Took part in an Auckland City Survey about the future of Takapuna yesterday. Don't do surveys usually but felt it was a civic responsibility. It was about the future of Takapuna and what the Council could do better.
Takapuna's attraction was that is was a fresh 'seasidy' small town with a relaxed holiday atmosphere rather like the small 'seasidy' towns one encounters in LA. The clean unspoiled beach and the attractive main street with palms and small restaurants adding to the ambiance. Parking then was easy. This has all gone.
Where does one start? All councils to date have worked on the premise that if it is green open space then cover it with concrete. Tennis club will possibly go same way and croquet and golf clubs too. Also the trees in Hurstmere Road appear to be under threat. Population Growth was the answer and population growth is what the area has got. The snag is that access to the area has not been provided. If you live there and do not need to park you are OK but the open spaces are now few and getting fewer! Soon none will be left. All this is progress.
What all councils seem to forget is that if you force people into cramped living conditions small flats, no gardens then they have to live on the streets and go out to public spaces for recreation so it is vitally important to protect all open public spaces. I was asked what cities did I think worked and I replied London, Paris , New York all of which have huge public parks in the centre of their cities. Can you imagine Central Park, or Hyde Park and Regents Park built over?
Strangely Christchurch today is an example of good city planning. The earthquake has demolished vast areas of unfortunate buildings and because of liquefaction cannot be built upon again so vast areas of Christchurch have been opened up. One cannot do this now in Takapuna which is an over built mess.
I find parking in Takapuna impossible so now I rarely go there. Dogs on beach make life unpleasant too. It is sad I used to shop and walk regularly in Takapuna now I take the ferry to Auckland and shop in Queen St which will be nice too one day! Car parking in Takapuna is impossible and a journey by Public Transport from my house would be one hour there and one hour back plus a long walk. By car it takes 10 minutes but the bus would go via Sydney to get there!The powers that be have made a mess of Takapuna. Too many people crammed in and not enough space to serve them let alone attract outside visitors.
I was asked for suggestions and I replied very good architects and a courageous council who was not in the hands of greedy property developers. Growth in population is not possible until social infrastructure is up to the task of serving those who are already here.
Residents’ concerns crushed by Council-funded blackmail
Northcote Residents have withdrawn their Environment Court appeal against SkyPath, which they
consider to be a financial, functional and environmental failure. They also consider that SkyPath is
unlikely to ever be implemented and that its blatantly obvious safety hazards alone, should have
prevented it from seeing the light of day in the first place. Although Council tells itself that SkyPath is merely a $33M project, its real costs are set to deliver yet
another Council blowout, this time set to amount to hundreds of millions. In turn, Auckland’s
ratepayers are now unwittingly set to pay for that blowout, via Council’s underwrite for SkyPath. To
approve the underwrite, Council acted illegally and violated its statutory obligations, in the emphatic
opinion of a legal specialist in the area of government regulation, Dr. Grant Hewison. SkyPath is funded via a PPP arrangement. Every failed PPP arrangement world wide, exactly replicates
Council’s PPP arrangement for SkyPath namely - SkyPath’s claimed patronage is pumped through the
roof, patronage shortfalls are underwritten by Council and the funders interest charges are about
double the rate at which the underwriter (Council) could borrow finance. The PPP funder must be
delighted. SkyPath can lose as much money as it likes, while the PPP funder gains its full interest
charges, management charges and debt repayment. A picture-perfect PPP plunder (PPPPPP).
That goes some way to explaining why some Auckland ratepayers such as Northcote Point residents,
faced rate increases this year that were 60 times the rate of the country’s residual inflation rate. We’d
be better off living in a banana republic, than continuing to rely upon this Council’s fiscal literacy.
Council has aggressively supported the development’s comprehensive violation of its own regulations
regarding zoning, parking, amenity, pathway design, emergency egress, emergency management and
public safety. The extent to which SkyPath violates those regulations would be a joke, were the
consequences not as grim as they are. Violations of public safety provisions alone, are certain to cause
many serious injuries and worse. Aggressively promoting a patently hazardous facility is not quite in
line with delivering “one of the World’s most liveable cities”. Particularly if SkyPath turns some living
customers into half-dead customers or worse.
SkyPath’s is primarily a commercial tourism and leisure facility, since that’s what 87.5% of its
customers are projected to be. Council’s regulations sensibly do not permit any large-scaled
commercial developments in residential areas such as Northcote Point, yet that is where Council
wishes to locate SkyPath’s North Shore landing. Council claims that SkyPath’s patronage, will
“conservatively” amount to 13,000 - 20,000 visitors at the end of Northcote’s cul-de-sac peninsula
suburb, every summer weekend day. Eden Park’s averaged attendance ranges from 13,000 - 18,000,
depending on what is happening in any given year. The effects of these perpetually huge crowds are
“not more than minor”, say Council’s and the Applicant’s so-called “experts”.
The Northcote Residents Association (NRA) withdrew from its appeal under severe duress. The
Council-funded and underwritten Applicant, threatened to claim costs against it “to the maximum
extent possible”, in the event that NRA lost the appeal. Those costs would likely amount to many
millions - the amount both Government and Auckland Council have provided in support of this
purportedly private commercial development. The developer has previously claimed it doesn’t have
enough money to pay for postage, but that has not stopped it from threatening rightly concerned
residents with multi-million dollar claims of costs that Auckland Council has already fully underwritten. Nobody yet knows if SkyPath’s implementation will ever be possible. That is so, because before
SkyPath can be implemented, it needs NZTA’s approval. If that approval is ever granted, that can’t
happen for another year according to NZTA. For obvious common-sense reasons and for reasons we
are advised are duly backed by case law, resource consent hearings are not supposed to start until
such basics have been resolved. They are not, yet the appeal hearing is proceeding regardless.
Another issue that calls SkyPath’s viability into doubt, arises from recent discussions with the New
Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). Information provided by NZTA states the Auckland Harbour Bridge
“will allow for ....walking and cycling facilities” and, “four lanes on the existing Bridge, will become
redundant” when the next Harbour crossing is installed and that, “the Bridge’s box girders need
strengthening to accommodate SkyPath” and that “further strengthening of the Bridge’s box girders is
not physically possible, except at connection points”.
The SkyPath function could occupy less than two of the four redundant lanes freed up when the next
Harbour crossing is implemented, without adding additional stresses to the Bridge and without
decreasing its usable life, as SkyPath will. That could be achieved at virtually no cost and far better
than SkyPath, since cyclists and pedestrians would be safely separated and would access the facility
without causing any neighbourhood any detriment. SkyPath’s genuinely huge costs, amenity
detriment and safety hazards are wholly unnecessary, since the Next Harbour Crossing solves all the
problems SkyPath does not, never could and never will.
Since NRA’s supporters have always supported the idea of walking and cycling from one side of the
harbour to the other, we say, “bring on the Next Harbour Crossing so we can all enjoy cycling or
walking across the Harbour Bridge, but in a way that works functionally, financially and
environmentally”.
Too logical? Too workable? Too environmentally friendly? Too cost effective? Apparently. Maybe the
consenting authorities need a pile of serious injuries to awaken them to the responsibilities they are
paid for, even if they don’t care less about SkyPath’s fundamental and glaringly obvious
environmental, cost, funding and design problems.
Kevin Clarke
Chair, Northcote Residents Association Inc. SkyPath Appeal Committee
SkyPath gets Auckland Council funding for SkyPath and one really has to congratulate all involved, Even though a barrister told the Finance Planning Committee that it was illegal to vote on this proposal before it had appeared in the Auckland City Ten Year Plan it made not a jot of difference as the Council unanimously voted for this to go ahead even though council were warned that this was the last time they would be allowed to debate this matter. Now it is in the hands of the CEO. The Council although told about this did not take this on board and think they will have another crack. No such luck. Tis done! Well and truly done. Auckland starts paying today.
Even though there was a very eloquent presentation on the safety of SkyPath.Even though it is still highly unlikely that after all the expense of plans and wind tunnels, the design will pass the Health and Safety regulations, it was voted unanimously at the last moment, have you noticed that in NZ committees the one who shouts the loudest gets, in this case, her way. Dogs on leashes are to be added to the mix of pedestrians, bikes, electric bikes and wheelchairs. No problem, and children under five do not have to pay. Big cheers.
Win, win for everyone. Everyone was thanked, even the residents of Northcote Point who have been bulldozed over completely as if their concerns were irrelevant. Councillor George Wood who was expected to vote against with Dick Quax and Cameron Brewer, felt that he had to say that the residents of Northcote Point had been unfairly treated. The three of them looked like characters from Alice in Wonderland with the residents of Northcote Point playing the oysters who trusted them to see fair play but get hoodwinked by these shifty characters and are eaten up without so much as a by your leave:
I weep for you,' the Walrus said: I deeply sympathize.' With sobs and tears he sorted out Those of the largest size, Holding his pocket-handkerchief Before his streaming eyes.
All three of them voted for SkyPath. I feel sure all the councillors are proud of themselves. Cheers all around except for Northcote Point which will now be deluged by visitors it is not equipped to handle as everybody who tries to use SkyPath will find out in two years time. But that is two years away and a miracle might happen and someone in authority might come to their senses but now Auckland will have to pay penalties.
Caution was swept to the wind. Nothing nasty is going to happen. The Ratepayers have nothing to fear. It is all going to be Lovely. The Ratepayers have heard that one before.
So who are the winners? Difficult to say but Generation Zero have definitely won. I hope they enjoy their triumph because they will be paying for it for the next 25 years in tolls, taxes and rates. So will the rest of us. I wonder if those who opposed can opt out. For the residents of Northcote Point paying for this is a bit like paying for your own execution!
Not one of Auckland Council's better days and certainly not for the Ratepayers.
Auckland Council votes to fund SkyPath tomorrow although they may not be entitled to do so! The decision cannot be reversed. This is it! But do Auckland Ratepayers know what they are signing up for? That includes Generation Zero.
Tomorrow Thursday 21 July 2016 The Auckland City Councillors vote on underwriting SkyPath. This is a momentous decision as it will mean that whatever happens in the future, for example SkyPath at just 4 meters wide and 1.2 K long with a low headroom and steep gradient may not be usable as a shared path because the accidents that are bound to happen when pedestrians and cyclists share the same cage. No research has been done in this field it, Auckland Ratepayers take the risk.
If this happens SkyPath may not be able to function but the Auckland Ratepayers will be stuck with it. The Ratepayers will have to pay the full subsidies as if SkyPath was open, up and running. This is just one scenario but SkyPath has many other clauses that safeguard its investment, like compensation if NZTA allows cycling and pedestrian lanes free once the second crossing is built. This will continue for 25 years!
“All ratepayers are affected by the proposal to underwrite this project ( as general rates will cover any shortfall in revenue from patronage with patronage demand being the biggest unknown factor in the whole project (p 138 of the Agenda)
"The decision to proceed cannot be reversed without Council incurring considerable penalty costs ( pages 42 to 43 of the Agenda)” NRA letter to AK Council
The Council should have notified Auckland Ratepayers under the current 10 Year Plan but have failed to do so. Without this notification and consultation this vote should not take place and in fact the Northcote Residents Association has asked that this vote be deferred until it is included in the next 10 Year plan so that Auckland Ratepayers have a better idea of what they are being asked to back. It is not the senior citizens who will be paying for Skypath all their lives but Generation Zero.
SkyPath is unique. Nothing like it has been tried before anywhere in the world. For those who know nothing about SkyPath’s operational problems, and for those
who find SkyPath’s visual images and promises appealing, there is widespread
support for SkyPath. However, Council’s Agenda reports and media seriously misrepresent the level of opposition
that exists to SkyPath’s implementation. In particular, Councillors should know that every community organisation, yachting
club and residents’ association directly affected by SkyPath, has formally notified the
Environment Court of its opposition to SkyPath’s implementation. Those organisations democratically represent more than 13,000 directly affected
people and include RNZYS, WMUA, RYC, PCC, SMBA, HBRA, LSBPS, NPHPS and NRA.
”Should Auckland Council build an unworkable, unsafe, short-term, white-
elephant extravagance now, or would it be better to wait another few short
years, to implement a safe and workable facility that achieved the same
function SkyPath promises, but at no cost, safely and much better?" NRA FAQ's
It will be interesting to see how many of the present councillors do the right thing by the Ratepayers and decline to vote until Aucklanders are better informed.
Janette Miller is not a member of Northcote Resident Association. Her interest in SkyPath is safety.
Skypath -Auckland Transport- Northcote Point Parking Plan Survey for Environment Court
Before the next sitting of the Environment court the judge has ordered Auckland Transport to submit a plan for parking on Northcote Point that will be put into effect when SkyPath is built. So Auckland Transport has been forced to send a proposed parking scheme out to all the residents of Northcote Point for its feedback and this is it!
The purpose of this proposed parking scheme is to assist with the management of the potential increase in parking demand associated with SkyPath - the proposed walking and cycling path across the Harbour Bridge. If constructed, SkyPath will land at the southern end of Princes Street in Northcote Point.
While it is expected that many people using SkyPath will walk or cycle to the facility, some may choose to travel to the area by car.
The unrestricted parking on residential streets around Northcote Point could be attractive for people using SkyPath, particularly on weekends during summer (Note jm:and on weekdays as park and ride!). This could result in a lack of parking for local residents and other visitors to the area. Ref AT
There is no room for this project on the Point. SkyPath was not made to supply one car park for the 20,000 + that will be using SkyPath a weekends in five years time! I hardly dare write this as it looks preposterous and yet below are the Auckland City Official Research 2014 figures that were used for the Resourse Conscent and were accepted as accurate. Somehow AT and Northcote Point which is already overparked have to find even more parking which is just not there. The Auckland Council official of numbers of visitors expected are mind blowing.
SkYPath 2014 Research Final -20-6.14 pdf 32/45
Auckland Transport says all it was asked for were 40 places and there its responsibility ends. One wonders if AT read the Ak.C.C Research document. On SkyPath's opening day, NZTA are going to have to do something once the current PM, the Mayor and Auckland Transport have ridden over to a fanfare of trumpets and the two way 4 meter wide, 1.2 k tunnel is open. I suggest open the Bridge. It has been done before when about 3,000 turned up in 2009.
AT’s plans sent to residents and on the web for this survey are grossly incomplete, misleading and senseless. The map supplied to the residents is out of date and does not give the present state of play. Sea Path and the New Cycle Lanes are not shown nor are the 14 parks AT has removed. No mention is made of paid meters. It looks as if SkyPath is only going to affect the areas shown but SkyPath will impact on every householder on the Point. SkyPath customers have been told they can park all day if the wish in the streets. House owners have no right to the parking in front of their homes and it seems neither do the shops and businesses which will see all their customers disappear because if the customers cannot find a park they will go home never to return.
This week I forgot about school holidays and I went to the Zoo. The Zoo has excellent parking with its own large carpark and huge spare parking nearby and yet this was full. Even the roads around were full and I turned around and came home. This happened to me too at the Rose Festival in Parnell. I came home. I cannot get to either venue by public transport. SkyPath visitors and visitors to the shops and cinema will do the same on Northcote Point if they do not arrive early and grab a park for the day. They will go home. People learn quickly.
Here is a video that demonstrates clearly the space that 2,000 cyclists all together take up. They take up far more room than pedestrians. Northcote Point with the best will in the world is not big enough to host this project. Auckland Transport or even our local Council Kaipatiki Board seem unaware of this or do not want to look. This is a real problem and should be addressed.
Lastly how much is this costing Auckland Ratepayers. All this is being paid for by The Auckland City Council. The Ratepayers should be told how much this is costing and allow us to option out. Maybe this should be my next question. Why don't the Council make sure it is safe first?
This Sunday Paul Little an independent columnist with The Herald on Sunday wrote an article about the residents of Northcote Point and their battle with SkyPath entitled Nimbies battle flight of Fancy which is about the only part of the article he got right. The link is there so you can read it for yourselves. He was particularly scathing about me and my voice and completely wrong.
In the past it was easy for columnists in the Herald to destroy a project or person because it was the only show in town. Now it is not.
It is fashionable on Sundays in the world media to have a Long Read so I thought in the interests of fair play, and I feel sure Paul Little will want to be fair, his article has become the topic for my first Long Read. It is usual to introduce Paul Little so that readers can get to know him and where he is coming from so here is his Linkedin profile and an article by Whale Oil Paul Little Blithering idiot for reference. It is easy to ascertain that Paul Little is in favour of SkyPath and sometimes the Herald runs sponsored articles but I shall give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Paul Little is passionate about SkyPath. He can see no problems at all except for people like me or The Northcote Resident Association who point out a few issues that might just spoil his dream. For them he shows no mercy and of course the NRA cannot hit back.
As this is a Long Read, I intend to publish it again in sections so I can elaborate in more detail exactly what Paul Little got wrong and why he is misleading. One has to trust a paper's reporters and they must get the facts right. Paul Little has not. Then one has to trust that that the reporter is not prone to discrimination of any kind if he/she shows any discrimination to one person in an article then he is likely to do it to others. Just living in an area, or having a different type of voice is no reason why these people should not be taken seriously. Is Paul Little biased? Does he give the other point of view? Does he make fun of people because he does not appreciate their voices? If in doubt it may be time to change your paper.
So to begin - The easiest way is to publish the letter with all the links that I wrote to Paul Little who has no idea who I am except that I have IT skills above the average for my age, he is right about that, I have a posh voice, which appears to get up his nose and I care enough about the safety on SkyPath to do something about it enough to make a video. He did not add a link to this video so I have placed What Bike The Bridge did Right - a lesson in crowd management at the top of this blog.
Regarding the inaccuracies in above article I really do not know where to start! Good balanced accurate reporting it was not! So here is some ref information for your next article.
My name is Janette Miller. I reverted to Miller after my husband a Heffernan died because I got so much racist abuse and an assault for being thought to be Southern Irish because of my name! I am English/Scots.
Here is my live CV
BBC Monitor Britten Noyes Fludde Aldeburgh featuring Janette Miller and Michael Crawford 1958
This CV was made shortly before I caught Clostridium Difficile or gangrene of the stomach.
Just because the residents of Northcote Point wish to object to SkyPath does not make them NIMBIES. They live here and they are aware of the problems. The size of the crowds is going to be a problem. The image shows about 1,000 cyclists, there was another 1,000 stretching back to Smales Farm.
I live near to a 400 seater theatre, a 50 seat restaurant, a 50 seat cafe, a 100 seat Senior Citizens Rooms and an antique shop. During one period on Northcote Point, I lived near to Junk and Disorderly, a junk yard and I have lived happily on Northcote Point for 43 years. Never had a park outside in years! NIMBY? I don’t think so.
I made and narrated What Bike the Bridge did Right as evidence to show the Mediation Court, that even 2,000 is too much to host at Northcote Point without serious crowd management. I stand by every frame of the footage. I am an independent and solely interested in safety aspects of this project. Whatever Paul Little says these problems will not magically disappear if the NRA cannot continue with the appeal and will have to be faced by someone in the future.
The Minister of Transport Simon Bridges and NZTA are aware of the safety problems of Northcote Point. At the invitation of the Minister I was invited to a formal on the record interview which was not in confidence at NZTA where I was assured that SkyPath would not be built unless it was safe. I was very impressed with their understanding of the problem and I was totally reassured that this will be done, even though it may mean SkyPath although desired may not be built.
I asked if I should stop publicly campaigning on the safety issue and was told they had no objection to me continuing as at present they could say little to get this point across officially. Anything that could be done to inform the public of this problem would be welcomed.
There is no doubt that Northcote Point is not able to become a major transport hub simply because there is no room for the infrastructure required. That is a fact. It cannot be changed unless huge earthworks and demolition of the Point is undertaken. The residents of Northcote Point know this and so does the Minister and NZTA but the media coverage by the cycle lobby has ensured the NRA is pilloried for the greater good. On the whole the general public has no idea of the major problems of hosting SkyPath at Northcote Point under the present design and accommodating the numbers required to make it commercially viable. The public think it is OK as the media constantly refers to them as Nimbies and the residents are making a fuss just because the residents peace and quiet will be removed. If a resident is interviewed the article is usually hostile.
This video was made as evidence for the Mediation Court that had to take place before the Environment Court proceedings. It shows clearly 2,000/3,000 cyclists cycling over the Bridge. However it does not show 2,000 cyclists on the Bridge at the same time as SkyPath proposes as the cyclists had evened out before they got there and of course no pedestrians and two way traffic. This was a simple one way run.
Cyclists take up a lot of room and they go fast. The video also shows which the design animation does not the camber/gradient on the bridge which is flattened by the animation. Although SkyPath allows use of SkyPath's images in public by crediting Reset Urban design I chose in fairness not to use any of the images in public against SkyPath but the one below I shall use and credit below as this is in the public interest.
You can see it is very different and deceptive as it makes the SkyPath look flat. It isn't. SkyPath is a 1.2 k enclosed tunnel just 4.5 m wide( 6.5m in a few places to allow people to stand and look). I am told the speeds a cyclist can reach on the downhill run are 50+ kph! The first child that is hit or even a small pile up of bikes that can block the enclosed tunnel are problems that have to be faced. Saying one can reduce speeds is not an answer because we know with visual evidence that on many flat open bridges with pedestrians in the way cyclists speed. SkyPath is enclosed and that is the big difference. Cyclists are good at ignoring instructions and take risks. It is what cyclists do! If you want a sensible discussion on the safety aspects I am happy to give them to you. This is just one on the Bridge, there are other issues for Northcote Point!
Paul Little takes exception to my voice.
Paul Little did not mention me by name but he did say incorrectly that is was made for the Northcote’s Residents Association. It was not. I do not belong to that association. In fact I removed the video from the site.
The effect of this would be classed racist if I exchanged one or two words for opponents. It is like saying:
These black people aren't a fusty old bunch of dinosaurs!
( These black people are smart not like the usual ones!)
The black people were clever enough to even make a Video on YouTube.
(WOW! These black people who we thought were rich and stupid were clever enough to make a video that is the evidence to prove them right to protest! It was so dangerous to our cause that we are not going to embarrass them by showing it)
It voiced by a narrator with an unacceptable black accent that is so unacceptable even for her own black community!
( People with voices like that are not to be believed)
Paul Little did not mention me by name but the effect is the same. It is me! It could not be anyone else. My name is on the Janette Miller YouTube Channel. The article is implying that because my accent is unacceptable then I must be unacceptable even to my own community and my word not to be trusted. I find this deeply offensive and cruel. By smearing the messenger you reject the message. If this was the 16 century I should be burnt as a witch by now and I am not joking. Making fun of me for raising a serious issue is unacceptable.
I cannot help it if I speak proper! I speak the regular BBC received English. I am considered by many to have one of the best voices on YouTube and I made a living in UK doing voice overs.
Obviously I do not do this in NZ. It is a NZ accent that is wanted and I don't do Kiwi! Many in UK find the NZ accent funny too but would be too polite to say so. I am allowed to speak as I like, after years it is hard to change and it could be considered discriminatory to dismiss the contents of my film just because of my voice. If you attacking my voice, you attack the contents by association.
My cousin who lived in Woodford Green has what is called an Estuary Accent which she hated but her schoolfriend Helen Mirren has the same accent as I do and is still acceptable to The Royal Shakespeare Company today. I should not have to defend my accent.
Paul Little imagines that I must be a middle class, rich unpleasant person who is just interested in herself. Well, appearances are deceptive. Yes I am middle class, I married an Oxford educated GP, my working class accent would not go down to well in Oxford even now. It would be tolerated though. Marrying an Oxford man is quite special, not too many of them so I must be quite something. They have the pick of everyone and only go for the best. Why? Because I am intelligent and nice. I care about people. I care about safety.
Actually my family come from the slums of Manchester and Glasgow. I was brought up by my working class grandfather who was the son of man who made coal wagons for the railways in Manchester, rather like living Coronation St in 1900. My grandfather Henry Thorpe was brilliant, He went to night school, passed civil service exams and eventually went on the manage Wembley Stadium for 40 years. He gave the world the FA Cup and the Olympic Games and he managed crowds. I was brought with the crowds, my grandfather brought me up while my own father was in the War. He taught everyone in Wembley Stadium to respect crowds as he had had two occasions where but for luck there could have been 2 horrific disasters, You can look them up on Google. One was the first FA Cup and the second the Zeppelin of 1929. He had a large framed photo of that incident on the wall of his office to remind everyone to keep safety in mind.
When I bought on Northcote Point in 1975 nobody wanted to live here. Now they do. I can see why people want to live here. It is wonderful so why ruin it by overcrowding. Yes I do have a valuable house but only because I did not pull it down. In 1975 I was told to pull it down in the name of progress. I was right to keep it.
SkyPath should limit numbers or give the cyclists a lane on the Bridge now. It could be done today with a couple of traffic cones!
You might me interested to know my background. Here is my amazing grandmother born in a slum raised to a Lady.
Road beside mainline railway in Manchester where Henry Thorpe and his family lived in a two up two down cottage
The Northcote Resident Association
I do not belong to the Northcote Residents Association but I did allow them to use my video for their Give a Little Appeal. I did give them a donation and I am happy to do so. They deserve a chance to put their case across in a NZ court with real judges not laymen. I have found NZ Justice to be fair and just. NRA does have a genuine case and it should be heard.
The What Bike the Bridge did Right video does not form part of the NRA Environment Court Case at all and will not be presented in evidence. I could not afford to join this appeal so the safety aspects of SkyPath will not be considered there although SkyPath again gives the impression that they will. Safety is considered later but safety will be considered. However the video does show visually that Northcote Point will have problems in managing the crowds that will use it. The video is on YouTube and anyone can use it via a link. Both the NZ Herald and Stuff did this and so can NRA.
Bike the Bridge management obviously thought differently. I learned later that they did not want to be associated with this appeal and felt that even though the video is full of praise for the management of their event, which I think is exemplary, they had it taken down themselves saying they owned the video which of course they don’t. Give a Little would not give me the name but being pressed told me it was Bike the Bridge.
When I went to my YouTube page I found out who it was as Callum McNair owner of Bike the Bridge had left a very offensive comment which I felt I had to remove. I then wrote to him on his FB page asking him to contact me which he has failed to do because he does not check his FB messages. I waited for days for his call.
Instead of getting in touch with me he contacted Amelia Wade of the NZ Herald and she explained the situation and after thinking about it I could see his point and so although it was not necessary for me to do so in the interests of fair play I instructed the NRA to remove the video from that page of the Give a Little site.
I need not have bothered. The media still reported that I had made the video for the NRA. Stuff slightly changed there story but the Herald has not.
Again I have nothing to do with the NRA. I do not belong but my video is being used against them as if I did. It seems that fair play is only allowed on one side.
Again with or without an appeal to the Environment Court the safety management issue of crowds descending on Northcote Point will not go away and will have to be addressed.
Len Brown's vanity Legacy project and the 11,000 submission from all over the world
Big public support for Sky Path says Len Brown.
Len Brown knows that once the Resource Consent is obtained then even if the opposition has serious reasons for objection it is virtually impossible to take an appeal to the Environment Court. Law costs money, that is why there are rich lawyers. It would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and until NZTA gives the go ahead no one knows if it can be built or managed safely.
Because SkyPath won the resource consent it is fully funded for the Environment Court by lawyers paid for by The Auckland City Council via the Ratepayers of Auckland. Only in the Resource Court can ordinary people speak for themselves. Once it goes to a real court expensive lawyers are required.
Those that wish to appeal any appalling judgment must pay a barrister. If they cannot pay, the appalling judgment wins. It is not that the SkyPath is correct it is just the other side hasn’t enough money to pay the court expenses. That is how appalling judgments in the Resource Consent get through. It is all done by which side gets to chose the resource commissioners.
In this case Len Brown said publicly he needs to do everything to ensure SkyPath wins and he has and still does. Len Brown with a majority on the Council got to chose the Independent Commissioners who are paid by the council and he said he needed decision makers who would do what they a required to do. They did!
The judge, in the pre trial last public judgment, said he felt the commissioners had been “hasty” and The Northcote Residents Association should not have to fight a case before it was known if SkyPath could be built.
Again I do support NRA's right to go to court and the lack of their being able to go does not prove they are wrong only that they cannot afford it and Len Brown can!
As for the 11,000 in favour. Well when it came to the submissions to the Resource Court this came down to around 3,500 in favour. It is a lot but not the 11,000 in favour that were used and still are to justify SkyPath. These figures can be obtained off the council web site.
Video evidence to prevent disaster
Lastly is it wrong to show people evidence that they might find upsetting? Even the Table of Major Stampedes above is upsetting. People think stampedes/panics/crushes are unusual and never happen or they happen to others but they do happen. The Hajj had approx 1,600 dead this year not the 2,000 as stated by Paul Little. It happens every few years as the authorities never learn. See above 1420 crushed in 1990!
The official concentration camp film in 1946 was considered too difficult to show even in a court of law because it might upset! The Allies said it had to be shown because it was so horrific that no one would believe it if he/she didn’t see it. It happens all the time, disasters that could have been avoided are not shown because people are upset.
The first video I made which is not publicly available was for the Resource Consent Court as I wanted to show the results that can happen when bridges first open. There were 347 dead and 755 injured, and I am not going to show you the footage. 347 dead sort of trips off the tongue like 2,000 cyclists, I did show the cyclists and it is a lot.
However this week a brave woman had the guts and ability to show the world what happened when the police killed her boyfriend when stopped and asked for his license. I am not going to show you that either. But Google it and look. The video shows graphically the horror that this woman lived through. Video evidence does make a difference.
I showed mine in court where the commissioners are supposed to be adults. Three found it uncomfortable. One wished to have the evidence stopped. I told her to look. They asked no questions, they dismissed the evidence and yet a panic on this project is very possible. Smoke wafting down from a car fire on the Bridge, there was one last year, is very real. Asians are known by research not to panic. They are very calm under stress but all children can with smoke, bikes, children and only 2 exits one maybe a kilometre away and a panic is very likely. I cannot show you this. You will have to imagine it. But is has to be considered and actioned. At the moment it is considered by the public, if not NZTA who do know and will do something when they can, as irrelevant until one child is badly injured then the question will be asked why did someone not foresee this and who is responsible now for this oversight.
Paul Little cannot win it appears even with gangrene!
I was nearly killed by Clostridium Difficile or gangrene of the stomach and had to give up all thought of work and struggle for my life. The drugs given to me were horrific. To make fun of gangrene to those who have suffered from it is despicable but then Paul Little likes to create conflict. Bad luck Paul Little chose gangrene as an example!
So there we are! The Long Read reply to Paul Little but I shall add further blogs on each topic and I might even re voice over the video with my working class accent to see if he prefers that. Very easy for me to do! I was brought up in Wembley!
Sadly this is no laughing matter. SkyPath is deadly serious. It is a dream and sometimes dreams become nightmares. One thing is certain if SkyPath is built it will be safe. I asked NZTA what was the acceptable death toll for the greater good and NZTA quickly said not one and I believe them.
