The Christchurch City Council is considering seven alternative options for the Wheels to Wings cycleway project after the Government announced it would be ditching most of its funding.
This decision has forced the council to re-evaluate the future of the project, which has been a point of contention for the affected community.
Harewood Councillor Aaron Keown, who represents the area most impacted by the cycleway, shared his views on the matter with an interviews on chrislynchmedia.com
While the council is now tasked with reviewing these new proposals, Keown has expressed his support for the least expensive option.
This would involve completing the connection between Matsons Avenue and the existing railway line cycleway—one of Christchurch’s most praised routes—and installing traffic lights at the intersection of Harewood Road, Gardiners Road, Breens Road. Keown said this would address the community’s most pressing concerns.
“The local councillor, Victoria Henstock, and I fully support doing that part. The rest of it just gets put on the shelf for now, which my ward is thankful for,” Keown said.
When asked why the project had become so controversial, Keown explained that it stemmed from the original design being “far too over-engineered.”
He said, “The public supported simpler options, but these were dismissed. Once it came to losing parking, an entire traffic flow, and costing $30 million, people started to get upset.”
While cycling is often promoted as a safe and healthy transport option, Keown argued that the project’s scale was unnecessary. “Cycling is great for your health, but you don’t need an over-engineered superhighway to get down the road. Just get on your bike and go,” he said.
Council staff have maintained that improving cycling safety remains a priority, but Keown questioned whether such projects actually reduce accidents.
He referenced a past analysis of cycling deaths in Christchurch, saying that none of the tragedies could have been prevented by cycleways.
“The over-engineered cycleways never would have saved them,” he said, challenging the claim that these projects make cycling safer.
Keown also shared the concerns of his community, who have consistently voiced their opposition to the larger-scale cycleway plan.
“They overwhelmingly support the Harewood/Gardiners traffic lights but don’t want the over-engineered cycleway,” he said. Any further developments beyond that, Keown believes, would be forcing a solution the community does not want.
Keown warned that choosing the most expensive option despite community reservations would undermine democracy.
“When a community overwhelmingly wants something, that’s what they should get. Anything else is more of a dictatorship,” he said. He added that the shift from facilitating to dictating decisions was a growing concern in local politics.
His message to constituents was clear: “Speak up and let the council know your position. Next year is an election year, and councillors who say they listen to their communities need to prove it.”
