The Chamberlain Park stretch of the NW cycleway is currently a bitsy ride, with narrow bits and visibility issues as works proceed towards completion. We strongly advise slowing down along here, especially at dusk when pedestrians become invisible and some bikes aren’t as well lit as they might be.
But as of the coming week, we’ll be off this beaten path for three months and traveling at motorway level while workers create the new path alongside the golf course and add lighting duct work.
The change-over will happen on Tuesday 26 April, after the morning peak hour around 9 or 10am, and will last until the end of July.
Here’s what the contractors, CPB (formerly Leightons), told us:
A small switch will allow us to undertake the scheduled works for the lighting duct and to pour the new northwestern cycleway in the area adjacent to the Chamberlain Golf Course. This works is programmed to be completed by end of July. Please know that construction changes may occur if we strike rock or tree roots but we will keep you informed.
During this period cyclists and pedestrians using this section of cycleway will be placed onto a temporary path on the asphalt road surface alongside the shared user path. The path will be 2.2m wide, but one section of the path will be 1.25m wide.
We were concerned about that proposed 1.25m wide segment, so we visited for a walk-through. (Thanks to Elise and Chris for taking the time to make this happen on a Friday afternoon).
We were happy to see that in general, the temporary path is comfortably wide – in fact, it feels like it has way more elbow room than the current one.
The fencing is necessary, as you’re up against motorway traffic on one side and a work zone on the other. We’ve asked that the orange footers be angled so they’re less obstructive, while still allowing the fence to stand up. There are also a couple of drains along the park edge that will be marked with traffic cones.
So where’s the rub? There’s a pinch-point at the St Luke’s end, where the path narrows for approximately 15-20m. It’s unavoidable, given the hard constraints on both sides.
The good news: visibility is fine – you’ll be able to see oncoming walkers and cyclists. But you will absolutely need to slow down and either give way to oncoming traffic, or manoeuvre past each other at walking speed.
There will be advance signage in both directions, and extra lighting around the pinch point. As always, the watchwords are ‘share with care’.
And ‘eyes on the prize’: the brand new pathway should be ready by the end of July.
As noted in the headline, it’s also time to say a fond goodbye to the infamous ‘ski-jump’, where tree roots have pushed the path up. Hurry, scurry, get your bunny-hops out this weekend!
PS We’ve also been given advance notice of a short upcoming detour along the Western Springs section (hopefully short in both senses of the word). This is to complete the lighting work at the dark corner of Myrtle St – we will share details as soon as we know more.
