In a week when we’ve been thinking about how kids get to school, and the importance to kids of freedom on wheels, here’s a guest post by Nicholas Lee (cross-posted at Greater Auckland). Read on for a vision of a bikeable neighbourhood that will let more children ride to school and beyond, and open up the area for longer local trips. I began commuting by e-bike, from Onehunga to Wiri, last year, around the time my eight-year-old daughter started cycling or scooting to school with a group of neighbourhood friends, children aged 8 to 10, without adult supervision. For me, cycling is a personal action towards reducing greenhouse emissions. For my …
Bike Auckland
Auckland Transport is consulting on an “upgrade” to the Royal Oak roundabout, which sits at the heart of what we in Bike Auckland call the “Bike Bermuda Triangle”: the central isthmus, woefully bereft of bikeways. This roundabout is notoriously hostile for people on bikes and only the bravest amongst us travel through it, whether commuting or just going to the shops. You’re braver than me. I’ve lived 500m from the Royal Oak roundabout for 20 years and I haven’t ridden on it once. I get off and walk using the pedestrian crossings. — shaun (@slow_tri_guy) December 12, 2018 Auckland Transport reports that this highly dangerous intersection has had 61 crashes in the …
With its ribbons of greenspace, local bikeways, handy alleyways, and connections to the wider cycle network, Mt Roskill is in the running to be one of Auckland’s most ‘mini-Holland’ neighbourhoods. This guest post by Jon Turner, longtime Mt Roskill resident (and candidate for the Puketapapa Local Board on the Roskill Community Voice ticket), explores some of the local byways and destinations of this increasingly bikeable ‘burb… When I read Helen King’s Insider’s guide to cycling in Mt Albert, I knew I had to join in the fun. As a long time Mt Roskill resident, I’m lucky enough to get to cycle to work every day, and often I’ll make a …
Good things are happening in Mt Roskill, where years of dedicated advocacy and action just keep bearing fruit. The Puketapapa Local Board under former and current leadership have been exceptional champions for local walking and cycling access, as seen in the links to SH20’s big bikeway and the recent flowering of the spectacular Te Auauanga Restoration Project. In any network, it’s the little local links that make the difference. And here comes another one, this time to the east – a link from the Roskill School Campus towards Hillsborough Rd. Consultation is open until Friday 26 July, and we warmly encourage you to add your support! Here’s the project information …
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 …
All across Auckland, alleyways and parks provide handy connections that nimble folk on foot and on bike use to get where we’re going. And then there are the in-between places: connections that are visible, but for one reason or another, remain inaccessible. Some of these might be ‘paper roads‘, and well worth pursuing. Below, a reader tells the story of finding just such a hidden link in his neighbourhood. Let’s start with a Beatles ear worm: ‘I need a break, And I want to be a paper road rider. Paper road rider!’ Or perhaps a Prince one: ‘Paper road, paper road…’ This is the story of a road that started out in …
Te Auaunga, also known as Oakley Creek, has a lot of fans. The waterway, its wildlife, and its waterfall have been rhapsodized in NZ Geographic. It’s cared for by the extremely dedicated Friends of Oakley Creek. And over a kilometre of the stream was recently daylighted and restored as part of the Waterview Connection. Now, a further 1.5km of the waterway has been brilliantly revitalised through Walmsley and Underwood Parks in Wesley/ Mt Roskill, creating a natural green artery for the communities along the way. What began as a stormwater project to address flooding has resulted in a spectacular ecological restoration of the creek as it once was, with the bonus …
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