The Christchurch City Council’s decision to make a bus lane on Cranford Street permanent has ignited criticism from some councillors, who say the move ignored the majority of public submissions and expert advice.

The contentious vote passed narrowly, with nine councillors in favour and eight opposed.

In a statement issued after the vote, Innes Community Board member Ali Jones said “To dismiss the views of those who wanted a clearway, as local councillor Pauline Cotter did at a recent board meeting, is pretty poor.

“The preferred position of a clearway, wanted by the majority of submitters, was also the staff recommendation and supported by roading engineers. Sadly, our board has been deaf to this.”

At today’s council meeting Councillor Sara Templeton pointed out that the numbers can be interpreted differently.

“When it comes to the numbers, it’s also easy to play with them. We could say that the majority, in theory, didn’t want the bus lane, but actually, the majority also didn’t want the clearway.

“We all want our community to be safe, to be able to move around as easily as possible and reduce emissions as much as possible. A bus lane, as reports and evidence show, has not achieved this on Cranford Street and will not magically start doing that once it is made permanent “This is insane – we are doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome” Jones said.

Templeton argued that allowing single-occupancy vehicles to dominate the street would not align with the goals of reducing congestion or encouraging sustainable transport.

“You could say that the majority were in favour of not allowing people just to be driving single-occupancy cars, which is 83 percent in two lanes down Cranford Street.”

Councillor Melanie Coker argued the bus lane is essential to promote public transport. “Continuing with the bus lane will encourage those bus users from out of town to come in on the bus, reducing the number of cars.”

Councillor Victoria Henstock strongly criticised the process. “I have to say that I’m really embarrassed by this recommendation from my community board. It’s nothing short of bat-shit bonkers,” she said. “We had a trial for three years. It didn’t reduce congestion, it didn’t reduce driver frustration, and it didn’t make things safer. We need to try something different.”

Councillor Aaron Keown called the decision undemocratic. “When you go against what the experts are saying and the majority of people who submitted, you are no longer a facilitator—you become a dictator,” he said. “We should at very least be trialing a clearway, but no—we go for dictatorship rather than facilitation.”

Councillor Mark Peters added his frustration with the council’s approach. “There’s a definition for insanity, which is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. The trial has proven the bus lane didn’t work. It’s just not going to work.”

Councillor Tyron Fields said“When we open up a clearway for a few hundred meters, we’re essentially removing a minor obstacle, not addressing the bigger picture of traffic flow.”