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By admin, June 19, 2013

Relief is at hand for cyclists frustrated at the long delays for the cycleway between Rosedale and Unsworth Heights in the Shore, even though it took a few months longer than expected told to sort out the stormwater/wetlands issues.

But finally, the continuation of the interrupted path (old photo at right) is at hand, and Auckland Transport is inviting everyone who cycles in the area to the opening event:

Saturday, 22 June, 1-3pm, Unsworth Reserve

There will be “guided and group bike rides along the new path, a community BBQ being held by the local community police and a ride ‘n’ repair station for bike maintenance, safety checks, along with other helpful advice and tips”. Sounds like it might be worth a family visit, especially if the weather holds on the day. Details here.

But even more important is that there’s now a good-quality link all the way through the reserve, and to points much further north, as shown in the map image to the right (plus cycle facilities on Barbados Drive, which aren’t shown on the map, to link up the paths). We hope lots of locals and cycle commuters will be using this link in the years to come.

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By admin, June 16, 2013

Guest blog by Jala Shekho, NZTA

Kia Ora – It’s Jala Shekho, representing the NZ Transport Agency on the Grafton Gully Cycleway project. Great news! For those who cycle, walk or drive past the construction site you can see that the first section of the path is paved, and is on track to be opened for use in July.

Construction kicked off late last year and now the team are excited to be able to let people use the first section of the cycleway. Going from the bottom of Alten Road to the top of Grafton Road, this 300metre section will be the connector to the shared walking and cycling path once the project is complete. [Editor's note: the cycleway works will also include improvements to the crossing at Alten Road / Stanley Street to make it easier and safer to use for cyclists - these are mostly separate works by Auckland Transport and may not yet be done by July - please use the existing pedestrian crossing instead].

Now I know many of you will be eager to take the title of first user – and we are thrilled at the enthusiasm, however a quick note of caution about safety. The team will be continuing to work in the area, most notably on Churchill Road, so we ask that you stay alert of and look out for construction vehicles which will still be around. They should be well clear of the actual cycleway, however we do want to raise awareness about their presence. There will also be safety audits done once construction has been completed, and prior to opening it up this 300metre section.

For those of you keen to know more, the NZTA website has more info on the project and artistic impressions of the completed cycleway.

Enjoy the addition to your journey and if you come across any issues, or see any way we could make things better or safer, please feel free to contact me at jala.shekho@nzta.govt.nz. Keep an eye out for more information as I’ll be updating you on the progress we make on this cycleway – Jala

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By admin, June 14, 2013

Cox’s Bay Boardwalk Opening

The Waitemata Board is happy to annouce the public opening for the first of their Greenways projects – the Cox Bay Boardwalk, which was widened during reconstruction so as to allow walkers and cyclists to share it better.

Come to tomorrow’s (Saturday 15th June) opening at 11:30am at Cox’s Bay Reserve. For more details, click here.

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War Memorial Park Greenway Section Open

We have also been remiss in not calling attention to another piece of the Greenways network, this time in the Puketapapa area. Last Friday, Mayor Len Brown and Local Board Chair Richard Barter opened a further section of their growing Greenways network, this one through War Memorial Park.

The changes involved path widening, and replacing some steps leading onto a bridge over a local creek with a cycleable ramp. Read about the project here, and how the routes in Richard’s board area are the envy of many other areas in Auckland.

Also worth mentioning at this time is that CAA has been working with Auckland Transport and the Local Board on a new cycleway that will link War Memorial Park with the Mt Roskill Grammar School cluster and the cycleway bridge over the motorway at Keith Hay Park. This is a project which we understand is goign to happen relatively soon.

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By admin, June 5, 2013

Post by CAA Associate Bryce Pearce

This started life as a post about riding bikes on footpaths & shared paths and the safety and merits (or otherwise) of  legalising riding of bikes on “plain old” footpaths.

During the course of research on those items I came across statistics on all kinds of things but the piece of information that stood out the most was this courtesy of NZTA:

Types of crash

Three specific crash movements each account for more than 10 percent (each) of all cyclist’s deaths or injuries in police-reported crashes involving motor vehicles.

From here: http://www.transport.govt.nz/research/CyclistCrashFacts/

So what does it mean? From looking at this information I believe that apart from pinch points, intersections are where we could get our biggest gains in cycle safety.

The Dutch, of course, have spent a lot of time and money on research about intersection design that result in significant improvements for people on bikes and pedestrians alike. Meanwhile NZTA and Auckland Transport sit by awaiting results of tests from other areas, including Christchurch.

Recently I wrote an email to AT asking if they were looking to trial intersections such as the Dutch-inspired one that is to be built in Christchurch. This is the reply:

“Subject: Auckland – Cycleway Trial

We refer to your reply to Auckland Transport on 7 May 2013 regarding the cycleway trial. Your query was passed on to our Road Corridor Operations Department.

The proposed cycle treatment is not approved for use in New Zealand. In order to implement treatments that are not approved, an application needs to be made to NZTA (New Zealand Transport Agency) to trial the treatment. If approved for a trial by NZTA, the measures can only be installed at the specified trial site or sites. They cannot be used at other locations until the trial has been completed, the effectiveness of the treatment has been evaluated and NZTA has approved the wider use of the treatment.

As another Road Controlling Authority appears to be seeking a trial of these measures, Auckland Transport does not currently consider it is justified to also submit an application to NZTA to trial these measures.

Thank you for your feedback. We trust the above explains our decision in this instance.”

Now to me, apart from traffic driving on the opposite side of the road to New Zealand, there is no reason why we should expect different results to the Dutch. Can you think of why we should expect different results? Here is a video of the design courtesy of Bicycle Dutch.

What about off-road paths?

I think most people would agree that off-road paths would be very nice, but the fact remains that until active transport gets a huge increase in funding allocation from NZTA, these are not going to appear in great numbers any time soon. Sure, there are some projects such as the Albany Highway ‘Copenhagen Lanes’ but these only scratch the surface of what Copenhagen and Amsterdam have (not to mention Portland etc).

So in the meantime we need to try and get the biggest bang for the buck, so to speak – and I believe that upgrading intersections to give equal priority to people on bikes, as well as pedestrians, could be a very good place to start. Why not formalise the use of the ‘sharks teeth’ in New Zealand? These give a clear indication of who gives way regardless of mode.

(Image courtesy of Googlemaps)

What we can do is to work out how to integrate existing on-road and off-road paths into some great Dutch, designed and tested, intersections.

There is no reason that I can see as to why this:

(Image courtesy of Googlemaps)

could not be integrated with both on-road and off-road paths.

The other type of infrastructure, that often is misunderstood, is the ‘zone 30’. These are residential areas where the speed limit is 30 km/h and motorised traffic, cycles and pedestrians have to share the road. These are not ‘shared spaces’ as such. The potential for this idea in Auckland is huge and could have make a big impact on the numbers of children riding and walking to school.

Footpath cycling

So, what did I discover on footpath cycling? Well, the actual data from NZTA CAS crash database system (via an email request) appears to have a different slant to various assessments and common perceptions which emphasise how dangerous footpath cycling can be, due to cars moving in/out of driveways etc…

376 Total reported footpath cycle crashes (in NZ, between 2008 and 2012)

321 Minor Injuries
55 Serious Injuries
0 Deaths

How many parents do not let their children ride on footpaths, and therefore probably not ride at all, because it is illegal? Yes, we want riding a bike to be safe but we also want many more people riding, full stop.

Is the law preventing this to some degree, and would it thus be appropriate to change it? That, I think, that will take another post…

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By Max, June 4, 2013

For those riding on the Northwestern Cycleway between Te Atatu and Point Chev, we have excerpted some cycleway-relevant info from a recent stakeholder meeting summary for the SH16 motorway works (which we attended in person as well, of course):

Will a noise reduction fence be provided between the shared path and the motorway?

A noise wall will be provided adjacent to the shared path along part of the length between the Great North Road Interchange and the Causeway Bridge, but not for the rest of the alignment. This is due to the vehicles in traffic lanes providing passive surveillance of the shared path as security. The swale drain adjacent to the shared path and the bus lane will provide further separation between the shared path users and the general traffic lanes. A 1.4m high general fence will be provided between the shared path and the motorway.

The cycleway in the vicinity of Alwyn Avenue is very narrow and below the relevant standards. Will this be widened and the sightlines improved as part of the Project?

Yes, the shared path will be upgraded along the entire alignment. The new nominal width will be 4m from Great North Road through to Te Atatu – this will include a 3m sealed shared path and a 0.5m shoulder on either side. The path will be 3m wide on the bridges (ie: no shoulders provided on bridges).

Will the timber boardwalk section of the cycleway near the Rosebank offramp be upgraded?

Yes, the timber structure will be rebuilt and will be wider than the existing structure, including balustrades and an upgraded surface [Editor's note: CAA asked for this to be a focus in earlier discussions].

Is there an opportunity to provide a drinking fountain at the viewing platforms? [Editor's note: CAA asked this question - it would be neat if riders that need to top up can get something to drink here at one of the several viewing platforms that will be built next to the cycleway].

The Alliance will consider this suggestion.