Letter: Lack of Cycling Infrastructure is a Matter of Life and Death—Urgent Action is Needed

In the wake of yet another “cycling accident” in Hamilton City, we wrote to Hamilton City Councillors, the Minister for Transport, and the Members of Parliament for Hamilton East and West to request urgent action.

Our letter covered the main following points:

• The judge in the case of the truck driver who killed Jessica Moser in June 2022 determined that the lack of dedicated cycling infrastructure on this road was a significant factor in her death.
• Investing in cycling infrastructure in Hamilton is not a “nice to have” but a matter of life and death.
• People will continue to be injured and killed if nothing changes.

We requested to know from each group, as a matter of urgency, what they will do to improve
safety for people riding bikes in Hamilton to prevent further injuries and deaths.

We also wrote to the New Zealand Transport Agency Chief Executive Brent Alderton to request that immediate action be taken to address the danger presented by trucks and large vehicles on our road.

We heard back from the Minister and half of our Hamilton Councillors: Louise Hutt, Deputy Mayor Angela O’Leary, Maxine van Oosten, Sarah Thomson, Anna Casey-Cox, Maria Huata, Moko Tauariki, and Mayor Paula Southgate. The Councillors who responded to us expressed sympathy for this situation and outlined the funding situation for the next two years for improving cycling infrastructure. In particular, Councillor van Oosten requested information on trucks and the restrictions on their movements in the city, recognising that trucks have a disproportionate involvement in crashes in our city. We expect to hear more information in this space in due course.

In particular, we learned through our correspondence with Councillor Louise Hutt that the traffic bylaws for Hamilton City currently prohibit the driving of heavy vehicles on local, collector, or residential streets unless business is to be had (e.g., deliveries) specifically to addresses on those roads. Each instance of unlawful use of these roads can be met with a fine of up to $1000.

We also heard back from the Minister for Transport. Despite his Government slashing and reversing funding for road safety initiatives, Minister Bishop expressed continued “commitment” to improving road safety. He also sent us a link to the online Road Code to peruse guidance for “heavy vehicle drivers and cyclists”. Our view is that this response is lacking in real action.

The New Zealand Transport Agency wrote back to us. They told us: “[our] role is to operationalise the current legislation and does not have the authority to create new rules or regulations”. This is a really frustrating response in light of the action taken by the Transport Authority to regulate bike racks on buses earlier in the year.

We heard nothing from either the Hamilton East MP Ryan Hamilton or the Hamilton West MP Hon Tama Potaka.

You can find the letters and responses below. You can also read the response from the Minister for Transport.