Keep Wellington motorcycling free - sign the petition!

[Bald Eagle]

For some people. Even if I was well enough to ride I couldn't afford to run a bike at present. I have very few issues with public transport. I think the infrequent hiccups get blown out of proportion.

I don't think the stats for their own performance indicators ( % of trains arriving./departing within +/- 3 minutes of timetable ) would qualify as an infrequent hiccup.

[Bald Eagle]

Transmetros own info here for Feburary.

Performance by line

Johnsonville Line – 82% on time
Kapiti Line – 77% on time
Upper Hutt Line – 83% on time
Wairarapa Line – 73% on time

[bogan]

How come it's gone to bikes vs public transportation, are they going to replace the bike parks with bus stops or something? When discussing on street parking surely it comes down to bikes vs cars? or from the WCCs point of view, do we want more cars or bikes?

[Eyegasm]

I think your costs are still light. I used to spend between $4500 and $7000 a year to run a bike, depending what types of service popped up on the schedule.

I'm pretty sure those costs are calculated right.

I honestly couldn't tell you what the running cost would be if I only used my bike for
getting to and from work. Considering I do about 40,000Km a year, Bike gets a service almost monthly and new tyres every 3 months.

Wow... Actually calculating how much I spend on riding... I should really cut down my riding time...

Nah, Fuck that for a joke...

[Bald Eagle]

Johnsonville line has met their 95% target 5 months out of the last 12 Feb - to Feb .
The other lines have never met target at anytime in the last 12 months.

Forget the cost they are excluded as an option because their unreliability puts your employment at risk.

[James Deuce]

Transmetros own info here for Feburary.

Performance by line

Johnsonville Line – 82% on time
Kapiti Line – 77% on time
Upper Hutt Line – 83% on time
Wairarapa Line – 73% on time

It doesn't actually worry me in the slightest. I arrive at the train station between 6:15am and 7am, get on a train, work however long I need to, wander to the train station and get the next available train home.

Timetables are for the anal people.

[Bald Eagle]

Timetables are for the anal people.

..and for people whose employer specifies their hours of work.

[Jon Visser]

Hi all,

Some people are still very fired up about something, but I have some difficulty understanding why their frustration is directed at the Council. Sorry for the long post, but some people may actually be interested in understanding the facts rather than perpetuating historical/urban myths.

* Council has already indicated that we are not considering applying fees to the existing "free" spaces, though they may be relocated around the place and could be time-limited to encourage turnover in order to meet rider demand. "Free" on-road parking bays for motorcycles have been around for a lot longer than we have had Pay & Display parking. There will always be parts of the road that cannot be utilised for any other purpose and where there is no demand for casual parking so we have already agreed that there is nothing wrong with allocating such space as unrestricted motorcycle parking (as other similar cities have done). Is this not what you want?

* Council has agreed that some small spaces that can't be used for car parking but can be used for motorcycles will be signposted and marked as such. Many have been done already and more have been identified and scheduled to go in. If you check you will find that the total available space is now more like 550 (depending on how people park :-). During the past two years we have added over 20 new bays and only reduced one in size (Mercer St). Does that not prove we deliver what you want?

* Council is currently reviewing the Traffic Bylaw and one of the items being reviewed is the one restricting motorcycles from using Pay & Display spaces. Reversing this could address the shortage of casual parking spaces, taking pressure off the other bays and allowing people greater freedom to select their preferred mode of transport into the city. If we simply make it up to the riders to ensure that they securely display their receipt in a prominent place (or get ticketed) I'm sure they can come up with some clever ways of doing so. In fact, I will even try to have the Bylaw modified to state that two (or more?) motorcycles chained together in the same space can be covered by the same receipt (thereby maximising space utilisation and minimisng costs to riders). This will all go out for public consultation so everyone can have their say - a report is tentatively scheduled to go to Council in May 2011. Is this not what you have asked for?

* There will always be people that assume everything is to do with money. I can happily and confidently say that this particular issue has nothing at all to do with "revenue gathering" and totally to do with the fair allocation of a limited resource that is in high demand by different parts of the community - kerbside parking space. Money could be considered a "tool" to manage turnover (fees or fines). Therefore money may be a key factor for riders, who need to consider the relative costs & amenities for the different modes of transport they can use. But the Council has no significant financial interests in this matter. For example, if a few spaces were converted from motorcycle to P&D car parking, the extra revenue less the costs to make the change (and deal with the likely protests that would ensue :-) would be trivial in the big scheme of things. Also, if metered motorcycle parking was introduced, the additional revenue less the costs to introduce and administer this would be negligible compared to the trouble that this would create. It would therefore make infinitely more sense for the Council to achieve the desired outcome (more effective and fair utilisation of space) through different tools such as allowing motorcycles to use existing P&D spaces, time-restricting spaces and encouraging riders to use off-road facilities instead. Does that not make more sense?

So what are people upset about? Or is it just a few individuals that don't understand/believe that the Council is actually working with riders to address their concerns?

Riders need to understand that they are competing with increasing numbers of other riders and drivers for access to limited on-road space. Riders should see the Council as the "referee", not the opponent. The game is working out where best each party should park to carry out their desired activity, within a very constrained playing field, and then applying the 3Es (engineering, education & enforcement) to get all the parties to play safely & fairly with each other. Even in sports, each team may only have a certain number of players on the field (even though there is plenty of room for more :-). What can you do to "win"? Understand the constraints of the playing field, then look at the needs of your competitors and find a "better" solution for them...

Kind regards,

Jon Visser
Infrastructure Performance Manager
Wellington City Council

[Maha]

'So what are people upset about? Or is it just a few individuals that don't understand/believe that the Council is actually working with riders to address their concerns'?


The motorcycling community band wagon is extremely long and the guns should notbe placed at such regular intervals.
Great post Jon Visser.

[James Deuce]

So what are people upset about? Or is it just a few individuals that don't understand/believe that the Council is actually working with riders to address their concerns?

This bit. So far in the last couple of years Central Government have screwed us whilst our "representatives" have claimed that they haven't. I see no reason for Local Government not to continue the trend, especially as there are no strong drivers for Local Government to provide anything for motorcyclists and our "representatives" seem to have done a great deal of talking with no outcome other than a slight reduction in the number of "free" motorcycle parks and the advent of limited time motorcycle parks which simply don't get used, combined with some dubious charging by some parking companies in regard to motorcycles.

[Swoop]

Pipe bombs most drastic. Hacksaws much more effective on meters.

This is far easier...
Attachment 235474
Silent and deadly to any parking meter.

Yup. Thanks for reminding me to buy more yellow paint :-)

Isn't it remarkable what a little paint and a home-made stencil can do.

[cheshirecat]

Hi all,



Riders need to understand that they are competing with increasing numbers of other riders and drivers for access to limited on-road space. Riders should see the Council as the "referee", not the opponent. The game is working out where best each party should park to carry out their desired activity, within a very constrained playing field, and then applying the 3Es (engineering, education & enforcement) to get all the parties to play safely & fairly with each other. Even in sports, each team may only have a certain number of players on the field (even though there is plenty of room for more :-). What can you do to "win"? Understand the constraints of the playing field, then look at the needs of your competitors and find a "better" solution for them...

Kind regards,

Jon Visser
Infrastructure Performance Manager
Wellington City Council

Cool to see you back -thought you'd gone into 'council cloud'

Good post - One of the biggest hindrences to MC parking is not being allowed on pavements or other similar areas. Now motorised parking on P's is against the road code but are there ways for facilities on wide pavements (crt pl near Saatchi's) which wouldn't obstruct pedestrain flow.

Also are there initiatives the MC community could help WCC and W public generally (ie masive earthquake or tsuami.) - hypothec of course.

As a personal view I appreciate the concept of mini bike parks -the extra noticed have really helped and cut down no end of time doing circuits and bumps

[cheshirecat]

Posssible aid to motorcycle parking - park nose to curb not paralllel

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/Ne...freethenfined/

[Jon Visser]

One of the biggest hindrences to MC parking is not being allowed on pavements or other similar areas. Now motorised parking on P's is against the road code but are there ways for facilities on wide pavements (crt pl near Saatchi's) which wouldn't obstruct pedestrain flow.

Our goal is to ensure that there are places on the road that are available for casual parking of motorcycles and scooters, so that there is no need to park on the footpath. Footpaths are used for a lot of things, not just walking from A to B, and stationary motorcycles do get in the way of those other activities even if riders do not realise this. It is not just the space, but also the ability to get safely in & out.

Also are there initiatives the MC community could help WCC and W public generally (ie masive earthquake or tsuami.) - hypothec of course.

Yes - off-road vehicles like trailbikes may come in useful for carrying out damage assessments or to relay communications when roads become inaccessible. In the past we have had nothing formal in place as trying to contact a long list of individuals (some of whom may be incapacitated or not have access to phones themselves) is difficult under those circumstances. However, if there is an off-road/trailbiking club that our Wellington Emergency Management Office can include on its "useful contacts list" (especially those in the Hutt or Porirua) that would be great (in fact, we may have this already). WEMO can then deal with just the club (if reachable) and the club can then locate its people and advise WEMO what resources are available and how they can be contacted. We're doing the same with taxi companies & 4WD clubs - if someone can send me a PM with contact details that would be great.

[riffer]

Shameless bump guys.

We present the epetition to WCC tomorrow.

Simon
BRONZ Wellington Media Liaison

[StoneY]

Please see other thread

[nudemetalz]

Jon has posted a thread about WCC clamping down on parking...
Moderators may want to move it here...

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...g?p=1130092238

[StoneY]

Jon has posted a thread about WCC clamping down on parking...
Moderators may want to move it here...

nah mate no need to merge the threads it would break the continuity of both thread chains

Jon has another thread somewhere here that we can place 'requests' to consider spots as officially sanctioned bike parks

I saw the new spaces appearing in the Featherston St side roads and was very much impressed with the positive response from Council to our efforts to work with them in finding a workable solution to decreasing curb space and increasing bike numbers

[caseye]

Now that sounds positively Positive! nice work there those who were behind the scenes.
And to Jon, many thanks for listening and making changes where you can.

[ELectronicFlesh]

Having looked around online I can't seem to find any information on if motorcycle parking is still free in Wellington, do any of you know if it still is? And if so, are there any places to park around Wellington station?
Apologies for the bump. Cheers!