Yesterday’s blog, about our request to Council to restrict use of the Peninsula Track to walkers, caused a bit of a stir when shared via our FaceBook page. Thanks for all your responses, both for and against. Just to be clear, KPCA acts through its Committee which gets its mandate to represent the community by being elected by members at the Annual General Meeting (most recently on 11 March 2020). The Committee – which includes a number of cyclists – was unanimously of the view, based on their own experiences over the previous 11 days since lockdown was imposed, that action should be taken.
There has been a noticeable increase in the use of the track by residents of all ages and by cyclists. Last weekend was noticeably bad: many instances of cyclists travelling at high speed, regardless of the presence of children, older folk and dogs, and the 2 metre physical distancing requirement. Anecdotally, a number were suspected to have come from out of the area, also in breach of the Alert Level 4 restrictions.
The Council has responded commendably quickly. Its Executive Leadership Team considers more exhortation of courteous behaviour should be sufficient. It says, “The following actions will be taken:
· Signs to indicate parts of the trail [are] narrow [have] been made and [are] being installed in the coming days.
· QLDC will be encouraging riders and walkers alike to be courteous and for riders to use lower speeds.
· QLDC will be encouraging riders to use the road around Kelvin Heights Peninsula to help reduce congestion.
· Social Media releases will be put out to emphasise the above.
“At this stage we are not prepared to close the trail but [are] confident the above mentioned actions will have a positive effect on how trail users use this part of our trail network. Looking across our trail network we see the majority of users are courteous and cyclists give way to walkers.
“Last week the following track safety reminder was posted to QLDC website https://www.qldc.govt.nz/20-04-01-qldc-issues-track-safety-reminder
“These types of reminders will continue to be posted on our website.“
The cynical amongst us suspect that the offending cyclists will not read QLDC social media. Should you experience any incidents you think should be reported to Council, please send details to us via email: talk2kpca@gmail.com
There has been noticeable increase in traffic on the track and a lot of the traffic are not locals. (A lot of casual walkers and bikers from outside of the peninsula)
This is forcing real locals to use the road as an alternative to keep safe from possible contamination. (which actually is less safe because of cars having no natural footpath)
There should be a sign at the Bridge prohibiting any track access on the Peninsula unless you live on the Peninsula
Thanks for the update. Great to hear we can all work together by being courteous. Hopefully this will go both ways as the cynical amongst us suspect the offending walkers wearing headphones & walkers that don’t observe the 2 meter rule will not read QLDC media. In the interests of clarity can you advise how many members voted at your Annual General Meeting, how many members are on your committee & how many people live in Kelvin Heights? Thanks 🙂
Agreed that the need for courtesy flows in all directions. On the numbers, there are eight elected committee members and three ex-officio (details on the About page). The election at the AGM was by acclamation, so no count was taken. About 50+ people attended the meeting. The 2018 Census gives a population figure for Kelvin Heights of 1,170: see the link on our Useful Links page, on the About menu.
The Council executive team are to be commended for there quick response. HOWEVER their remedy on their being made aware of the acute problem, is not a remedy at all. Most cyclists are travelling from outside their own locality, and the two metre rule is impossible to implement for most of the KH track. Apart from speeding, near hits to walkers and other cyclists, we have also observed coughing, sneezing and verbal abuse. The council could be held legally liable for not implementing an immediate closing of the track to all cyclists during the shutdown. This will not be appreciated by the ratepayers of this town.