Domestic wheelie rubbish and recycling bins block cyclists from using their dedicated cycle lane on Colombo St on the north side of Bealey Ave on Fridays.

Every Friday, Christchurch cyclists on their morning commute ride a gauntlet of wheelie bins on Colombo St.

A new cycleway north of Bealey Ave means residents can no longer leave their bins on the roadside for collection.

Bins were left willy-nilly over the cycle lane on Friday morning.

STACY SQUIRES/STUFF This cyclist chose the road over the wheelie bin guantlet

When the rubbish truck came, a rubbish collector placed the bins in straight lines – some on the side of the cycleway and some on the concrete island separating it from the road.

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Residents say Christchurch City Council did not tell them where to leave their bins, so they put them in the cycleway.

Resident Ute Jakobi said the cycleway was "rubbish".

She said she did not put her bin in the middle of the cycleway, but sometimes the rubbish truck left them disorderly.

"The council didn't tell us where to put them, on the smaller [island] or on the side where we always used to have to put them? You know, we have no idea."

Jakobi said neighbours she spoke to were unhappy with the cycleway, which took up space that was once car parks.

She said she had seen cyclists riding the wrong way on the cyleways.

"And sometimes you see them still on the road."

Jakobi said driving was difficult on the road because there was no way to pass rubbish trucks and buses when they stopped.

"It's a hazard and a hassle."

Another resident, Kavya Ravy, said she put her bin on the concrete island, but did not know if that was the correct thing to do.

"We've not received any instructions regarding the bin."

She said the truck often moved the bin further down the road and she had to go find it after it was emptied.

Ravy said few cyclists used the cycleway and it was a "waste of time".

Her main complaint was about the lack of parking spaces, forcing visitors to park far away.

"That's a big issue for us."

Council acting head of transport Lynette Ellis said bins would be placed on the berm in future and the collection truck would "straddle" the cycle lane to collect them.

The bins would then be placed back on the berm after being emptied, staying clear of the cycleway.

"The streets where this is planned may be collected early in the pickup runs which start at 6am, limiting the impact the rubbish collection has on the flow of cyclists."

Each type of cycleway being built around the city would have a specific location for wheelie bins to go, but "bin location templates" were still being finalised, she said.

"Leaflets will be hand-delivered to the residents with drawings showing where the bins are to be placed for each property."

The locations would be "non-obstructive" and allow cyclists to still travel along the road.

"Council will continue to monitor the bins and will send reminder leaflets to residents if bins are being incorrectly placed," Ellis said.

"We are not anticipating needing to make significant change to the design of the future cycleways to accommodate the bins."

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