Cyclists still feel unsafe despite new cycleways

Only 41 per cent of Tasman residents feel safe when cycling, despite extensive council investment into new cycleways.

This is in stark contrast with the proportion of residents who felt safe when driving (85 per cent) or walking (73 per cent).

The data was gathered as part of Tasman District Council’s resident satisfaction survey, which had a margin of error of 4.9 per cent. The proportion of residents who felt safe when cycling was down 5 points from 2023’s results, and well-under the council’s target of achieving 70 per cent.

This is despite the installation of a network of dedicated cycleways as part of the Streets for People programme which focused on Richmond roads, as well as Māpua’s Aranui Rd.

Other investments have also been made, such as additional investments into the Great Taste Trail in the Motueka Valley and shared path upgrades in Pōhara.

Some councillors lamented the results, with Mike Kininmonth saying the data was “very very disappointing”.

“From a bang for buck [perspective], we’re not getting the return that we would hope.”

However, senior policy advisor Brylee Wayman said that when the data was viewed by ward, “it does seem to reflect some of the investment that’s been done in Richmond”.

Richmond ward residents felt the safest when cycling, at 48 per cent, followed by Motueka (44 per cent), Moutere-Waimea (38 per cent), Lakes-Murchison (34 per cent), with Golden Bay residents feeling the least safe when cycling at 26 per cent.

The survey results follow recent decisions by councillors to remove concrete separators on Salisbury Rd after resident opposition and safety concerns, some traffic-slowing speed cushions on Wensley Rd in a shared zone for cyclists and motorists, and to scrap a trial 30kmh zone in another shared zone on Hill St.

The installation of separated cycleways on several Motueka streets were also deferred last year after significant community opposition.

The survey also revealed that there was a decrease in resident satisfaction with cycleways, from 68 per cent in 2023 to 53 per cent in 2024, with dissatisfied respondents highlighting the loss of car parking and cycle lane layouts.

Councillor Glen Daikee expressed concern about the questions on cycling being asked to people who weren’t cyclists.

“My worry would be, if you ask someone and they’re not a cyclist, you might just end up with a vote on how much they dislike cycleways.”

Council officers attributed some of the dissatisfaction to the district undergoing a “culture change” about cycling and having to learn etiquette on how to treat cyclists on the road.

Beyond cycling, the survey showed that 71 per cent of residents were satisfied with the council’s overall performance, just down on last year’s 73 per cent. When compared to overall satisfaction rates from other similar councils’ 2023 resident surveys, Tasman led the pack, beating out neighbours Nelson and Marlborough, as well as Kāpiti, Napier, and New Plymouth.

Residents also had high satisfaction with the council’s recreational facilities, libraries, three waters, and kerbside recycling, which all scored over 85 per cent satisfaction. Satisfaction with footpaths has now reached the council’s goal of 70 per cent after almost three-decade lows in 2021 and 2022.

However, there was a drop in satisfaction with the Richmond Aquatic Centre of 11 per cent, to 84 per cent.

The ever-present bugbear of roading remained steady on 45 per cent satisfaction, but increases have been made to the council’s road maintenance budgets which is hoped to begin to address the community’s roading concerns.

The survey was conducted during a period of significant roadworks and layout adjustments in Richmond. Analysis of the survey results indicates that improving residents’ views of how rates are spent, public consultation, and footpaths would raise the overall satisfaction of residents.

The survey reflected the views of a sample of 400 randomly-selected residents that was representative of Tasman’s demographics in age, location, and gender.