Having just listened in online to the recent Local Board workshop about the proposed AT cycleways on Jervois Road and Ponsonby Rd, I think it is appropriate to share with your readers the following:
The City Vision members of the local board (including Genevieve Sage naturally) are not listening to their community.
Genevieve Sage effectively rubber stamped the whole idiot project by setting up an “endorsement” meeting, rather than a discussion with the community?
The AT representatives were not seeking input - they were telling the board what they were doing.
AT’s “community engagement” is a sick joke! They apparently have an online tool that allows interested parties to comment on the plans – BUT no one knows about it – and it is very hard to find!
Why is this not promoted through advertising in Ponsonby News – that way everyone would have access to it. AT do not want or welcome any input that does not just endorse their ridiculous ideas.
The local community through which these cycleways are proposed are not cyclists and never will be...Cyclist numbers remain at just 1% - after many years and a wasted spend over a billion dollars on cycleways.
The target of 17% of commuters was the agreed achievable outcome. So that represents a 100% fail by AT – again!
AT are ruining our local community environment with unused cycleways on major thoroughfares (when side roads are both safer and cheaper) to satisfy their woke ideals and are ignoring the needs and wants of the ratepayers and residents.
This clearly demonstrates that neither AT nor the local City Vision Board members (including Genevieve Sage) are not understanding or accepting that at the last election the entire political landscape has shifted.
It shifted away from the left spending all our hard-earned money on idealistic projects that keep them in jobs, and now focusses on data driven justification for spending of public money – on projects that improve our lives, not disrupt them.
This local board and its left leaning and ideologically driven board members have run their course.
It is time for Richard Northey to retire (he’s only making up numbers and taking a salary anyway), and Genevieve Sage, of course must go, after her duplicitous action last election of running as C & R and then immediately selling her political soul for the chairmanship of the Board so long as she supports left wing madness proposed by Richard Northey and his acolytes.
The next local body election cannot come soon enough.
PS. Hat’s off to Greg Moyle and Sarah Trotman for talking sense and asking the obvious but clearly much needed questions! NB: AT did not answer their questions as Genevieve Sage shut down the discussion – That’s City Vision’s version of democracy!
Roger Hawkins, Herne Bay
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