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Speaker 1: This next story is a doozy. Wellington City Council ripped

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Speaker 1: out car parks for cycle ways near the botanical gardens

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Speaker 1: you'll know the area in near Thornton. They are now going

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Speaker 1: to look at reinstating the car parks. Four hundred and

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Speaker 1: fifty car parks were removed and counselors say they fielded

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Speaker 1: complaints from residents unable to find parks to visit the gardens.

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Speaker 1: Who would have thought. Council also had no idea how

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Speaker 1: many people use the cycle way after they stopped collecting data.

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Speaker 1: Diane Calvert is the Wellington City councilor with us this afternoon.

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Speaker 1: Hi Diane, Hi Ryan. What a mess?

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Speaker 2: Well, yes it is, but just because it's a mess

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Speaker 2: doesn't mean to say we shouldn't try and fix it.

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Speaker 2: And that's what we're That's what we're trying to do,

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Speaker 2: is say, look, the council got it wrong and we

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Speaker 2: really just need It's not a total four hundred and

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Speaker 2: fifty car parks for about a couple of hundred meters,

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Speaker 2: but nevertheless we should try and fix well, you know,

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Speaker 2: an error in the decision making.

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Speaker 1: Did you vote for this.

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Speaker 2: Originally? No, because I had listened to a lot of

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Speaker 2: feedback that we received about what has actually occurred, and

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Speaker 2: so I couldn't sort of approve that at the time.

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Speaker 2: But I have been listening to residents and come back,

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Speaker 2: and I think now even more counselors on the committee

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Speaker 2: have said, yes, there is a problem here and we

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Speaker 2: need to look at what other options there are.

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Speaker 1: So initially you said keep the car parks and know

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Speaker 1: to the cycle ways.

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Speaker 2: Well, no to that part of the cycle way, which

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Speaker 2: is what we wish to have a look at if

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Speaker 2: we've got another option, right, So I didn't. I didn't

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Speaker 2: approve it on that basis because I could see what

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Speaker 2: would happen, which is exactly what had happened.

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Speaker 1: And who was telling you that that this would happen,

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Speaker 1: Because it's pretty It's pretty obvious, isn't it that you

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Speaker 1: need places to park?

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Speaker 2: Oh? Absolutely, especially when they're right outside our botanic gardens,

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Speaker 2: and we want to make sure that everyone can have

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Speaker 2: access to them, not just the set and healthy. I know,

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Speaker 2: we heard from local residents, we heard from businesses, we

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Speaker 2: heard from users of the park, and we heard people

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Speaker 2: traveling past to and from, so we heard from a lot.

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Speaker 2: We also heard from you know, from a number who

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Speaker 2: said that we want, we want, you know, a protected

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Speaker 2: cycle away. But I think we have to find balance.

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Speaker 1: Well, but you guys have Wellington hasn't found the balance.

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Speaker 1: I've got My family lives in Wellington. I spent a

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Speaker 1: lot of time there over summer. It's you've cocked it up,

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Speaker 1: You've really cocked it up.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think some have cocked it up. I'm one

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Speaker 2: of the ones who've been trying to unravel it and

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Speaker 2: actually get some progress going forward that actually suits most Wellingtonians.

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Speaker 1: Who's the cycle mafia down there, because they must be

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Speaker 1: pretty bloody good.

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Speaker 2: Well, I think the I think the the issue we've

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Speaker 2: had is we've had a council that is originally very

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Speaker 2: keen on them and they've taken their mandate for getting elected,

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Speaker 2: including the mayor, that this is what the people want.

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Speaker 2: But as you've seen is the mayor has just come

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Speaker 2: up with a negative forty two percent ratings let approval rating.

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Speaker 2: That tells you hehr agenda is not gelling with Wellingtonian's.

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Speaker 1: Soon it doesn't sound like it. Diane, bring back the

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Speaker 1: car parks. Good luck with that, Diane Calverts or Wellington

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Speaker 1: City councilor.

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Speaker 2: For more from Hither duplessy Allen Drive. Listen live to

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Speaker 2: news talks.

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Speaker 1: It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow the podcast

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