Our apartment building had a problem: abandoned bikes. Deep in the basement carpark there were loads of them, all flat tyres and thickly layered dust. The miserable things, long since forgotten by their owners, clogged up the bike racks and spilled into the access way. They had to go. But where? When we humans have nothing left to offer we retire or become an ACT Party MP. Bikes, well, it’s less obvious. The solution for a number of our unwanted bikes, the ones that needed only some air in their tyres, was adoption. They got new owners. Four more required more attention. For them, the future was Loop Groop. Loop …
Bike Auckland
Anyone who travels along Meola Road knows to beware Saturdays in soccer season. That’s because every weekend, the busy and popular Seddon Fields fill up with kids and parents who’ve come from far and wide – as well as from quite nearby. And, because almost everyone arrives by car, the road fills up with parked cars, overflowing from the available parking spaces onto muddy berms and even on the footpath, and circulating like sharks looking for that one perfect spot. Hence Bike to Football, a local initiative aimed at calming the traffic and organised by the dads behind the Point Chev School Bike Train, Matt Fordham and Nic Rowan. Inspired by the …
Mt Albert isn’t exactly known as a cyclist’s paradise, but it has some good rides if you know where to look. In this guest article, local rider Helen King shares the secrets to cycling in Mt Albert. (This piece originally appeared on The Spinoff, and is republished here with permission). Being a bike enthusiast in Mt Albert can feel like being a Labour voter in Epsom: you know you’re in the minority; that the place isn’t really designed for you. To survive, you learn to avoid the majority of the population, navigating backroads and avoiding busy arterial routes. A recent $6.5 million village upgrade was meant to help the situation by adding …
We partner with bike shops and other merchants to give Bike Auckland members discounts and other benefits. Meet the people backing bike advocacy in your city – this time, a Silverdale bike shop with special appeal to gravel riders… GMC CYCLING What is GMC Cycling? GMC stands for Gordon McCauley, the chap you’ll most likely see behind the counter at GMC Cycling. His shop, in the old Silverdale village, has a gravel and road focus, and it’s intended to be the opposite of a department store. Bikes are personal; Gordon and mechanic Dan like to get to know customers by name. It’s the kind of place that will offer you …
Auckland Transport has recently opened the door to discussing ‘tactical’ upgrades – quick and affordable fixes to instantly improve road safety. Which is good, because we have some ideas! For example, you’ll have noticed that as double-decker buses move around the city, shop verandahs and trees have been protected using simple hit-sticks and bumpers. Call us crazy, but we happen to think people on bikes are just as deserving of quick-fix safety measures as trees and verandahs. Of course, raised and/or fully separated bikeways remain the Holy Grail: protected and connected bike lanes save lives – not just for people on bikes – and are a key part of any respectable …
Work has begun at last on the Western Springs shared path improvements across the motorway on and off-ramps, and past the petrol station and the famous Pohutukawa Six opposite MOTAT. This project was consulted on over a year ago, has strong support from the Waitemata Local Board, and was originally set to be delivered ‘in the third quarter of 2018’. So it’s a relief to see it finally under way, as it will bring much-needed safety to a route well-travelled by school children. One bump in the road Auckland Transport’s design included raised crossings to improve safety for people walking and biking across the motorway slip lanes, as well as …
May was a month that brought one big story, a whole lot of handy little local links, and some twiddling of thumbs as we wait for solid updates on key projects to make biking better around the city. Read on to find out which projects have moved ahead, which are about to leap back to life, and which we’re still giving a very hard stare… MAKING PROGRESS… Skypath 2.0 The big story of May was the NZ Transport Agency’s announcement of its preferred design for the Auckland Harbour Bridge shared path. This fulfils a promise by the government to take on and fund the project, giving certainty at last. …
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