A link for the loop: Upper Queen St improvements

Feb 05, 2017
A link for the loop: Upper Queen St improvements

Bike Auckland

2 min read

Here’s a quick one. Remember about a year ago we blogged about the situation on the Upper Queen Street bridge? Kudos to Pippa Coom and the Waitemata Local Board for pursuing this issue – AT is proposing a new ‘leg’ for the crossing at Canada St. Consultation is now up and running, and closes on 8 February.

The good news: this will create a more direction connection between Lightpath and Grafton Gully – which means, once the lower section of Nelson St is finished, we’ll essentially have a full loop of stress-free off-road cycleway encircling the central city. Woohoo!

Here’s the consultation page. (Scroll down and click the through to the quick and easy feedback form.)

And here’s a PDF of the design: upper-queen-street-canada-street-consultation-plan – see below for our annotated version, showing how this new crossing is crucial to multiple connections.

Here’s what AT is proposing, in full:

  • Install a new signalised pedestrian and cyclist crossing across Upper Queen Street.
  • Install new pram crossings [i.e. ramps] (with directional pavers).
  • Treat the surface of the footpath for safer walking and cycling.
  • Relocate the existing ‘Shared Path’ signage.
  • Change the road markings to reflect the improved layout.

What do you reckon? Obviously adding a new crossing leg here is great, and we’re giving it a huge thumbs up in principle. But can the design be improved further? We know, for example, that corner of Canada St has steep approaches and quite a camber, which can feel perilous on a bike – how might that be addressed? And what else catches your eye?

Remember, feedback closes Wednesday 8 February 2017.

Here’s the link again (to give feedback, scroll down and click on the blue button that says Give your feedback on Upper Queen St and Canada St)

annotated-upper-queen-street-canada-street-consultation-plan
Click to enlarge. The proposed new crossing is shown in blue. (Red shows existing markings that will be removed; yellow shows the tactile pavers necessary for vision impaired pedestrians).

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