Island Bay residents at a public meeting to explain the final four options for fixing the Island Bay cycleway.

Hundreds of Island Bay residents gathered at a public meeting on Monday night to hear discussion of the process for rebuilding the southern Wellington suburb's controversial cycleway.

The heckling began early, as Wellington city councillor Diane Calvert addressed about 250 people packed into the Wellington South Baptist Church on The Parade.

"This is bollocks, you can't even hear," one attendee yelled.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Island Bay Residents' Association chairwoman Vicki Greco proposed a fifth, unsanctioned, option - Option E - which would effectively see the cycleway and The Parade returned to its previous layout.

The crowd broke into jeers when Calvert, who is the council's community planning and engagement portfolio leader, talked about the process being open and transparent.

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Wellington residents are being asked to give their feedback on four final design options for the cycleway, which were unveiled last week. The two-week consultation period began on Monday.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF About 250 people packed the Wellington South Baptist Church in Island Bay on Monday night, to hear Wellington city councillors and officers outline the process for rebuilding the cycleway.

​Chief city planner David Chick was also greeted with derision at the meeting, especially when he talked about the importance of safety in the implementation process.

He was again shouted down when attempting to justify the costs of the project at between $50 and $75 per square metre.

The Island Bay route is just the first of four planned sections of a cycleway from the south coast to the central city. The original budget for the entire route was $6 million, but the 1.7-kilometre Island Bay section alone could end up costing as much as $7m.

MONIQUE FORD /STUFF Residents are upset that the four options being put out for public feedback will remove car parks from the suburb.

The proposals out for consultation include returning The Parade to its original layout with some enhancements, at a cost of $4.1m; keeping the existing layout with some enhancements, for $5.2m; changing to a one-way separated kerbside cycleway above road level, for $6m; or installing the new road-level cycleway and reverting to angle parking, for $6.2m.

However, Island Bay Residents' Association president Vicki Greco got the biggest cheer of the night when she urged the meeting to endorse a fifth option, known as Option E.

It calls for a return to the pre-cycleway design, with the cycleway put back to the roadside of parked cars, restoring bus stops and removing speed bumps. The residents' association estimates it would cost only about $750,000.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF The heckling began early, when city councillor Diane Calvert talked about the process being open and transparent.

Greco called the four sanctioned options an insult, and warned the removal of 57 car parks could economically ruin the suburb.

She said residents had been put in an untenable position by arrogant council officers.

"I wanted to stand here and give you good news that this terrible saga is over, but I'm greatly disappointed it's not," she said.

Although most speakers were opposed to the current cycleway a handful of pro-cycleway voices were heard - the general tenor being that those at the public meeting represented only a sub-sector of the suburb's residents and their views.

Wellington Deputy Mayor Paul Eagle told the meeting the local voice was the most important.

The rebooted cycleway, in whatever form it finally takes, will begin being rebuilt by May 2018.

PROVISIONAL TIMELINE

* September 14: city strategy committee receives consultation feedback and makes decision on preferred option

* October: detailed 2D designs developed

* Mid-November to mid-December: consultation on road changes

* February 2018: WCC committee meetings and processes

* March-April 2018: construction and engineering plans developed, safety audit conducted

* May 2018: procurement

* Late May: construction begins

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