This message is to all Aucklanders who care about a safer city.
Please contact your local councilor, your local board and your local MP about this important issue.
This weekend in Royal Oak a person was killed while riding a bicycle along Manukau Road, near Royal Oak roundabout and near to a primary school.
This was a preventable death.
Manukau Road is designated by Auckland Transport as a strategic cycling route, but it still has no separated bike lanes.
The nearby Royal Oak roundabout has just been rebuilt following community consultation.
The top two (2) concerns of that community consultation were:
- Safer cycle facilities;
- Safer pedestrian facilities.
The result of this consultation? Nothing at all for people on bikes. Auckland Transport said “Not now. There is no budget for Vision Zero improvements at this time.”
Make no mistake – this tragic death was not an accident.
It is as a direct result of Auckland Transport and Auckland Council rejecting Vision Zero.
This death could have been prevented if the movement of cars had not been prioritised over the safety of people walking and cycling.
City leaders must also take responsibility for this tragedy for lacking the courage to change our traffic; To put Vision Zero ahead of the fast movement of cars, and to hold our regional transport agency to account.
Bike Auckland calls on Auckland Transport to fix Manukau Road for people travelling by bike, by providing protected cycle lanes now; and for Auckland Council to ensure Auckland Transport deliver on their Vision Zero policy with all projects that they undertake.
You can read about the consultation process and Bike Auckland’s feedback suggestions.
