This time, Project Watch goes west, following on from our recent updates about good news for cycling infrastructure in the Central City and the Isthmus.
Carrington Road upgrade – consultation open now
This is marginally “west” but we’re including it here as the consultation has just gone live, and is open until Sunday 23 June. It includes a pin-drop map to add your comments, so get amongst it. The good news in brief: protected cycleways the length of Carrington Road!
And one big thing to push back on: the Northwestern shared path crossing needs to stay as a raised crossing, whether or not it moves slightly north. This is a major crossing point for people of all ages walking, biking, and using mobility aids, and it’ll only get busier.
It’d be bizarre and unprecedented for AT to (literally) lower the safety odds here. Raise your voice and call on them to do the right thing!
Te Whau Pathway – major new section under way, due for completion mid-2026
Te Whau Pathway is a visionary project, long dreamt of and taking shape piece by piece as funding materialises. Once complete, it’ll form a blue-green ribbon along the awa and through local parks, from New Lynn to Te Atatū. This is both a good thing in itself, and will offer a welcome alternative to the hostile walking and cycling environment of Te Atatū Road.
Thanks to a Crown funding boost from the outgoing government, which leverages previous investment including from Council, work is back under way since December 2023 on a section of 4m-wide path linking the Northwestern shared path to Roberts Field.
Find out more and sign up for construction updates here. This video gives a great overview of the current work:
Led by Te Whau Coastal Pathway Environmental Trust, the project is a partnership between Auckland Council, Auckland Transport (AT), Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Te Kawerau ā Maki, and Whau and Henderson-Massey local boards, with major funding from government.
Te Atatū Peninsula bike lane safety upgrade – completed early 2024
Auckland Transport has added bike lane protection and bus stop bypasses to Te Atatū Road as part of a package of bus and bike improvements designed to help people travel on and off the peninsula more smartly and safely.
This is a welcome and long overdue safety improvement at a location with a tragic history where the community has been calling for action for many years. It also delivers on our 2019 crowd-sourced call for pop-up protection of existing painted lanes.
Te Atatu Rd South – safety swings and roundabouts, completed May 2024
Auckland Transport has added some pop-up protection to Te Atatū Rd southbound from the interchange to Edmonton, making it much better. However, the re-configuration for the T2 lane between McLeod Rd to Edmonton Rd unfortunately makes things materially worse for people riding bikes.
Royal Road safety improvements – diluted early 2024
The Royal Road “network optimisation” project aims “to improve safety [and] provide better connections for people walking/cycling” through a motorway interchange. This is a busy crossing point along the busy Northwestern path, and there’s also a primary school nearby.
So we’re flabbergasted by the recent cancellation of the raised crossings on slip lanes, noted in the March 2024 update, with no technical reason or safety rationale given:
“The originally proposed raised safety platforms at Makora Road and the Royal Road motorway southbound onramp have been removed and replaced with zebra crossing line-markings.”
As revealed via a recent OIA request, Royal Road is not alone: NZTA Waka Kotahi has quietly cancelled raised crossings at over two dozen locations around the motu. These were explicitly designed to protect vulnerable road users where state highways cut through neighbourhoods, and communities were consulted on that basis.
The NZTA response makes clear this mass safety downgrade is “in line with the Minister’s expectations and priorities”, rather than being an evidence-based decision arrived at by transport safety experts in consultation with affected communities.
This is alarming ministerial overreach, as well as really bad democratic process. It will have real life consequences, because paint is not protection – especially on slip lanes that encourage unsafe driving speeds. Concerned? You can contact the Minister directly (Simeon.Brown@parliament.govt.nz), and reach out to your local elected representatives and transport spokespeople.
Henderson Creek Path connection to Sylvan Crescent – in progress
Here’s a great example of a small fix that goes a long way. After locals raised the issue of a muddy desire-line through the grass, Brooke Loader, deputy chair of Henderson-Massey Local Board, worked with Council’s parks department and Auckland Transport to get this little link concreted. Great teamwork!
Henderson Connections – up in the air?
Tying in with Eke Panuku development work in Henderson, a bunch of local cycling improvements have been on the horizon for years.
While the related project page hasn’t been updated since 2019, we’ve been involved in workshops about the Oratia Link, and the Local Board approved a concept design in mid-2022. Hopefully something will come of this soon.
Meanwhile, Auckland Transport’s plan for a central Henderson Cycleway (covering sections of Great North Rd and Swanson Rd, and all of Rathgar Rd near several big schools) is unfortunately on hold until funding can be secured. The most recent consultation in 2022 showed strongest backing from young people: take a look at pages 29-41 of the feedback report if you want to feel a bit better about the state of the world.
Kelston Streets for People – pilot project under way
Around a cluster of six local schools in Kelston/Onewherowhero where 2300 children travel every day, street changes are being trialed to make it safer and easier to walk, bike and scoot. The design uses planter boxes, concrete blocks and flexi-posts to help work towards a more enduring solution.
You may have seen the highly positive coverage in the paper. Children’s voices are clearly being heard in this project, as seen in this clip:
We also love this video featuring several young spokespeople like intermediate student Sarah, who says:
“I’ve noticed that cars have been going slower around the area where the changes have been made, and that kids have been having safer travels to school and from school. It means that for me it’s safer, and for everybody else around me it’s safer, and even for the cars that are driving it’s safer, because they have less chance of crashing because they’re going slower.”
Kelston-New Lynn cycling improvements – consultation soon
Auckland Transport is applying the Climate Action Transport Targeted Rate (CATTR) and its ongoing cycling programme funding to develop a network of routes in Kelston and New Lynn. We hear there are some initial concept designs in hand, and public consultation is due to start in the next few months. Stay tuned!
Hobsonville Road cycleway – for construction late 2024?
This cycleway will bridge a key gap in the network, as noted by Greater Auckland last year. This is another Climate Action Transport Targeted Rate-funded project, with 100% local share – which means it should be safe from any funding uncertainty. It’s currently in detailed design, and Auckland Transport tells us it should be ready to start construction by November / December, so long as a few design issues are resolved. Keep an eye on the project page for updates.
