It’s Halloween, which means all sorts of mischievous spirits are abroad, even in the sunny southern hemisphere! And today, the last remaining SkyPath opponents get their moment in court. Proceedings are open to the public, and take place at the Specialist Courts and Tribunals Centre, Level 2, Federal St, Auckland from 10am. As outlined in this article, months of mediation have failed (not that it was ever really expected to succeed), so the last remaining appellant – the Northcote Point Heritage Protection Society – is heading to the Environment Court to argue against the resource consent. They’re also asking for a number of concessions and restrictions on SkyPath’s operating conditions. As reported in the aforementioned article, …
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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 …
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 …
Lightpath/ Te Ara i Whiti and the Canada St Bridge will be closed for repairs and resurfacing, from 1 March for approximately nine days, weather-dependent. Here’s the official press release. In lay terms, the path is getting a fresh coat and some sunscreen to make it last. Bring on the bright-pinker future! The timing isn’t ideal – but it’s hard to see when would have been better, as good weather is needed to make the resurfacing bond properly. Naturally, as soon as the closure was announced, questions came flooding in. The queries from bike folk are particularly engaged and specific, so we passed your Frequently Asked Questions on to NZTA, who’ve supplied answers below. …
Since opening just over a year ago, Lightpath has inspired cyclists… and photographers. Something about it just calls out to be captured. Here are some beautiful images from Bike Auckland supporter, Mike Borich. We’ve paired them with lines from this fun piece Jolisa Gracewood wrote for Architecture Now magazine back in March…
On Thursday 1 December, Bike Auckland pulled together a party – with logistical support from Auckland Transport’s Walking & Cycling team – to coincide with K Road’s First Thursdays Carnival. We wanted to celebrate a year of Lightpath, and mark what’s been officially the busiest year ever for building a more bikeable city, under the auspices of a Transport Minister who really gets it, and unprecedented collaborations between the national and local agencies; not to mention gung-ho support from local boards and widespread enthusiasm at the community level. The party was a rough and ready rumbustification; a pop-up event in the spirit of the First Hoon. But we had the most important thing you need for a birthday …
The Bike Kaipatiki team, representing bike folk of the North Shore to the west of the bridge, has been asking Auckland Transport to revisit the traffic-calming design for the Lower Queen St section of the Northcote Safe Cycle Route (NSCR). Along with Bike Auckland, we feel that with SkyPath on track to open in 2018, AT needs to design the NSCR to the highest standards to service the pedestrian and cycle patronage SkyPath will bring – not to mention, the growing number of people biking to and from the Northcote Ferry Terminal. So what better idea than to enlist the support of local Queen St resident, the Hon. Dr Jonathan Coleman, MP? It seemed a …
Last week we alerted you to the watered-down plans for the southern end of the Northcote Safe Cycle Route. (Go here for the long read with a great comment thread; or read a quick version here). We urged you to help speak up for a safer treatment here for people on bikes and on foot. Already, dozens of you have written to say in your own words how crucial this issue is, how you experience (or would like to experience) this street, and how important it is that the Shore gets its share of properly safe cycleways. Yesterday’s re-confirmation of SkyPath’s resource consent makes the case even stronger! Simply put: this key gateway to the Shore, used …
Only this morning we posted a summary of the issues covered in the first two days of the SkyPath appeal hearing in the Environment Court. Who knew day three would be done and dusted within an hour?? The session began at 10am with the Reply Submission on behalf of the applicant (the SkyPath team), delivered by Daniel Minhinnick. The submission reiterated that the project is a worthy one, deserving of consent, and contains adequate provision for mitigating any adverse effects. The applicant accepted that, as a fallback, conditions could indeed be added to allow for monitoring and review of unexpected adverse effects at the Northcote end. (On that note, they maintained that the conditions suggested by the Northcote Point …
Hello everyone – here’s a very quick overview of some of what’s happened during the last two days in the Environment Court appeal by the Northcote Point Heritage Protection Society (NPHPS) against SkyPath. While the hearing is still in progress, end-of-day summaries from written notes turns out to be the most appropriate way to convey what happens in court (and to be honest, easier for us to work with than live updates of what can be a quite technical process that often becomes clearer in the rear-view mirror), so we’ll keep this as straightforward and factual as we can. Firstly, a refresher on how the Environment Court works: before reaching this point, the parties …
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