What is an “Upper Stebbings Valley” and why should I care?

If you’re a cyclist in Wellington it’s rather statistically unlikely that you hail from the northernmost suburbs such as Churton Park or Grenada Village. So for those of us who live elsewhere in Wellington, why should we care about the conditions for cycling in new housing developments proposed by Wellington City Council in Upper Stebbings Valley and Glenside West?

The proposed developments Wellington City Council is consulting on.

The existing suburbs in this area have the highest percentage of population commuting by car to the CBD of anywhere in the Greater Wellington area. This has a run-on effect on the rest of us: more cars on our roads, more demand for on-street car parking, and residents pushing for bigger, wider, faster roads.

Extract from the traffic analysis for the new development

The traffic assessment done for the development is problematic in a number of areas. The low number of cyclists in the area is viewed as a statistical attribute rather than a sign of the poor street design of recent developments. They also view a distance of 2km as being too far to enable sufficient uptake of active transport to the nearest primary school. No analysis is done of active travel options to intermediate or secondary schools. The footpath network is proposed to support trips by bicycle despite using bicycles on footpaths currently being against the law.

Melksham Drive, the main road connecting the new development to local schools and shops

Current connections for cyclists and pedestrians in the area are extremely poor. New roads in the area have been built wide and open with no attempt to slow speeds or provide separated facilities for cyclists. In ord

Middleton Road: Not an inviting place to walk or cycle

The nearby train station at Takapu Road is touted by the council as part of the public transport supporting the development but access to this station (and anywhere else north of Wellington) for cyclists is currently only via Middleton road, a narrow and winding section of road with a set speed limit of 70km/h, likely only suitable for the most confident of cyclists. The report proposes off-road trails suitable for cyclists, but these options will include significant elevation changes that aren’t present on the road route.

In the Planning for Growth engagement undertaken last year, Wellingtonians overwhelmingly opposed new greenfield developments, and supported reducing carbon emissions and providing better transport choices. So why is the council soldiering on with business-as-usual car-centric greenfield developments with near-zero provision for cyclists?

The main access road, Melksham Drive, has been intentionally built with enough width to provide cycle lanes at some point in the future. Why aren’t they being included right from the beginning? We all know how difficult it is to install cycling infrastructure later on!

We encourage you to make a submission on the development concept, and in particular demand that:

1. All new roads be built either with 30km/h speed limits (and appropriate traffic calming measures) or with separated cycle paths.
2. Cycling links be provided from new developments to local primary, intermediate and secondary schools in the area.
3. Missing walking and cycling links be provided to train stations, along Middleton Road and across the motorway to Grenada Village and Paparangi, with pedestrian priority at crossings.
4. New developments allow for commercial zoning so that residents can shop for basic items locally without having to drive.

We also suggest that the Glenside West portion of the development be opposed as it has no viable public transport connections. The provision of a new train station nearby on the Kapiti Line has been considered by Greater Wellington Regional Council and we think it needs to be built before the development is progressed.

Submissions can be made before monday 30th November at https://wellington.govt.nz/have-your-say/public-inputs/consultations/open/upper-stebbings-and-glenside-west