Great news – one of the more controversial sections of the coming Quay Street Cycleway will now be a lot better!
AT have finally achieved agreement between all the various stakeholders (there were a few!) to ensure that the originally proposed “shared path” section, east of the ferry terminal, can be replaced with a proper two-way cycleway!
We – and a lot of you – asked for the original proposal to be modified, as cycling on the footpath in a narrow section past a tourist bus stop didn’t seem ideal at all for transport cycling. That’s why AT placed the “gray box” overlay on the area in their post-consultation drawings, as it wasn’t quite confirmed yet. Well, now we are allowed to look what’s under the box, and… – it’s cupcakes and a proper cycleway.
This was achieved after a lot of internal design and diplomacy work, and enabled by the Explorer Bus stop being given a home on Queens Wharf (at least for a few years, until after the CRL works, when there will be more space in the area to look at moving it back onto Quay).
Overall, this is a great result for both pedestrians, cyclists and design quality in Auckland. We think it will make it a lot more appealing to riders who were previously “on the red fence” about using the path. We are very pleased that AT project staff were persistent and successful in getting this change approved. Those cupcakes aren’t just a figure of speech – they were promised, and we will make sure they are delivered to the good folks who made this happen.