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My daughter starts intermediate in the next few days. She & I have really enjoyed #cycling to & from school in #IslandBay over the last year. She has done the Pedal Ready courses & is really good on the #bike. I am heartbroken that she will not be able to cycle to & from SWIS.
Even b4 I became a father I had become involved in advocacy for safer, more comfortable streets for people of all ages & abilities to engage in #activeMobility here in #Wellington. I could see this day coming so I got involved & did what I could to change things for the better.
In that time I have seen successive #cycling-friendly councils elected. ' #cycling Mayors'. Cycling progressive councillors, and numerous transport projects undertaken with varying levels of success. There have been some very encouraging developments in that time...
Crawford Rd is great. I truly love the @IBCycleWay, & really love the agreed improvements, even if there remain some unfortunate compromises to local, #carCulture opposition.
https://www.transportprojects.org.nz/current/the-parade/whats-changing/
https://www.transportprojects.org.nz/current/the-parade/whats-changing/
I am in awe of the impressive design & engineering effort around Pt. Jerningham so far, & how great it will be when that connects well through all of Evans Bay. That whole stretch, I anticipate, will be a truly world-class #bike riding experience. https://isthmus.co.nz/journal/
And Old Hutt Road has seen improvements over the last few years. There is much more space, a generally better surface for riding and various goodies (& baddies) along the way.
https://www.transportprojects.org.nz/current/hutt-road/
https://www.transportprojects.org.nz/current/hutt-road/
They say u measure what u care about, & I take heart that @WgtnCC are actually counting trips by people riding #bikes. & the data is showing encouraging trends. Many people will chose to ride if they're afforded space & infrastructure that enables them to.
https://www.transportprojects.org.nz/cycle-data/
https://www.transportprojects.org.nz/cycle-data/
But after 12 years of advocacy, & much effort by many people across all of #Wellington & from many different backgrounds, & despite many good intentions, this city has let my daughter down by effectively ceasing her ability to engage in her own mobility, under her own steam. 
It's absolutely not bc I don't have confidence in her ability. & I like to think the majority of people #driving ARE responsible & well-meaning. But my family can't feel comfortable with her moving through heavy flows of dangerous polluting heavy private motorised vehicles.
I resent anyone who might perceive my parental anxiety as being overprotective -or 'helicopter'. I want my children to engage widely with our urban environment with their own agency. Being blasé about our dangerous mobility environment is not a sign of progressive parenting imo.
If my family, aware of these barriers, face such injustices & inability to maintain #activeTransport habits; how many others face this? How many others r forced into #carDependency at an early age - only to reflect on it 20yrs later that they stopped riding in their early teens?
Things ARE changing. We are improving. But this change needs a hurry on. It's not fast enough. It still does not have strong enough leadership to push past the many structural barriers we have embedded in society to practically ensure #carDependency. Let's change this.
Let's unite against #carDependency. https://www.notion.so/alexmdyer/Let-s-unite-against-car-dependency-6f0a820a864247ad81b4d506d0c7c4eb
