Our final Project Watch for 2024 crosses the harbour (by car, obviously) to the North Shore, and does a side quest to Waiheke Island. Catch up with previous episodes of Project Watch for Central City, Isthmus & East, West, South here.
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Devonport Safety improvements – completed 2024
Some improvements for walking and cycling have been completed in Devonport Town Centre, including a new crossing and cycle lane protection at the junction of Victoria and Calliope Roads. We were posting about this intersection as early as 2015, when the proposal was to build a roundabout. This plan was shelved in favour of a new design for the T-intersection which included cycle lanes. Until in 2017 it suddenly didn’t. So we are very pleased this project has finally been completed. Merry Christmas, Devonport!
Lake Road – a light at the end of the tunnel in 2025-2026?
In 2016, Barbara Cuthbert wrote a post titled “The Lake Road saga – is help finally on the way?”
Since then Auckland Transport has come up with a plan and invited feedback, the local board has famously turned down $47m to get the thing done, and the project has been COVID-paused and restarted and then paused again.
However! Further investigation and design for the Lake Road upgrade has been confirmed in the 2024 Regional Land Transport Plan to commence in the 2026/2027 financial year.
We must make sure any push to make this project “more affordable” doesn’t push out cycle facilities. Concrete separators along existing cycle lanes would be a cheap solution which would go some way to preventing another tragedy like this one.
Te Ara Awataha (Northcote’s Greenway) – final section 2025-2027
Te Ara Awataha is a northern counterpart of Te Auaunga in Mt Roskill – daylighting the previously buried Awataha Stream to create a 1.5km nature corridor for walking, cycling and recreation. It connects the town centre with housing and two schools and even includes an outdoor classroom.
Stormwater design features have already proved their worth in the floods of 2023.
Construction of the final section at the town centre edge will be starting in late 2025 and will improve connections into the supermarket and the new town centre and community hub.
Rosedale busway station – start of construction imminent
Rosedale will be a new station between Constellation and Albany. There is no park and ride, so precinct improvements will include walking and cycling.
The project page says construction is starting in late 2024 and the station will be opening in 2027. We’ll keep a close eye on the detailed design to see what they propose.
Albany Highway – timeline uncertain, consultation just closed
Auckland Transport is proposing walking and cycling improvements along Albany Highway for the 2km between Bush Rd and Sunset Rd, which would join up Albany Highway’s current mainly-off-road cycle lanes to the north with Glenfield Rd’s painted lanes (currently unprotected)
Auckland Transport has just taken feedback from the local community about what they would like to see in this area.
We are keen to see some joining up of facilities – the gap between the end of the current Albany Highway cycleway and the start of the SH18 shared path; the nightmare of the intersection with Upper Harbour Drive; the existing painted lanes on Glenfield Rd (which would be a good candidate for some concrete protection).
The caveat: reduced funding to CATTR (Climate Action Transport Targeted Rate) projects, including this one, means that we are not quite sure how or when this project will proceed, but the official line is that it will be “built over time as funding becomes available”.
SH18 shared path – completed 2023
This 4km shared path, in the style of the North Western shared path runs along SH18 between Albany Highway to the also-fairly-new Northern Pathway and provides some connection between the suburbs of (residential) Unsworth Heights on one side of SH18 and (industrial) Rosedale, on the other.
Upper Harbour Drive cycleway – completed 2023
Upper Harbour Drive was the subject of much backlash when concrete protection was added to the painted cycle lanes in 2022. We were heartened that in the face of this backlash Auckland Transport were firm about providing a protected cycleway for Upper Harbour Drive. Ka rawe Auckland Transport for standing firm about safety for people riding bikes and providing transport options!
As a response to the backlash they offered the choice between a bidirectional cycleway with speed calming or simply replacing the concrete separators with rubber protection (one-way cycleways either side of the road). The full package would have made the road safer and more comfortable for people to move through the area in active ways but the latter option narrowly won in the popularity.
Upper Harbour Drive cycleway (with rubber protection) is a key link between Hobsonville in the west (with its incoming Hobsonville Cycleway) and the North Shore. Now we just need the Albany Highway upgrade to improve the intersection and complete the missing link – connecting Upper Harbour with the other cycleways around Albany and along State Highway 18!
Oteha Valley Rd shared path – probably 2025 – 2026
At the end of 2023, the Upper Harbour Local Board decided to put their transport budget towards a shared path along Oteha Valley Road (Albany) between the end of the Northern Corridor and Albany Highway. Then Auckland Transport swooped in and said they’d cover it instead! They have said it will happen “probably next financial year” (2025 – 2026).
Bike Albany and Bike Auckland have campaigned for a long time for improved safety along here. Fixing this will plug a dangerous gap and provide good connections to Albany’s shopping centres.
Because Auckland Transport committed to funding and delivering this shared path, Upper Harbour Local Board’s transport fund was freed up to be put towards other much needed and wanted safety improvements. They committed to put this funding towards delivering raised crossings on Clark Road to support kids to walk and cycle to Scott Point School and on Picasso Road making it safer for kids to walk and cycle Marina View Primary School (both in Hobsonville). These two locations were chosen in response to community feedback and requests for raised crossings from the schools and whānau in these areas.
Glenvar & East Coast Rd improvements – timeline uncertain
By the end of 2023, the project to improve 3.1km of Glenvar and East Coast Roads had secured central government co-funding and had already got through the detailed design stage. It may now be put on pause because of reduced funding to CATTR (Climate Action Transport Targeted Rate) projects in the Regional Land Transport Plan. It’s unclear at this point which projects in the CATTR basket will be funded in the next 3 years.
Sanders Reserve – completed October 2024
The Upper Harbour Local Board led an upgrade of the Sanders Reserve mountain bike park – and it’s ready to ride! Check out the family-friendly trails and enjoy the nearby playground!
Huapai: Station Rd – completed 2024
Painted cycle lanes along Station Road in Huapai Triangle Special Housing Area have been protected with a mixture of concrete separators and rubber bumpers.
Schoolside Rd’s painted lanes would be an easy win for similar pop-up protection.
Milldale Bridge (Silverdale) – opening early 2025
This is an important link for two new suburbs Milldale and Millwater which are otherwise divided by State Highway 1. The bridge includes protected cycleways along its length. It can be done! Work is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.
Ōrewa Boulevard shared path – completed 2022
This small project, completed in 2022, adds a short section of shared path along the beach side of Hibiscus Coast Highway between the beach reserve car park and Riverside Road.
Warkworth: Hill Street intersection improvements – postponed/cancelled
This project to improve this crash-prone intersection for all users was through the feedback and detailed design phases and construction was to start at the end of 2024.
Despite strong support from the local community, this project has now been removed from the 2024-2027 road funding plan because it “did not meet the priorities set by the new Government Policy Statement on Land Transport.” Specifically, it has been cancelled because “it is too safe”; it includes protected cycle lanes and speed bumps. Transport Minister Simeon Brown has said that if Auckland Transport redesigns the project without those elements, it can apply again for Waka Kotahi NZTA co-funding.
Is this the first example of the Transport Minister cancelling a project because of his ideological stance on active transport? Needless to say, the community is not happy. We call on our elected representatives to ensure they are truly listening to what New Zealanders actually want.
Te Honohono ki Tai (Matakana link) – completed 2023
This new road running across the top of Warkworth connecting the end of the motorway extension to Matakana Road was completed in mid-2023.
As all new roads should, it includes a proper protected cycleway which will be useful for future residents of the adjoining new subsections.
Waiheke Island sharrows and giant modal filter – delivery planned for March 2025
Let’s not forget (one of) our island suburb(s) with its strong voice for cyclists. They recently got some sharrows through Oneroa and Surfdale village centres, which are already speed-reduced to 30kph. While sharrows are not perfect infrastructure, it’s a small win in reclaiming some space on the island for cycles.
Cycle Action Waiheke are working with Auckland Transport to bring some more improvements for people riding bikes in 2025. Auckland Transport is keen to know if they’ve missed anything and are accepting feedback on the project page.
There is also a plan in place, currently in the feedback review stage, to install gates at each end of The Esplanade to stop vehicle traffic and give cyclists their own peaceful way through from Oneroa and Blackpool to Surfdale.
And finally…
The elephant in the harbour – Auckland Harbour Bridge
We will not stop campaigning until we can cross the harbour on our own feet or with our own wheels.
