Mike van der Boom,
mayoral candidate
MAYORAL hopeful Mike van der Boom is using a light-hearted bicycle-versus-car race to highlight traffic congestion impacting the day-to-day lives of many Whakatane residents.
On Monday morning Mr van der Boom will take on 1XX’s Rebecca Blackwell, who will drive the radio station’s distinctive yellow Mustang while he pedals his 25-year old racing bike.
They will both depart The Hub together at 8.40am, bound for The Bean cafe on The Strand.
“I expect to win the race by a country mile and have enough time to smell the roses and finish a cup of tea before Rebecca turns up,” Mr van der Boom said.
He acknowledges that the bridge traffic on the town’s western side is not among the most serious issues facing Whakatane District Council.
“However, it does create a lot of frustration and wastes productive time,” he said.
“I want to live in a town where getting from point to point doesn’t mean sitting in a car for 20 minutes.
“We don’t want to end up like Tauranga or Auckland and we do want our children and grandchildren to feel safe walking and biking to school.”
Mr van der Boom said the problems would only become worse if the proposed developments on the western side of the bridge went ahead.
“The time to act on congestion is before it becomes a real issue. If there is a business case for a second bridge, let’s get it in the long-term plan.
“In the meantime the council should be taking a leading role in mitigating congestion, and I don’t believe the solution needs to burden ratepayers greatly. Instead, let’s look inside our community for some innovative solutions.”
As an advocate for active sustainable transport, he would like to see more people walking, biking and scootering to their destinations – and he adds this will go some way to alleviating the problems.
However, he believes other measures are also required and should be planned for now.
He said issues contributing to the problem included school gate drop-offs and pick-ups, itself caused by parents’ reluctance to let children walk and cycle to school; the decline in school rolls in Kawerau and Edgecumbe, resulting in higher traffic in Whakatane; unsafe routes for cycling to schools (roundabouts are formidable for children under 12); the lifestyle block developments on the Rangitaiki plains; and a societal trend toward more car use.
Mike van der Boom’s potential solutions:
- Staggered school starts-finishes
- Safe cycle routes in critical locations
- A council-led behaviour change plan to encourage active transport
- Working with Kawerau College and Edgecumbe to change perceptions and increase school rolls
- Re-vitalising Edgecumbe – encouraging residential and light industry development in outlying centres
- Park and ride facilities at or near The Hub
- Town bikes for hire at low cost dotted in key locations
- Designated drop-off zones outside school