Tamaki Drive’s famous cycleway turns 41 today. Despite showing its age a bit, it’s our jewel in the crown, and part of Auckland’s busiest bike route. To celebrate its birthday, we’d like to share some wonderful never-before-seen photos of opening day that recently came our way. The photos arrived in an email to Skypath champion Bevan Woodward from David Lewis, who signed himself “Birkenhead Resident and Passionate Skypath Believer”. As you’ll discover below, David has a very special connection to those early Auckland bike visionaries, who not only believed in miracles but managed to accomplish one. David’s words were so resonant we’ve included his message in full, along with the magical photos of the early believers. Do you recognize anyone? We’d love to …
Bike Auckland
On Thursday 22 August, Transport Minister Phil Twyford and Acting Associate Transport Minister James Shaw confirmed that the government will fund and deliver SkyPath, the walking-biking crossing over the Auckland Harbour Bridge. We’re ecstatic! SkyPath will be funded to the tune of $67m from the National Land Transport Fund as part of a wider (and unprecedented!) $390m investment in walking and cycling around the country over the next three years, and will be delivered via the NZ Transport Agency. The government taking on this historic project makes all the difference in terms of certainty – and it definitively rewards the relentless optimism and hard work of everyone who has worked towards this …
We welcome Auckland Transport’s recent media release last week, acknowledging the horrific increase since 2014 in deaths and serious injuries for people using AT’s road network (as laid out in the independent safety report commissioned by the AT board). It’s painful but necessary to have this out in the open, and Greater Auckland covered the topic well in a recent blog post. We especially welcome the proposed response, which is that AT will massively ramp up its spending to create safer roads, joining Minister Genter’s commitment to Vision Zero. I’m keen to hear from you how the extra cycling safety dollars could be used most effectively. While you think about it, I’d like …
Media Release: Final push for Skypath welcomed – Bike Auckland applauds Government’s rebalancing of transport priorities 6 April 2018 Bike Auckland is celebrating the government’s new draft land transport policy, which boosts cycling and walking investment and ensures the swift completion of Skypath and Seapath, fixing the crucial ‘missing link’ across Auckland’s harbour. People on both sides of the harbour have long shown overwhelming enthusiasm for being able to walk and bike over the Harbour Bridge. It’s now realistic to give this project the urgency required for it to be in place for the America’s Cup. Combined with a strong focus on public transport and safer travel on local roads, the …
Please take a second to support this quick-click petition to ensure that Auckland Transport and the Local Board know there’s heaps of support for livelier, lovelier neighbourhoods – in Grey Lynn and beyond. Decades from now, we’ll look back on 2017 and say: that’s when it changed. That’s when Auckland reclaimed its urban mojo, stared the data squarely in the face, looked afresh at the vast swathes of tarmac that criss-cross our city… and got back on its bike. It was the numbers, we’ll say. A sudden rise on the automatic counters along Auckland’s bike paths, well in advance of the usual late summer spike. A ‘network effect’ as newly …
In case you missed the news: Lightpath will be temporarily closed from Tuesday June 6 for up to 9 days, for the resurfacing of the sinuous Canada St Bridge section. The main surface of Lightpath was successfully ‘repinked‘ in March, but the connecting bridge required more testing, as its surface had become delaminated (peeling away from the surface below). As a safety matter, it needs repairing, and while nobody’s thrilled to have to close access, we agree with NZTA that it’s better to have the job done sooner rather than later – especially with works starting in June on the rest of Nelson St, and the full city loop within sight. The connecting bridge will be …
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