Residents in Wellington’s Aro Valley are facing significant accessibility challenges following the removal of 18 resident and 52 coupon car parks on Aro St to accommodate an uphill cycleway. Local residents report that the changes have made it difficult for disabled, elderly, and sick community members to access their homes safely.
How has the Aro St redevelopment affected local residents?
Over the past three years, the Wellington City Council replaced street parking on Aro St with a cycleway, leaving residents with few options for safe pull-over areas. Sue Tait, a local resident, said the road has become a “nightmare” for certain members of the community. “It’s completely ignoring sick people, disabled people, elderly people, parents,” Tait said.
Tait’s husband, Brennan Wood, suffered a stroke in 2023, which left him with pain and limited mobility. To ensure Wood can enter and exit their home safely, Tait says she must pull her car over the cycle lane outside their house. This has occasionally led to encounters with parking wardens; Tait noted a recent incident where a warden approached her to issue a ticket but walked away after seeing Wood’s condition.
The nearest mobility park is located 200 metres away on Palmer St, but Tait said she leaves that space for a neighbour who also requires it. When she needs to use the car, Tait must walk 500 metres to a side street with limited parking before driving back to the property and blocking the cycleway to pick up her husband.
Why is accessibility a growing concern in Aro Valley?
For residents with mobility issues, the lack of parking has altered daily life and increased psychological stress. Judy Buchanan, a retiree who has lived in the area for nearly 30 years, uses a walking stick following cancer treatment. Buchanan said finding parking has become so difficult that she and her partner, Brent, now rely on Ubers to get around.
Buchanan described the process of leaving her home as requiring “military precision,” noting that the current layout creates feelings of “anxiety and stress.” She said, “It always feels like it’s someone else’s space,” particularly when cyclists are present. Buchanan also noted that she has had pedestrians take photos of Ubers parked illegally on footpaths to allow her to enter the vehicle.
Tait reported that the lack of parking has also resulted in friction with cyclists. She described the issue as a “white, middle-class, lycra-clad male problem,” noting that she has faced judgment and verbal abuse from able-bodied cyclists. “If a cyclist can duck around a bus, or they can duck around that cycle park… they can duck around disabled people,” Tait said.
What is the Wellington City Council’s position on the parking changes?
The Wellington City Council has stated that its current parking arrangements are within the law. When Tait wrote to the council to complain about the lack of disability parking, the council responded that they are meeting requirements, which involve having a disabled park for every 50 parks. Tait argued that because the total number of parks on Aro St was drastically reduced, the council could technically remain within the law despite the decreased accessibility.
Records show that the 2022 proposal for these parking changes received 56% support, though only 47% of those respondents were local residents. One submission noted that the plans seemed designed for people transiting through the area rather than those living there, expressing concern for tradies and delivery people who require parking.
Before beginning the redevelopment, the council consulted with various stakeholders, including Cycle Wellington and Disability Action groups.
What does the traffic data show for the new cycleway?
City Council data indicates that in the past six months, cyclists accounted for 3% of the total traffic on the route. This represents approximately 150 people traveling downhill each day. However, the council noted that this data only counts cyclists heading towards the city and does not include all cyclists using the cycleway.
