Abracadabra! The difference 150m makes on the Tamaki Drive-GI Path

Mar 21, 2016
Abracadabra! The difference 150m makes on the Tamaki Drive-GI Path

Bike Auckland

Animate - what one single side path in the John Rhymer Place area does for the catchment of the path. Suddenly places like Selwyn College are in reach.
Animated: What one single 150m side path in the John Rymer Place area does for the catchment of the main path. Suddenly, places like Selwyn College are in reach. [Note: the large areas to the northwest are technically also in reach, but this assumes a loop around, riding on Orakei Road and Kepa Road, which are currently far from cycle-friendly.]
You’ve probably seen Sunday’s blog on the Meadowbank/ Orakei section of the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive path – and you probably agree that it would be a bloody shame if it was built without side accesses.

But do you really have a feel for what difference just a single additional side access could make – and how many more people could get to the path easily and safely if one was built?

Well, we wanted to get an idea, so we did an experiment. We used an Open Street Map, with the new Stage 2 section of the path added in red – and we estimated the catchment first with, and then without a key additional side path.

We started from Meadowbank Train Station, which is a good local marker because everyone knows where it is.

Then we went out 2km, and then 3km, following all the branching paths and local roads (major caveat – not all routes on the map are cycle-friendly), to see just how far that took us.

The results are in the animation. See how one short side path of 150m opens up a new catchment that’s within a 3km ride or walk of the station?

Pretty stunning, eh? Suddenly, the path is not just something to pass through on – it starts to provide a local role. It makes it easier to get to schools, train stations, friends, shops, activities… That’s the power of an actual network.

And bear in mind, this animation shows the effect of just one possible link.

This is why it’s so important that we push for more side connections to our cycleways, and for improvements to make the streets surrounding them safer for people on bikes.

Want an immediate way to help us make the case? You can use this Annual Plan feedback form to support the Orakei Local Board’s plan to add cycling and walking connections to the GI to Tamaki Path.

You’ll need to fill in some basic details at the top, and then it’s a 3-step process that should take 3 seconds:

  • Scroll down to Question 5a 
  • Select Orakei Local Board
  • And say “YES” to Question 5b about the priorities

Feel free to add further comments in the box below that. NB feedback is especially valuable if you’re a local, and can say how side-links to the GI to Tamaki Path would make life better for you and your neighbors.

NB Feedback must be received by 4pm Thursday 24 March 2016.

 

(PS While you’re there, you can also give feedback on a full slate of various other bike-friendly local board projects – but honestly, if you just have time to tick one box? Make it this one!)

 

 

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