Christchurch mayoral candidate Sara Templeton was the only councillor to vote in favour of keeping a proposed speed bump on a section of Harewood Road.

Every other councillor supported Victoria Henstock’s amendment to remove it from the council plan, which is part of a wider project to improve safety on Harewood near Mitre 10.

As part of the plan, the council will install a signalised pedestrian and cycling crossing. On Wednesday’s council meeting Templeton said accessibility was the key issue.

“This is a key way that people from that area get to not just the Mitre 10 with the Columbus Café, but through to the mall as well. There’s a really large residential population on the other side of Harewood Road. A lot of them walk around, and accessibility is really crucial.

“I was talking to a group from the Disabled People’s Assembly and other groups the other day. They really struggle with the number of cut downs on our footpaths and keeping things at level, at grade, for them to be able to cross the road safely is really, really important to them.

“So while I won’t be voting to remove this raised platform, as it allows those in our population who have trouble with accessibility and disabilities easier access to the other things that we all enjoy.”

Papanui Councillor Victoria Henstock told chrislynchmedia.com “This is yet another example of Sara not listening to Christchurch residents.

“I have previously raised concerns about her ability to consider views beyond her own.  This is a key skill needed by the mayor who must be able to work with others and find common ground on issues.”

At yesterday’s meeting, Halswell Councillor Andrei Moore argued the money would be better spent in areas with no accessibility at all.

“There’s a signalised crossing going in, and it will be accessible. The average speeds here are already low, much lower than most of our streets.

“I really don’t agree that we need to keep doing this kind of thing where we don’t need to.

“We’re already putting in a signalised crossing. It’s already accessible. There’s only so much money and so many resources to go around, and they need to go to where they’re most desperately needed.”

Deputy Mayor Pauline Cotter, who is also campaigning to keep her Innes seat, backed removing the speed bump, but suggested the decision could be revisited in future.

“Considering that the speed is quite low in this area, and there are signals, I’d be happy to support not installing the speed humps at this stage. We don’t need blanket humps all over the city, but they are very good in some places.

“And perhaps look at it as a bit of a trial, and ask staff to come back in six months or so and let us know. If you think that they need to be installed, then [that] would be [a] good idea, because they are for safety. There will be a lot of children crossing here. It is a crossing to Mitre 10. It’s not just for the cycleway.

“I think that’s the foremost important thing of why we put these in. It’s not to deliberately annoy motorists, [it’s] to prevent injuries and save lives potentially. But on this occasion, I’m happy to support the amendment.”

Councillor Aaron Keown later commented on Facebook: “Today we avoided getting a speed hump outside Mitre 10 on Harewood Rd when Cr Henstock moved a motion to have it removed from the design.

“What was telling is those who usually vote for speed humps didn’t (election time) and only Sara Templeton was left voting for it.”