Ahoy junior riders, especially the piratical kind! Come and join the biggest family bike ride ever! On September 19, all over the world, families on bikes are taking to the streets to share the joy of wheels, in a one-off one-day event called Kidical Massive. Auckland will not only be a part of the fun – we’ll be first in the world to kick it off, with a pirate-themed waterfront bike ride and picnic, thanks to Bubs on Bikes and our mates at Panuku Development Auckland. What a great way to welcome spring! The global Kidical Massive event is brought to you by the Kidical Mass movement. Started in April 2008 in Eugene, Oregon, Kidical Mass encourages group rides “for kids, kids at heart, …
Bike Auckland
Having ended 2017 with a story about cycleway opposition in Grey Lynn, we hoped to start the New Year with more positive news – and indeed, works finally began a couple of days ago on the next section of the Quay St cycleway. As you know, Tamaki Drive into the city is Auckland’s busiest bike route (which may make it New Zealand’s busiest?) – with 43,000 trips in November, and growing. But currently the 1000+ Aucklanders who bike along this route daily are forced to choose between braving the roadway (busy with port traffic, buses, and cars), or sharing the footpath with pedestrians. The existing Quay St cycleway – a two-way …
One of the things we sometimes hear is ‘I think bike lanes are a good idea, but I’d feel better about them if I saw more people using them.’ We’ve heard a few variations on this theme during this election season, like: ‘We need to be pragmatic about cycleways. They have a place, but the rights of cyclists must be fairly balanced with the rights of those who do not use cycles.’ (That’s mayoral candidate John Palino). ‘We will use [data] to assess the efficacy of bus and cycle lanes throughout Auckland, ensuring we are not turning our roads into unproductive assets.’ (That’s mayoral candidate Vic Crone). Hey, we get it. You’re …
Friday marked the opening at last of the Quay Street Cycleway – another highly desired, long awaited, and very prominent piece in Auckland’s cycleway puzzle coming together. It was clear this route needed improvement even 8 years or so ago, when we raised the section particularly at the Ferry Terminal as a big problem. We were told by long-ago Auckland City Council staff that they’d rather leave on-road and on-footpath cycling arrangements ‘informal’ along this stretch. Obviously there were fears that pushing for a proper cycleway here could perhaps have led to a more aggressive ban on less confident people riding on the footpath. That issue – people riding on the footpath in what is …
UPDATE: Consultation closes this Friday. Have your say ASAP to make sure our new hot pink pathway has a safe connection all the way to the red fence, the whole wide waterfront, and round the bays and beyond! Auckland Transport has finally started the public consultation on the Quay St interim cycleway! A new urban cycleway that, due to tight timeframes around the City Rail Link enabling works in the area, is intended to be constructed in the next couple of months! So we were somewhat worried when the October consultation date came and went. We had been shown the plans in advance, and were pretty happy. What was keeping things? We heard …
It’s the time of year for open-air movies, and Silo Park Cinema is kicking off its season with a very special treat: the “world famous (in Christchurch)” Cycle Powered Cinema, on Saturday November 14th. Not only can you bike TO the movies, you can and indeed are encouraged to bike AT this movie! Where Silo Park When Saturday November 14th, 2015 – food & drink from 5.00, movie at 8.30 Most appropriately, the film you’ll be pedal-powering is a fabulous documentary about the power of art in public spaces: The Art of Recovery celebrates the creativity and community spirit bringing life back to the streets of post-quake Christchurch. It tells an uplifting story of …
How’s this for commitment? All this week at dawn AT staff will be waiting for you to turn up with your bike at Queens Wharf to trial and vote for the new bike parking gear you most like. Call in to see them between 7am-9am. Your vote will help decide which gear is installed in 4 new pilot bike shelters about to be built for people who use buses, ferries and trains. The online survey is live for this week and next weekend, and has a series of pages so make sure you click through them. Here’s the story – AT is working with Cycle Action to build 4 pilot …
Good news for downtown cycle connections – Stage 2 of the Beach Rd bike path starts next Monday. What that means: by early July (weather permitting!), you’ll be able to swoop right down the Grafton Gully cycleway and then pedal safely and easily into downtown, connecting smoothly to the laneways off Queen St – shops, bars, cafés! – and to Quay St and the waterfront. Here are some more details and pretty pictures from Auckland Transport: The project will extend the cycleway from Mahuhu Crescent through to Britomart Place and connect with the laneway network starting in Fort Street. The route will be a mix of separated cycleway and sections of shared path around intersections, …
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