Update: AT have asked us to let you know that they are still keen to get feedback from you on the sharrow trials. Please email feedback to Aaron Hutching at Aaron.Hutching@aucklandtransport.govt.nz.
Correction: There was an error in the communication regarding the Belmont sharrows. They are in fact installed on Seacliffe, Hamana and Winscombe. This is great as it creates a corridor for school pupils right through to Belmont Intermediate (on the of the best cycle schools in NZ) and Belmont Primary.
You may recall that we told you about a new trial of sharrows in various parts of Auckland.
I am not sure about other parts of Auckland but I can report on the Hamana Street, Seacliffe Avenue and Williamson Avenue, Belmont corridor sharrows. These have now been installed to a chorus of deafening silence from AT/AC. As a result, almost no-one I spoke to actually knows what they are for – a bit disappointing. I receive a lot of other stuff in the mail from AT, why not a limited mail drop in the surrounding area.
There also do not appear to be any sharrows on Williamson Ave (the busiest part of the corridor car wise), only Hamana and Seacliffe – so not sure what is happening there.
I first saw the sharrows while heading back from Devonport in the car last weekend. I must say from that perspective I was a little underwhelmed despite my earlier enthusiasm.
However, last night I cycled down that corridor and over the sharrows. It did give me a real boost and feeling of belonging to see clear signs on the road (not in cycle lanes tucked away on the side of the street) that I was welcome on that street as a cyclist. It is the first time I have ever seen that in NZ so it was a palpable sign of progress in thinking.
The next stage is to show AT that “build it (or paint it) and they will come” is not just an empty platitude. If a bit of paint can increase cycling on quiet residential roads, imagine what separated cycle lanes could do on busy ones – is the argument CAA can run.
So please, get out there and encourage your family, friends, neighbours, workmates, acquaintances, sworn enemies – whoever – to do the same.
Remember, the more of us there are, the safer we are!
