Daycare upset cycleway construction will force parents to park 50m away

Businesses along Wellington’s Thorndon Quay have been given less than a week to prepare for a year’s worth of disruption while a cycleway is installed.

The Thorndon Collective has fought the installation of the cycleway for two years, arguing against plans to reduce car parks and create a two-way cycle path on their doorsteps.

Group member Steve Piper, director of childcare centre CoKids, said he first heard the work was due to begin when his staff had a visit from a contracting crew from Downer. They informed one of his staff members that work would begin this coming Tuesday, and substitute parks would be provided 50 metres down the road while the work was done.

That was expected to take a year – and Piper said for parents dropping off and picking up kids, those car parks would not cut it.

“They started showing us these plans, and we’re going, ‘No, sorry, you can’t, that’s not enough warning… to let our customers know they may have some parks 50 metres down the road – they may have.'”

He said it was not nearly enough warning, and the parks they were offering wouldn’t cut it with a roll of 100 kids needing pick-ups and drop-offs near-simultaneously.

His business began with 18 parks, which fell to eight last year when the angled parks were changed to parallel parks, to increase visibility and safety for cyclists.

CoKids in Thorndon.
Photo: Google Maps

A newsletter sent to businesses by email on Thursday said crews would begin moving gear to sites “from late October”.

“Works will start from early November and will mean a significant upgrade for the area including new bus stops, new pedestrian crossings and traffic signals, a cycle lane, improvements to seating, planting and lighting, and priority bus lanes in peak times,” it read.

“Some sections of street parking will be closed so that we can fence off safe working areas.”

Thorndon Collective spokesperson and executive director at The Woolstore Management further down the road, Paul Robinson, said it would have a huge affect on businesses.

“We haven’t received a work programme, and we haven’t received a business continuity plan that shows how businesses are expected to continue operating while the work is carried out,” he said.

Let’s Get Wellington Moving has been approached for comment.