CHRIS SKELTON/Things
Councilor Sam MacDonald had a graphic designer create a post showing councilors voting on the bike path. “As a municipality, we don’t communicate well enough, so we took it into our own hands.”
Christchurch city leaders are lurking political singers on Facebook and Twitter after deciding to go ahead with a controversial bike path.
The politics come as the city heads for the October municipal elections, when Christchurch residents will decide who will sit on the council for the next three years.
On Thursday, city councilors voted 11 to 6 to continue the 4.5km Wheels to Wings bike trail on Harewood Rdwhich will cost $22.6 million.
This bike path has been one of the most controversial. Public submissions showed that 565 entrants were against the bike path and 411 for it. It will remove 300 parking garages and transform Harewood Rd from four lanes to two.
READ MORE:
* Controversial ‘overdeveloped and overpriced’ $22 million bike path to continue
* Councilors want to remove ‘misleading’ social media post on stadium
* Councilors outraged discussion about millions of funding for bicycle paths will take place privately
* Alderman’s idea for lowering petrol prices labeled as ‘misinformation’ by colleagues
Council employees say it will reduce CO2 emissions.
The six councilors who voted against the bike path were Aaron Keown, James Gough, Sam MacDonald, the Mayor of Hope Phil Mauger, Catherine Chu and Yani Johanson.
ALDEN WILLIAMS/Things
Councilor Melanie Coker reposted the image and said she was delighted to vote for safety, cycling and climate action.
While councilors traded barbs on the bike path during their meeting, it didn’t stop there.
Nationally minded councilor Sam MacDonald had a graphic designer create an image stating that the council had approved the construction of the “controversial” bike path and showing councilors voting.
He posted it on Facebook, saying the council was “addicted to bike lanes”. Councilors James Gough and Aaron Keown, along with Papanui council candidate Victoria Henstock, also posted the image to Facebook.
Councilor Melanie Coker thanked her colleagues for sharing the image before sharing it herself, saying she was delighted to vote for “safety, cycling and climate action”.
Tongue-in-cheek comments followed.
Councilor Jake McLellan commented, “It’s great that the local Nats are producing these graphics for us to use for free.”
Councilor Celeste Donovan said councilors “mixed up their words” over the image and meant to say the council “voted for climate action”.
“An easy mistake to make,” she wrote.
Capitalizing on a similar idea, Papanui councilor Mike Davidson reposted MacDonald’s image on Twitter with “Council Agrees to Climate Action” written over the original image text.
Heathcote councilor Sara Templeton and Celeste Donovan both retweeted Davidson’s version. “I couldn’t have said it better,” Templeton said.
These exchanges come just weeks after a similar post by Gough, MacDonald, Keown and Mauger sparked controversy after being labeled as misleading.
Templeton said she didn’t think Thursday’s bike post was misleading.
STACY SQUIRES/STUFF
Donna Thomsen, owner of Copenhagen Bakery, is angry about the construction of a new bike path on Harewood Rd, which will result in the loss of street parking for her business. (First published in January 2021)
She said she’s had a few toxic comments since it went up, but “not many” — adding that they were offset by the support she received.
Templeton said she wanted councilors’ voting records to be more transparent – and wanted an electronic system installed next term so it could be easily recorded on the council’s website.
MacDonald said he posted the image because it was a hot topic and the public had a right to know the voting data.
“I just think it’s very informative that people can see what’s happening. As a municipality, we don’t communicate well enough, so we took it into our own hands.”
Davidson said he had no problem with the mail.
“The voting record, they’re trying to make it as an anti-thing, but a lot of us actually see that as a good thing because we’re trying to support a sustainable city.”
All of this comes in the run-up to the city’s highly anticipated local elections.
Mauger is contesting mayor and appears to have the support of several like-minded independent council candidates. They are pitched against the left-wing People’s Choice/Labour machine and candidates with green values.
Former Canterbury District Health Board boss David Meates is also running for mayor Mark Chirnside, Carl Bromley and The Wizard.