‘I stood there with my mouth open like an ape’
Indeed you would. A senior council planner from the Nelson City council is being ‘dealt with internally‘, after he or she chose to cycle to a building site to inspect a resource consent application rather than drive. Apparently cycling was ‘not appropriate’.
Interestingly the Nelson Mail article reports that the time wasting journey was probably about 12 minutes as a fast bike ride but the cyclist in question probably went slower than that. If Nelsonians really think 12 minutes (or slightly more) is a long travel journey and waste of time they might want to keep very quiet before they have too many Aucklanders, Wellingtonians and Cantabrians racing to join them in their hamlet.
Photo Credit: TravelJunkieOz
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July 3rd, 2008 at 11:07 am
Amusing, however this bit seems to be the basis for the complaint:
“Travel time wasn’t a big component of site inspection fees and the applicant’s bill would be checked to ensure they didn’t foot any financial penalty, he said.”
If travel time is to be included in the final bill, then the customer has a point.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:17 am
Just not cool to arrive in those circles on a bike. Besides, hair would be a mess. In addition (and once more), would p*ss them off to be reminded of the new world order/reality.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:39 am
12 minutes equals “It would have taken a while to get out here.” ? Nanette Thompson needs to get a hobby.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:19 pm
No, Bryan, 12 minutes equals “flat out on a racing bike”. The council employee would easily have wasted half an hour of ratepayer funded time.
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
However you also need to take into account the time it would have taken the employee to get there and back by car, including the time taken to get from desk to car (or bike) and back.
Also add the car running costs into the mix.
I think it is a bit questionable to assume that a council employee who choses to ride a bike to an inspection instead of taking an available car is probably not a fast cyclist.
Trevor.
July 4th, 2008 at 1:54 am
Trevor, I think Frog has confused everybody a bit by referring to “a fast bike ride” when the actual phrase Mrs Thompson used was “flat out on a racing bike”.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:28 am
I commend the planner for practicing sustainability in action and setting an example to her subordinates. It is good to see some real leadership from our leaders for a change.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:17 am
“The council employee would easily have wasted half an hour of ratepayer funded time.”
If he cycled during his tea break that cuts it down a bit, and if you deduct the time it would take by car, including all the mucking around with keys, parking etc. that you don’t get with a bike.
Maybe ten minutes extra to go by bike?
Council Employee Wastes Ten Minutes of Ratepayer Funded Time!!
There’s the headline of the week…
July 4th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
From a cyclists’ perspective, the planner would not only save fuel and car wear and tear, but also get a good workout which most people stuck behind office desks really need!
I spend a lot of time at a computer and also cycle for transport, and I’m well aware that cycling blows the cobwebs away. Thus, cycling rather than driving probably improved the planner’s mental clarity and hence efficiency!
I’m astonished at the fact that the council decided that cycling was somehow not appropriate, just because it’s not “normally” done.
Things are going to have to change!
July 4th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
But, Sam, imagine if they all did it, all the the time
Millions of productive civil servant hours wasted each day 
July 4th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Chances are it took a few minutes more.. neither 30 nor 12 but 20. Time spent getting the car parked or getting the bike gear off would be a wash. Chances are excellent that the health of the worker is improved by the cycling (long term health care costs averted). Chances are that the long term cost to the society of taking the bike instead of the car are firmly to the profit side of the ledger and chances are that the Nelson City Council is has the larger fundamental problem (3 meanings, all are intended, especially the insulting ones).
respectfully
BJ
July 4th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
I wrote to the Mayor of Nelson commending the employee. If everyone in support does the same thing, the council will probably not take it any further.
August 7th, 2008 at 9:18 am
To shed some light on this event we are 8ks out of Nelson,on a 100km/hr road, and recently received the a/c for this simple inspection and report being charged 18.8 hours at $97 per hour for the “cycling” planner and the total account was $1437.50
We intend disputing the account.
August 9th, 2008 at 10:04 am
“Oopps”made a mistake,I overlooked that we paid a deposit of $600.00 months earlier,making a total a/c over $2000.00.As an aside rates in Nelson have increased around 17%.