Streets Ahead Palmerston North supports PNCC's vision for the future of our city - a safe, connected city, easy to move about on all modes of transport – including on foot, on a bike, on a bus, on a mobility scooter or on a wheelchair.

Such urban design encourages movement that is good for our physical and psychological health, creates community through interactions with other walkers and cyclists, and encourages resilience and independence in children. It also helps reduce the contribution of vehicle emissions to climate change. We want our city to be like this.

The path to this vision is through encouraging change in transport mode of our residents, and providing an environment where this change is attractive, and safe, for all age groups. Our PNCC Urban Cycle Master Plan, and Roads and Streets Framework, set out how Palmerston North plans to achieve this change. The upgrade to Featherston Street is a top priority in this urban environment change, as it is recognized to have high pedestrian, cycle and vehicle use, high school related traffic, and to have a high injury rate.

Change is hard, and we can be fearful of how change may affect our lives. For the Featherston Street project, this may be felt particularly by people who live or work on Featherston Street.

However, to achieve our vision of a safe, connected city, PNCC and we the residents need the Featherston Street changes to be completed. It helps fulfil many of the points listed under the Goals 1, 3 and 4 listed in the Long Term Plan. Featherston Street is a critical component of PNCC’s Urban Cycle Plan – “connected” is the key here.

Through signing this petition we ask PNCC to complete the Featherston Street Upgrade. We ask PNCC to complete the whole Featherston Street project, from Botanical Road to Vogel Street, and in doing so encourage PNCC to continue the completion of our city’s Urban Cycle Master Plan.

Please don't 'chip in'. We are not asking for money, and any money that is 'chipped in' goes to change.org and not to us.