
SUPPLIED
Horizons chairwoman Rachel Keedwell announces Palmerston North will be the first city to have an all-electric urban bus fleet.
Other worries related to “loitering, noise, loss of parking, rubbish and devaluation” of her recently purchased home.
Andy Wells also spoke about a potential devaluation of his Westbrook Terrace property, vandalism, and loitering that might trigger dogs nearby to bark.
Moana Avenue resident Andrew Murray said his concerns around the placement of a bus stop outside his house were “principally because of health and safety”.
Roads at that location were simply not wide enough to allow traffic to pass uphill or downhill safely.
The impact of 48 bus movements per day would create “major traffic congestion” and “will create health and safety issues including potential accidents, he said.
“Let’s hope none of them are fatal.”
ANDY MACDONALD / STUFF
While many submitters applauded the council for expanding the bus network, some were simultaneously worried about the placement of bus stops and bus routes.
Murray said Moana Ave should be reconsidered as a route bearing in mind that the council had closed that road for the past 10 months, declared it unsafe and was in the process of erecting a special retaining barrier to protect people from rocks falling down from the hillside.
Murray said that was clearly a major health and safety risk, as bus patrons would be at a height where the fence would “not save a boulder from hitting them”.
Some speakers raised concerns about buses on winding, tight hillside roads. Council staff, later in the hearing, said routes had been tested with a 14-metre bus.
Nelson McEwen said when a bus stopped on a narrow road, some drivers lacked the “courtesy, grace and patience” to simply stop.
“Many will consider passing and some of them will try,” he said.
“Those who try will not have adequately considered the blind corner in front of the bus.”
Deputy Mayor and hearing chair Rohan O’Neill-Stevens said he was “bloody nervous” about the meeting, not because of the feedback or because of the process, but because it was the culmination of 36 months’ work.
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An artist’s impression of the new bus hub at Miller’s Acre, Nelson.
He acknowledged that there would be things that were not perfect, which was why review was “crucial”.
While most submissions were around the practicality of the network, there had also been discussions around “increased loitering, people coming into your community … hanging around at bus stops”.
“It’s something I struggle with, because when we talk in those terms, we’re talking about those same members that live in our community, that live down the road from us.”
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Nelson bus route map showing routes to Motueka and Wakefield.
O’Neill-Stevens said this was a service taking people from their homes to work, to socialise and to contribute to the community.
“I don’t think that all of those fears are founded, and I hope that this system can prove them wrong.”
In response to questions from councillors, staff confirmed that the new bus services will be monitored monthly, and reviewed a year after launching.
Nelsonians have not shied away from having their voices heard about the new eBus network launching on August 1.
The Nelson City Council received more than 200 pieces of feedback on the 111 new bus stops that will form part of the expanded network.
In a statement, council said most changes proposed through public feedback were accepted, and as a result council had decided to adjust, remove or provide an alternative location for 24% of the originally proposed stops.
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