The Island Bay Residents Association is undertaking a survey open to everyone who lives in or has a business in Island Bay or Southgate. We want to hear about your local issues and priorities to better support and represent you. The survey should take you about 5-10 minutes to complete.
If you have any difficulties with completing the survey, please contact us, or go to the Island Bay library and ask one of the librarians. Please avoid their busy periods if possible: Saturdays, and after 3pm on weekdays.
The survey will be open until the end of August.
A survey summary report will be published on our website and at the AGM.
We are considering some changes to Traffic Restrictions in the area.
The proposed restrictions will be advertised in The Dominion Post from 9.00 am Monday 25 July 2022, and the consultation closes at 5.00 pm Sunday 7 August 2022.
We expect the reports will be presented to the Regulatory Processes Committee meeting on Wednesday 7 September 2022 for approval and the restrictions will be implemented within the following three months once approved.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to ask.
Regards
Ngā mihi
Kind Regards
Sharon Bennett Project Coordinator
Transport & Infrastructure | Wellington City Council
E sharon.bennett@wcc.govt.nz | W Wellington.govt.nz
After a two-week break due to the impacts of COVID-19, glass collections will resume on Monday 11 July.
Collections are fortnightly, so please check the recycling calendar for your next collection date.
There may be a backlog of glass as people have been stockpiling. Please put it out in stages, only in glass crates, so we don’t overwhelm the processing plant.
Alternatively, you can drop off your glass for free at the Southern Landfill Recycle Centre.
Rubbish and co-mingled recycling collections are currently operating as normal.
With COVID-19 in the community, there may still be further changes to our service at short notice.
Please keep checking our website for the latest updates.
Brad was unable to attend our committee meeting on Monday 4th to provide an update due to sickness, he has however provided this written update:
Update on progress:
Southern end – all concrete buffers in the Southern end of the Parade have been installed along with the driveway speed humps and the line marking.
Northern end – all the concrete buffers have been installed in the Northern section of The Parade. This completes the installation of concrete buffers. The remainder of the driveway buffers will be installed this week together with completion of road marking, weather permitting.
Concrete buffers:
There have been some queries on the painting of the concrete buffers and potential workmanship issues – the concrete buffers are painted by our road marking contractor using their spray cart and while this is accurate when painting lines on the road we do get a little overspray when applying to the edges of the buffers. As can be observed we have only applied one coat of paint and will return to apply a second coat later in the year when the weather improves.
Chipseal:
Some queries on the standard of the chipseal have been raised and I agree – it’s not looking great… We have investigated why it is doing this and our conclusion is that it’s an issue with the application of bitumen on the day.
The technical response to this is:
The design called for a bitumen application rate at the lower threshold of good practice standards due to the high traffic volumes over the section.
This leaves very little room for error and should application rates drop lower by as little as 0.1 litres per square metre then the potential for stripping increases dramatically.
The sections from Mersey St heading south are performing well with very little chip loss and had the same claimed application rates as the stripping section.
The stripping section was chipsealed on Saturday the 2nd of April. The weather was fine and hot on the day as well as the next three days with an average temperature of 19 degrees Celsius over these days.
As such, weather did not play a roll in the stripping. The application rate of the bitumen looks to be at fault. The fine line between correct application and low application might have been crossed on the day.
I know that the technical explanation doesn’t help at the moment – but we do plan on fixing it. We cannot do any repairs at this stage as the weather is not favourable for it. We can only manage it by increasing the sweeping frequency. The current plan is for the team return in summer to do repairs on the stripped areas. Sweeping increments will be dictated by weekly site inspections by my staff and requests from the public. Programme wise we are looking at coming back in early December to fix the situation more permanently.
Cycleway widths:
Typically the Northern end has a width of 1.5m and the Southern end a width of 1.9m although it varies a little. I would say the Southern end is not a problem because space has been won by extensively removing parking from one side. But at the Northern end parking has been maintained on both sides so in widening the traffic lanes space has been taken from the cycle lane. Previously the cycle lane was about 2m wide including a shire line at 600mm. The concrete buffers at 900mm have taken up the shire space plus some of the cycle lane proper now making the cycleway feel narrower and physically constrained.
What I need to emphasise is that the previous cycle lane was regularly obstructed by cars parking into the shire space and the added potential for car doors to be opened into the cycle lane. This is now avoided with cars having a physical barrier to park against and the 900mm wide buffer protecting cyclists from car doors opening into the cyclists path. While narrower, the cycle lane now gives confidence to cyclists that it is free from obstructions and any uncertainty of cars doors opening into the space.
Attached cross-sections show the approved northern area layout and the existing layout.
Other comments on the cycleway design:
The approved road layout puts people on bikes in between a concrete kerb, and (in many cases) either a concrete or mountable separator. Although the goal of the approved design is to improve safety for all road users, we understand how adding a concrete/mountable separator can appear counterintuitive to this goal. Over the years, the leading cause of reported crashes on The Parade (where bikes are involved) are due to motor vehicles driving into and out of driveways, and in intersections where vehicles and bikes are more likely to come into contact with each other. In these crashes, drivers often failed to see the cyclist on the bike lane when turning into/out of driveways, parking spaces, or intersections. There have also been reports of bikes having to go around vehicles that park on the bike lane, or dodge car doors that swing open into the bike lanes.
Adding consistent, (900mm) wide concrete/mountable separators will slow vehicles down when turning, increase driver awareness, and provide physical protection between people on bikes and motor vehicles. The combination of which will greatly help reduce the chances of these crashes and incidents from reoccurring, and will give people on bikes more confidence to use a space that is largely free from obstruction. The wider concrete separator also provides a safe place for vehicle passengers to open car doors, and step out of vehicles without getting in the way of moving bikes. The approved design is a result of addressing the known safety issues, complying with Waka Kotahi guidelines, Wellington City Council guidelines, other guidelines and best practices, to ensure overall safety standards are met. A similar design has been in place in Rongotai Road, Kilbirnie where, to our knowledge, has not had reported crashes involving bikes. Refinements to the approved design have also been made as an outcome to many previous and ongoing conversations with members of the community, businesses, residents associations, cycling advocates, and others.
Regarding the bike lane maintenance, the Council roading maintenance crews have footpath sweepers that are narrow enough to fit in the bike lanes and keep these clean.
Further traffic resolutions:
There are a few traffic resolutions that will be going up to the P&E committee in the next few months. I have attached the drawings associated with TR97-22, TR98-22, TR99-22 and TR100-22. These TR’s are for the northern and southern areas and are based on our discussions with local organisations in terms of how we can minimise the impact of parking loss. The businesses seem to be happy with what we have developed here – we are planning to take these TR’s to the August meeting. I have also attached a copy (draft) of TR20-22, which is the TR for the town centre which we are planning to take to September’s meeting.
These docs will all be sent out via letter drop prior to it going to committee – I just thought that you may want to know that this will be occurring.
For TR20-22:
In 10 March 2022, the P&E Committee resolved to:
Defer the traffic resolutions relating to the town centre section until the parking management plan has been completed. The traffic resolutions for the town centre will then return for decision later in 2022 to the P&E
Request officers undertake a Local Parking Plan (Parking Management Plan) as required by WCC’s Parking Policy and progress plans for realising any potential parking efficiencies as soon as practical
The Draft Parking Management Plan has been completed by Abley. It recommends converting unrestricted parking to time-restricted parking spaces on Medway (17 spaces) and Avon Streets (9 spaces)
Some businesses within the town centre have made requests for parking changes
Moving forward, we plan to:
Recommend the P&E committee proceed with the shopping centre safety improvements as proposed in the 10 March 2022 P&EC meeting (TR20-22 The Parade, Island Bay – Safety Improvements). The 8 September P&E paper will be an update to the 10 March P&E paper
The draft paper is in the works, and I have attached to this email.
Because the 8 September paper is an update rather than a new TR, public consultation is not required. However, keeping the community updated is deemed best practice. We’ll:
Send an email update to the relevant TR20-22 consultation responders, letting them know where we’ve gotten to, where we’re headed, and what to expect next. This email has yet to be written, and will be emailed out by 11 July 2022 (TBC)
Allocate a consultation period for the community to comment on the town centre safety upgrades. Consultation dates will likely be from Monday 18 July to Sunday 7 August 2022 (TBC)
Utilise the standard media resources as part of the public notification/consultation, such as updating the transport project website, and news release, on top of the email update (TBC)
Where applicable, requested changes from the town centre businesses will be included/proposed in the 8 September P&E paper. New TR’s are not required for these changes as they are relatively minor in nature, fall within the original project scope, and have come as a result of the TR20-22 public consultation
Parking improvements as recommended by the Parking Management Plan will be progressed via the traffic resolutions process in early- to mid-2023.
Brad Singh Kaiwhakahaere – Ngā Waka me te Hanga (Manager Transport & Infrastructure)
TR20-22 – The Parade, Island Bay – Town Centre Safety
You are invited to find out more about KiwiRail’s exciting new Kaiwharawhara Wellington ferry terminal redevelopment project at a community drop-in at Pipitea Marae, 55-59 Thorndon Quay, Wellington on Wednesday 13 July, 12.30pm – 3pm.
Experience an interactive digital walk-through of the concept designs for the ferry terminal precinct, find out more about the custom-designed hybrid electric ferries, and kōrero with the team working on this billion dollar project.
To accommodate the two new bigger ferries, we are building a new wharf, terminal building and well-designed surrounding for parking, people and the safe movement of vehicles and rail. Find out how we are protecting the environment and making the terminal seismic and climate change resilient.
The Interislander journey across Te Moana o Raukawakawa (Cook Strait) is one of the most spectacular in the world. We are creating a visitor experience to match and a fantastic gateway for Te Whanganui a Tara Wellington.
Work will start shortly on the terminal precinct redevelopment, ready for the arrival of the new ferries from 2025.
We’d love to see you at the community drop in.
Community drop-in
Pipitea Marae, 55-59 Thorndon Quay, Wellington Wednesday, 13 July
12.30pm to 3pm
Ngā mihi,
Kaiwharawhara Wellington Ferry Precinct Redevelopment team
Unfortunately, our waste collection contractors are once again operating at reduced capacity due to COVID-19. As a result, glass collections will be put on hold from Monday 27 June for an estimated two weeks.
Rubbish and co-mingled recycling collections will be prioritised, but delays are likely.
For health and safety reasons, residents should bring their glass crates back inside off the street until normal service resumes. In the meantime, they can stockpile their glass or drop it off for free at the Recycling Station at the Southern Landfill. Otherwise, glass can be wrapped and put in general rubbish.
We apologise for this disruption and will be in touch again soon with another update.
For the latest updates on collections and rubbish and recycling processing, please visit our website.
Please find attached the July 2022 Council maintenance and minor works programme.
While rain and other factors do impact on the programme, the ‘other factor’ at the moment is definitely Covid. For the latest information please check out the weekly roadworks report on the WCC website.
Note that the information in the document does not include work for other organisations working in the road corridor such as Waka Kotahi, Wellington Water, Wellington Electricity or building works which require access to the road or footpath.
If you would like more information or have any questions feel free to contact us on (04) 499 4444. Ngā mihi
The proposed restrictions will be advertised in The Dominion Post from 9.00 am Monday 27 June 2022, and the consultation closes at 5.00 pm Sunday 10 July 2022.
We expect the reports will be presented to the Regulatory Process Committee meeting on Wednesday 10 August 2022 for approval and the restrictions will be implemented within the following three months once approved.
Kind Regards
Sharon
Sharon Bennett Project Coordinator
Transport & Infrastructure | Wellington City Council
E sharon.bennett@wcc.govt.nz | W Wellington.govt.nz
‘Stavros Kyriakides has been an Island Bay local for 47 years, and is known for his delicately placed stone artworks along the South Coast. He began in 2013, after a storm washed up piles of logs onto the sand. Over the years, he’s moved away from using wood and turned instead to stone, balancing large rocks upon each other which, because of their weight, stand up to the Wellington wind.‘ Stuff 2018
Some in our community love these sculptures, but some in the community do not. Are you someone who likes to admire, or prefers to have them removed?
A documentary was made discussing these sculptures and the community response in to them in 2018:
ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS
A tale of creation and destruction
Stavros Kyriakides, a self-taught environmental artist, creates delicately balanced rock and driftwood sculptures along Wellington’s south coast, complementing the area’s rugged natural beauty in subtle ways.
Though his work has many admirers, Stavros struggles to understand that it is not appreciated by all: an elusive minority of detractors purposely knocks over his sculptures time and again. Battling with a growing sense of frustration Stavros nonetheless persists with his Sisyphean task, and a never-ending game of creation and destruction ensues. His story, in all its absurd nuances, reflects the plight encountered by all artists creating work in a public space: How much respect does a carefully created piece of work deserve, even if it is non-commissioned? How can an artist deal with hurtful feedback and destruction of their work? Who gets to decide what is and isn’t allowed in a public space? Who defines what is art?
The short film Rock-Paper-Scissors premiered at the 2018 Doc Edge International Documentary Film Festival. An interview with the film makers about the film can be read here: Article on Stuff
Island Bay Residents' Association 