Cyclists navigating Glenfield Rd between Sunset Rd and James St South will be doing battle with roadworks as well as motorised traffic over the next few months. We’ve had it tough on this stretch of road, particularly northbound heading up the hill towards Sunset with two lanes of fast-moving traffic and no space for bikes. But when the roadworks are complete, it’ll all be worth it.
Cycle Action has been engaging with the then North Shore City Council and more recently Auckland Transport on this project since 2010. We were delighted back then when reviewing the concept plans to note a focus on not just improving traffic flow, but also on improving cyclist and pedestrian safety.
A recent review of the construction plans confirmed to us that the cycle safety measures have survived intact, and on completion we can look forward to:
- Near-continuous on-road cycle lanes in both directions
- Advanced stop boxes for cyclists at the Glenfield/Wairau intersection
- Strategically located cyclist grab rails.
Even better, the design team has been able to achieve cycling, pedestrian and bus priority measures without sacrificing general traffic capacity, heading off adverse criticism from motorists which has jeopardised other Shore cycling projects.
Our one quibble is that the project stops just short of Sunset Rd itself, so the intersection is not included in scope. While we have a northbound cycle lane to the intersection, it’s difficult for cyclists to turn right into Sunset across multiple lanes of traffic. It would be great to have more advanced stop boxes, and perhaps a formalised hook turn to assist. We’ll be raising this with Auckland Transport, and hope that it will be considered as Albany Highway to the north is renovated, or the Glendhu Rd connection established.
But overall we’re delighted that another little piece in the Regional Cycling Network will be completed. Glenfield Rd is a major arterial not just for motorists, but also for cyclists travelling between North Harbour, Glenfield, Birkenhead and on to the ferry terminals. Every little bit helps.
You can find more information about Glenfield Rd Stage 4 on the Auckland Transport website.
