From later in this year (somewhere around early / late winter) anyone cycling on the Northwestern Cycleway through Te Atatu Interchange should try the following test at least once – puff up the steep hill, push the signal button, cross the traffic signals in several steps (seeing lots of cars pass first, in all likelihood), while counting the time until you’re through all of them and can coast back down the other side.
Then ride it again, straight through the new underpass, avoiding both traffic and the crest of the hill at the same time, counting the time. Subtract B from A. This is the kind of time and effort you are now saving every time you go through here in the future. Whether you use that gain to then race extra-hard across the causeway to create your new personal best, or just relax and enjoy getting somewhere with a lot less sweat is your choice.
North-south cyclists won’t get quite the same signal-less, car-free route, we’re afraid, but depending on which parts of Te Atatu South and Peninsula you’re travelling between, you might still find the new underpass useful occasionally to shortcut one of your trips. And NZTA are also upgrading the smaller underpass onto Titoki Street, for those riding to the southern part of the peninsula.
And because NZTA has really upped their game in their cycleway quality, it won’t just be boring concrete-faced tunnels. Iwi artists are being engaged to turn the approaches and walls of the various underpasses into artworks. The images shown here are just concepts – the actual designs are currently being developed, and NZTA will share them eventually.
Asked for by CAA during the Board of Inquiry. Give a “maybe” by the Board. Made possible by NZTA. Soon to be built by Fulton Hogan.
