Women in Urbanism Aotearoa created a special weekend event to bring girls out to play on bikes, in partnership with the Auckland Women’s Centre, Auckland Transport Walking and Cycling, and special guest, Olympic BMX medallist Sarah Walker. Emma McInnes reports on how ‘Pump Tracks are for Girls’ brightened up a rainy weekend and empowered young riders. Right on 10am, children and their bikes began to materialise in Grey Lynn Park, decorating the pump track scene in raincoats and rainboots of vibrant blues, reds, yellows, pinks, adding colour to the dull grey, and bringing life and joy to the track. Plenty just showed up in singlets and tights; the rain was no drama to them, …
Bike Auckland
One of the reasons many of us do what we do for bike advocacy is because we recall the feeling of freedom and power our bikes first gave us, when we were young. And we want today’s children to experience that too. Here’s a guest post from Vivian Chandra and her son about helping free-range kids explore their neighbourhoods, and an unexpected challenge they ran into along the way… It was 1991, I was ten years old and my house was 3.9 km away from my school. I was heading off to Intermediate school, and I felt all grown up. So my parents got me my first ‘adult’ sized bike. It …
If you do ONE thing this month for a bike-friendly city, make it this: support the Waitemata Safe Routes before Friday 14 December. It takes less than 5 minutes, is absolutely free, and you’ll be giving the gift of safe streets – to the hundreds of kids who live and bike along these routes, to everyone else in the neighbourhood, and to all of Auckland. This is a HUGE turning point for Auckland – but victory is not yet guaranteed. Your support is vital. To make sure the project actually happens. There’s still loud opposition out there – so make your voice heard! So it’s the best it can be. …
Around the world, a bike bus (or ‘cycle train’) is an increasingly common phenomenon. As seen in Ireland and Italy, it’s basically a ‘walking school bus’ on wheels: a way for young children to ride to school safely while developing future independence. And now, the bike train is pulling into Auckland. Local parent Matt Fordham and Pt Chevalier School’s Sustainability Champion Keren Rego were motivated to start the Pt Chev Cycle Train by a sense of frustration that little kids want to bike to school but the streets aren’t safe enough – and a sense of optimism that there would be strong demand. Below, Matt explains how the initiative has become an express …
College Hill is a key route for people on bikes – but a dangerous one, with no prospect of improvement any time soon. Luckily, there are two quick consultations where we can call for change. Re-read our call for action on the first, and read on for the second… Here’s AT’s proposal for a new crossing and slow speed zone on College Hill Feedback closes Thursday 14 June Use the hot pink button to add your voice! Here’s what we say We like the proposal, but it needs changes Please make the crossing more visible, with flashing surface lights or similar. Please remove the side islands – and please add protected bike lanes! Make the …
Running alongside SH16, the Northwestern Cycleway is not only the key bike path from the western suburbs into the CBD, it’s also a crucial local connection to and between Kingsland, Eden Terrace, and Arch Hill. And it’s booming – daily bike traffic has tripled in less than five years, with a daily average of close to 1000 trips registered by the automatic bike counter near Bond St (and 1500 on the last Thursday in February!). It’s a huge success story – with a major pinch point: the section between St Lukes Rd and Newton Rd. Built in the early 2000s as a shared path for bikes and pedestrians, the width …
Kids and bikes: one of the most natural combinations in the world, and also one of the most eagerly searched topics at Bike Auckland. Our lists of great places to ride with children have always been popular, especially every time the holidays roll around! Now we’ve taken a step up, with a new searchable database of great rides that you can filter by location, ability level, and other features. We’re delighted to launch this fabulous resource, brought to you by hours of behind-the-scenes work by a dedicated volunteer, Tracey-Lee Pettifer, and our wonderful pro-bono technical and design team at Sandfield. Check out Bike Auckland’s brand new Rides page – featuring, for starters, ten …
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