In our budget constrained environment, we need fast and affordable solutions which support more people to feel safe to cycle and scooter from A to B. Pop up protection is a crucial part of the solution (alongside safer speeds) for filling in more of our disjointed cycle network.
You may have seen them, you may have heard of them, or you might be new to them; concrete and rubber pop up protection is a fast and affordable way to create safe on-road cycleways.
As appreciators of the concrete tim tam (also known as cameo creme, the concrete separator, concrete protector, or occasionally its sibling, the rubber separator), we thought we’d give you an update about how things are going in the world of car-and-micromobility separation. Some people call it the Pop up Protection Programme, it used to be called the Minor Cycling and Micro-mobility programme, and more recently it has been renamed the Community Initiated Programme – Cycling and Micromobility Design Projects. It has been (mostly quietly) making streets safer since 2022 – and, it could be coming to your neighborhood soon.
The pop up programme originally focused on adding protection to existing on-road painted cycleways. The idea was that because painted cycleways are already identified as cycleways and don’t allow for parking, the transport agency would be able to add protection without having to go through expensive and time consuming processes like full public consultation. However, there were many learnings from one of the very first routes they added protection to, including the importance of local consultation, using the right materials and layout for how the area is used, and improving other aspects of the road environment to ensure safety (such as reducing speed, improving intersections). You can see more about the transport staff’s learnings in this presentation from the 2 Walk and Cycle conference. They have also now approved a new type of concrete tim tam which is shorter (120mm high) and chamfered, reducing damage if it’s hit head on, and strong enough to be mounted if needed such as for rubbish truck access.
The programme’s scope has now been widened to include providing short connections between existing bike paths (even if there isn’t a painted cycleway there), and improving intersections along these routes where needed. The protection is usually installed on roads that have a large amount of motor vehicle traffic or which require more transport options due to an increase in people moving about in the near future (eg. connecting public transport stations, high density housing areas, or growing business areas).
While we love world-class high quality bike ways like Glen Innes to Tāmaki Drive or the Southern Corridor, pop up cycleways are an affordable solution for providing more safe spaces for more people to travel by bike in a shorter span of time. The pop up programme gives us some hope for a rapid roll out of cycleways somewhat similar to the ones which ‘supercharged’ numbers of people cycling in Paris, London, and Milan.
Where are they?
The original plan was to install 70 km of protection across 60 routes over a 3 year time span. But, due to budget reductions and changing Auckland Transport priorities (among other reasons) as of March 2024 only 10km of protection had been delivered across 9 routes.
You might have seen some around, such as at:
- Ian McKinnon Drive, across the New North Road flyover to connect to the Northwestern
- Lambie Drive and Noel Burnside Drive in Manukau
- Cavendish Drive in Manukau, from Noel Burnside to Lambie Drive
- Upper Harbour Drive (rubber protection) in Kaipātiki
- Clark Street, between Portage Road and Totara Avenue in New Lynn
- Te Atatū Road
- Where did we miss? Let us know
Though Upper Harbour Drive got a large amount of attention, most of the routes with added protection have been quietly appreciated. We’ve also heard a fair bit of positive praise for the Upper Harbour protected cycleway, especially from parents and teachers who are glad to see kids cycling safely to school.
Fiáin from Bike Kingsland (who is also our Chief Biking Officer) says that Ian McKinnon Drive is now their favourite way to get to the city centre. “I’m a huge fan of the protection which popped up on the Ian McKinnon flyover. Once the concrete tim tams appeared I changed my route to include upper Ian McKinnon. I wouldn’t have chosen to regularly travel this way without the added protection.”
Other locals told us that the protection across the flyover has helped them to feel comfortable to travel between Ian McKinnon and Dominion road, an essential part of their commute.
Juan from Manukau City Bike Burb appreciates the addition of protection to the painted cycleways in Manukau. He says “I personally use the protected cycleway along Lambie Drive everyday and feel like they [the concrete tim tams] have saved my physical integrity more than once already.”
Overall, these pop up routes are improving peoples lives, giving them access by bike and scoot to more places, and keeping them safe while they’re out and about.
Our Wishlist
We love these pop-up lanes so our biggest wish is for lots more of them, protecting lots more cycle routes, and creating more transport options for our communities! We would also love a few improvements to make sure everyone can enjoy them.
● Wider lanes, please!
Our cycleways should be comfortable and accessible for all bike types! If they are too narrow, people using trikes, bike trailers, and cargo bikes will miss out.
The pop up programme avoids reallocating roadspace as much as possible, pushing the limit in terms of minimal cycleway widths. If the roadspace allows for a more appropriate width, the space should be reallocated to allow for all bike types to access the cycleway.
Waka Kotahi NZTA’s inclusive cycleway design guidance note recommends that cycleways are 2.1m wide, with an absolute minimum of 1.5m width. We agree! Let’s make ’em wider, people!
● Flatten those gutters!
Gutters might be fine for a lot of bikes, but they can create a dangerous hazard for some bike types and they can take up a lot of the bike lane real estate, narrowing the cycleway. Trikes and wheelchair bikes in particular can tip over if a gutter is on an angle.
Gutters should be flush with the road surface or should be covered so that cycleways are accessible and safe for every bike type.
● No more surprise dead ends
Sometimes our bike lanes end unexpectedly, often into a row of parked cars or a bridge where it was deemed ‘too hard’ to have a protected cycleway. These sudden changes can cause significant danger for people riding bikes; especially if people driving aren’t aware that the cycleway is ending and bikes are going to end up in the general traffic lane.
Let’s put an end to dangerous dead ends please!
● Clean up in aisle 4
We love our cycle paths, and they need to be kept clean so that they are safe to ride. Glass and debris in cycleways can make them unsafe and unappealing. If they aren’t swept regularly enough people start to avoid them instead of using them. And, its important that any litter that has blown onto our cycle paths is collected before it gets into the ocean.
There is a pretty cute vehicle which sweeps our cycleways. Have you seen it? Anyone snapped a photo?
Our city centre cycleways and key high-cycle-traffic routes are supposedly swept daily. Other cycle routes are on monthly sweeping cycles. If a cycleway is outside a bar or under trees which drop lots of leaves or seeds, it will require more regular sweeping to keep it in a safe and usable condition. If an issue is reported on a cycleway, such as glass, it will be bumped up the list and swept sooner (find out how to report an issue here).
Although community clean ups are a beautiful response to this issue (check out Bike Eastern Suburbs‘ ‘Love Your Path’ events), our cycleways should be on sweeping schedules that are appropriate for the environment they are in, and which are regular enough that they are safe and appealing for people to ride.
More regular and location-appropriate sweeping for all our cycleways please!
Most of all, we want more pop up cycleways so we can be safer, smarter, sooner!
Do you love your local pop up protection? Want some to appear in your neighbourhood? Let your local board and Council representatives know, and tag us in on social media @bikeakl
