Do you live in the Papakura Local Board area, or ride through it? If so, you’ll want to add your voice to this current consultation on future greenways. The Local Board is seeking your thoughts on connections through parks, along waterways, in fact, anywhere you think a link would make your biking life easier. Greenways are a ‘joined up’ network of cycling, walking and ecological routes through parks and quiet low traffic streets intended to provide safe and enjoyable ways for people to get around, get active, and get engaged with the community and their environment. They are supported by environmental improvements, such as planting and water quality upgrades. Here’s some …
Bike Auckland
There’s a brand new train station in Otahuhu, and now Auckland Transport is inviting public feedback on a proposal for T3 lanes and a shared path to the station along Walmsley Rd. Here’s the project information page with a link for feedback, which is open until Friday 17 February. You can see the full plans here. As well as adding T3 lanes, the proposal is to widen the footpath along the western side of the road, with the stated goal of: Improving pedestrian and cycle facilities and connection to the new Otahuhu Station. Encouraging more people to walk and cycle (particularly school children). We’re generally supportive of the project, but it must be noted: While the footpath will …
Now that the Local Path Design Guide is out in the wild, it’s going to be exciting to see what the Local Boards of with it. First out of the gate is the Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board Draft Greenways Plan, with some seriously ambitious long-term visioneering. Having grown up biking in this part of town, I love the way the Local Board is embracing the huge potential. These burbs are nice and flat, with heaps of parks and green spaces and alleyways that can be hooked together via quiet streets and protected cycleways. I’d love to see the kids of the future roaming as freely as my siblings and I did – on foot and on bikes, from shops to parks …
If you’re cruising around Mangere, you might see six bright-red postie bikes getting a new lease on life. They are part of a free community bikeshare scheme in Mangere, started up by the tirelessly creative Teau Aiturau. Two bikes are permanently stationed at the Te Moana-a-Kiwi Pool and Gym. They’re free to borrow for anyone who fancies a spin around the Future Streets project, which is adding protected bike lanes to the town centre. The plan is to have a couple of bikes at several handy spots around the community, as far afield as Mangere Bridge, so people can come and go as they please. It’s all part of Teau’s big vision of making Mangere the Bike Capital of …
Giulia Rodighiero bikes to town along what we at Bike Auckland think of as the ‘missing highway’ – from the south into the CBD. In this photo story, she shares the good, bad, and the ugly of her commute… I recently moved from Mt Albert to Manurewa, which changed my work commute to K’Rd from a relatively quick and safe 7km via the Northwestern cycleway, to a 24km trek through areas with almost no cycle infrastructure. Luckily, it’s easy to take my bike with me on the train to Newmarket, from where I ride to work. (I bring my bike because it’s much quicker, fun and cheaper to bike from Newmarket to work than …
I enjoyed a fabulous day out at Kirkbride Rd/SH20A on Friday, representing Bike Auckland and witnessing a big step closer to making Mangere the biking capital of the Pacific. First off: the opening event for a new stretch of cycleway. The initial section is not that long, but makes up for it by being super smooth riding and a really good width. Note also the classy planting and bespoke fencing… Best of all, the cycleway connects to the Williams Park path beside George Bolt Drive and Bader Drive, and is handy to Mangere Central Primary School. Looking forward to the next stage of the full SH20A project, which will create a full off-road biking connection taking us even closer to the …
Cycling to a bus station should be safe and easy. And even if you don’t cycle to it, cycling past it should be safe and easy. Particularly when it’s a brand new bus station upgrade, such as the one planned for the Mangere Town Centre on Bader Drive, in the heart of Mangere, between the shopping centre (shops, plus library and a major arts centre) and a very popular park. And doesn’t this apply twice as much if the bus station is right smack-dab in the middle of one of Auckland Transport’s flagship walking and cycling projects – Te Ara Mua, in Mangere Central? Surely that’s the place where you would …
Our local hero Teau is at it again, with a family-friendly day of bike fun in Mangere on the Monday of Queen’s Birthday Weekend. There’ll be a sausage sizzle, giveaways (including the coveted Mangere BikeFIT T-shirt for those who register in advance), bike repair and advice, test-rides for new riders, and a whole range of bike activities for kids. Roll along Orly Ave to the Mangere Town Centre carpark on June 6 between 10am and 2pm, and share the spirit of a community that’s getting into bikes in a big way. In fact, we’d venture to say Teau has single-handedly gotten more people onto (and into) bikes than anyone else in Auckland …
We’ve just been alerted by AT to the fact that they are planning to mend another gap in the cycle network – in this case, a section of Kirkbride Road and McKenzie Road northwest of State Highway 20A, in the Mangere / Mangere Bridge area. The route is already used by quite a few riders – from sports cyclists on a longer loop, to people working in the airport area. And if you’ve ever visited the famous Strawberry Farm, you’ll know exactly where we’re talking about. The northern part of McKenzie Road already has cycle lanes, and the area around the Kirkbride Interchange (currently being motorway-sized by NZTA) will get cycle …
Hop along to Mangere Town Centre on Easter Monday, to have fun on a bike. BYO wheels, or try out some of the bikes on the day (helmets also provided). This is a chance to give it a go, if you’ve been wondering about getting on (or back on) a bike – under the awesome guidance of Teau Aiturau and his fabulous helpers. When and where: 10 – 2, Monday 28 March, Mangere Town Centre carpark on Orly Ave. The festivities include: sausage sizzle free bike check by a friendly bike mechanic games and activities prizes and giveaways, including a bike to be won! Come to where the action is and say …
When the USO Bike Ride passed through Auckland last week, there was never any doubt they’d stop over in Mangere. A mighty fit bunch of guys traveling from Bluff to Cape Reinga on bicycles with sponsorship from the Cancer Society, their aim is to raise health awareness among Maori and Pasifika peoples. (‘Uso’ is Samoan for ‘brother’, whence the team theme of Understanding, Strengthening, Overcoming.) All along the ride, the ‘band of brothers’ stopped in towns and cities to connect with people who share the vision of how bikes can be a huge part of healthier lives and a healthy community. So naturally, when the USOs rolled into Mangere on a Monday afternoon, they got an ‘USOme’ extra warm welcome …
One of the most frustrating experiences with Auckland Transport is the silo planning. While AT’s walking and cycling team has hugely improved in the last year, it seems that large chunks of the rest of the organisation are still working away under the impression that cycling is either a luxury, or somebody else’s job. This at least is our feeling when we see proposals like the big Manukau Transport interchange on Putney Way, right next to Manukau Train Station and the MIT Campus (and the big Westfield Mall). This new bus station is proposed to cost $26 million. But the plans include no cycle facilities to get to it, just …
Expect a safer journey if you’re cycling to Auckland Airport – this update comes to us from Emma at the MHX Kirkbride Alliance, who are currently working on the SH20a to Airport Project. Temporary on-street parking restrictions have been put in place near intersections along Richard Pearse Drive – a key detour during the SH20A to Airport project. The NZ Transport Agency and Auckland Transport have been working closely over the last few months to improve safety for cyclists on the route. Yellow lines indicating no stopping at all times will increase visibility around the intersections and mean road users won’t have risk ‘poking their nose’ out into the traffic …
Labour Weekend saw the wildly popular Labour Weekend launch of Mangere BikeFIT (Future in Transport), an initiative by our South Auckland bike champ Mr T to get more people on bikes on those gorgeous flat streets and paths of South Auckland. Thanks to a whole bunch of sponsors, and with music and MC-ing provided by hiphop station RepFM, Teau and co had a record turnout, with over 200 people signing up to try out a bike. (Pics below kindly shared by RepFM, via their Facebook page, with other photos by Rangi Ehu). “There were tons of kids, and lots of parents,” says Teau. “Some people had never even gotten on a bike before, but picked …
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