Here’s a victory for the Grey Lynn community which has been over a decade in the making! Surrey Crescent from the Grey Lynn shops and Old Mill rd up to Garnet Rd intersection is getting permanent safety improvements for people on bikes and on foot.
Crucially, this includes safe ways to cross the street outside Grey Lynn School, Lollipops Early Childcare Centre and around the intersections on Bullock Track, as well as safe cycleways along Surrey Crescent (from Selbourne Street to Bullock Track Road).
Closing the gap
It’s an extra special win because it’s delivering part of the third, stalled, Inner West Street Improvement Project. It begins to close the gap left by the undelivered Waitematā Safer Routes Project, connecting key routes.
Alongside crucial pedestrian improvements, a mixture of on-road and on-berm protected cycleways will be delivered along Surrey Crescent from Selbourne Street to Bullock Track Road. In future they will be connected to the hard-fought-for cycleways at either end. These are the Pt Chev cycle paths, and the (currently under construction) Great North Road cycle path.
A connected cycle network means kids able to get to school actively, setting up good habits for life. It also means fewer cars, less congestion, lower emissions, and fewer health issues stemming from air pollution.
A slow burn
This project has been in gestation for far too long. Like the other two Inner West projects, it has rotated between consultation, temporary measures and design tweaks (including two name changes) for nearly fifteen years. This is in spite of strong community support. In the meantime, we’ve seen sections of the Northwestern Shared Path completed, and more recently, the beautiful Te Ara Uta Ki Tai between Glen Innes and Ōrākei open.
After strong community advocacy over 2022 and 2023, the other Inner West projects moved forwards. The Great North Road Improvements Project is under construction, and Point Chevalier to Westmere is already complete and highly successful. But the key link between the two, the Waitematā Safer Routes, was put on hold because of budget constraints.
Finally, Auckland Transport found a cost-effective solution. They aligned delivery of a portion of the Waitematā Safer Routes with routine road maintenance. They named this portion ‘Surrey Crescent and Old Mill Rd Improvements’. Recent consultation showed high public support, and just last week, the Waitematā Local Board voted in support.
Work is due to begin in the September School Holidays and will finish in December 2025.
Cause for celebration
Is it perfect? This is not the full route, and it doesn’t connect to the existing cycle network. So, there is still more to push for. We argued for improvements to key intersections such as Richmond Road / Surrey Crescent, and Old Mill Rd / Garnet Road, as well as for the planned protected cycleways to link into the wider cycle network at either end. Auckland Transport have noted future projects to deliver these crucial safety and accessibility improvements and we will hold them to this.
Even so, we are excited for connected cycleways delivered in a smart, affordable way. It’s an improvement on what’s there today and will open up local routes especially for more vulnerable road users, like kids cycling to school.
The community have been crying out for these improvements for too long, and we’re celebrating with them. Thanks to everyone who gave input and who fought for safer walking and cycling for the Inner West.
