Cycling in Auckland

File:Nelson Street Cycleway 039.JPG }}]]

File:Lake Road Northshore Nov 08.jpg only received cycle lanes after significant local opposition, and the Council considered removing the lanes after installation.{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wayne-thompson/news/article.cfm?a_id=144&objectid=10596337&pnum=1|title=Future of well-used cycle lane in doubt|date=10 September 2009|work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=25 January 2010|first=Wayne|last=Thompson}}]]

Cycling in Auckland is a mode of transport in Auckland, New Zealand. The dominance of the car in the city,[http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp/urp_publications/Issues_Papers/URP_IP5_MeesDodsonAucklandTransport_April2006.pdf Backtracking Auckland: Bureaucratic rationality and public preferences in transport planning] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413213710/http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/urp/urp_publications/Issues_Papers/URP_IP5_MeesDodsonAucklandTransport_April2006.pdf |date=13 April 2008 }} – Mees, Paul; Dodson, Jago; Urban Research Program Issues Paper 5, Griffith University, April 2006{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10539171 |title=Big steps to change City of Cars |author=Orsman, Bernard |date=24 October 2008 |work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=26 September 2011}} the negative attitudes of car drivers and general changes in transport patterns have made it a very marginal transport mode in the early 21st century, with remaining cyclists often riding for leisure and sports purposes.

While political and infrastructure initiatives are underway to revive cycling, success is still to be solidified. As of 2005/06, only 16% of the Regional Cycle Network had been completed, which also included routes that had been built before the plan for a regional network had been adopted.{{cite web|url=http://www.arc.govt.nz/albany/fms/main/Documents/Transport/RLTS/RLTS%20Annual%20Report%2005-06.pdf|title=Annual Report 2005/06|work=Auckland Regional Land Transport Strategy |publisher=Auckland Regional Council|pages=20|accessdate=25 February 2010}} In 2014, results showed that cycling mode share had stopped declining compared to previous census results, though from 0.9% in 2006, it had only risen to 1.2% of all work trips on census day.{{cite news|title=Role of Cycling in Auckland, Report to the Infrastructure Committee|url=http://infocouncil.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/Open/2014/03/INF_20140312_AGN_4787_AT.PDF|accessdate=15 March 2014|newspaper=Auckland Council}} However, statistics and automatic counters show the success of cycling where higher-quality infrastructure has been installed, with nine counters across Auckland reporting annual cycle number increases of an average of 10% in 2014, a growth trend that continued in subsequent years.

History

The first Auckland bicycle ride was undertaken on 23 August 1869, using a velocipede made to order by a local company, and ridden down Grey Street, then being one of the smoothest roads in the city.{{cite news |title=The First Bicycle in Auckland |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DSC18690824.2.21 |accessdate=25 August 2019 |work=Daily Southern Cross |date=24 August 1869}}

Attitudes

File:High_Quality_Paths_In_Underwood_Walmsley_III.jpg

Auckland has a much less positive popular attitude towards cycling and new cycling infrastructure than some other cities of New Zealand like Wellington and Christchurch. An Otago University study showed that fear of rude and actively hostile behaviour from drivers was the main reason New Zealanders were not using their cycles more.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10547937 |title=Cyclists fear the bash |author=Milnr, Rebecca |date=14 December 2008 |work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=26 September 2011}} Some 59% of all respondents in an Auckland Transport study of a cross-section of Aucklanders noted safety as a barrier to cycling.

This, and to some degree the hillier nature of Auckland, have caused cycling to so far remain a marginal pursuit – only 1% of all morning peak trips were being made by bicycle in the late 2000s.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/466/story.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10494140 |title=Nicola Shepheard: Two-wheel zeal |author=Shepheard, Nicola |date=24 February 2008 |work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=26 September 2011}} However, in Wellington, with an even hillier topography, the cycling numbers are approximately twice as high.[http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/performance/2007/docs/trend-3.pdf Sustainable and safe land transport] (from Statistics New Zealand. Accessed 2 May 2008.)

While Auckland City Council and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) have undertaken some works since the introduction in 1998 of a "Walking and Cycling Plan" for the city, cycling connections between different areas of the wider city are still often missing.On your bike – Auckland resistant to cycleways – LG – New Zealand Local Government, Volume 43 No 12, December 2007, Page 16. Some cycle lanes have met vocal opposition, mostly from locals who consider them unneeded due to the low level of cycling in Auckland and due to the removal of on-street parking for their implementation. However, Council representatives note that cycling will not gain in popularity until the corresponding infrastructure is gradually introduced.On your bike – Auckland resistant to cycleways – LG – New Zealand Local Government, Volume 43 No 12, December 2007, Page 18.

Facilities

File:Cyclists on Tamaki Drive.jpg|accessdate=21 February 2010|first=Mathew|last=Dearnaley}}]]

While most cycling takes place on normal public roads, there are a small number of dedicated off-road facilities available in Auckland. In many other places, plans for on-road or off-road routes have been mooted, but not yet realised. These include recreational mountain bike trails, pump tracks (short dirt tails) and BMX tracks which are scattered around Auckland and suit different cycling abilities. One of the largest and most well known mountain bike facilities in Auckland is Woodhill Forest, which is commercial.

Surveys show that a significant part of the population desires protected cycle facilities (i.e. off-road or separated from vehicle traffic), such facilities being desired by 55% of all respondents in an Auckland Transport study of a cross-section of Aucklanders.

As of early 2014, the target in the Auckland Plan was for 70% of the Auckland Cycle Network to be completed by 2020, however with the current funding, Council estimates that only 40–50% will be complete at that time.

= Cycleways =

Existing cycleways in Auckland primarily parallel motorways. They currently (as of 2010) consist of the Northwestern Cycleway, which was created along the Northwestern Motorway between the Auckland CBD and Lincoln in West Auckland (with some on-road sections on the way) and the Waikaraka Cycleway, from Wesley, Auckland to Southdown, most of it along State Highway 20 through southern Auckland City, before continuing along Mangere Harbour to the east.

Waitakere City Council also constructed a number of longer-distance off-road cycle paths, such as the routes that are part of the Project Twin Streams through the Henderson area, as well as the new cycle path along the Te Atatū Peninsula.{{cite web|url=http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/whahap/nm/mr/2008/oct08.asp#cycle|title=Cycle lanes get the green light|date=10 October 2008|work=Media release|publisher=Waitakere City Council|accessdate=1 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515094646/http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/WhaHap/nm/mr/2008/oct08.asp#cycle|archive-date=15 May 2010|url-status=dead}}

Overall, as of early 2014, Council notes an approximate {{Convert|283|km||}} of cycle ways, "consisting of 95 km of cycle metros, 130 km of cycle connectors and 57 km of feeder routes that {{sic|comprise |hide=y|of}} varying levels of service and cycle infrastructure provision. Parts of the existing network require cyclists to use bus/bike lanes and consist of short sections of unconnected cycle lanes, which advocacy groups do not consider to be an optimal solution in terms of safety".

class="wikitable"

|+Comparison of new cycleway per year and targets

!Year

!New cycleway (km)

!AT Targets 2017 (km){{cite report|url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1972359/at-statement-of-intent-2016-17-to-2018-19.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422074553/https://at.govt.nz/media/1972359/at-statement-of-intent-2016-17-to-2018-19.pdf |archive-date=22 April 2017 |title=Statement of Intent 2016/17-2018/19|author=|date=2017|publisher=Auckland Transport|page=|docket=|quote=|author-link=|access-date=}}

!AT Targets 2019 (km){{cite report|url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1977411/statement-of-intent-2018-19-to-2020-21.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125183600/https://at.govt.nz/media/1977411/statement-of-intent-2018-19-to-2020-21.pdf |archive-date=25 January 2019 |title=Statement of Intent 2018/19 – 2020/21|author=|date=2019|publisher=Auckland Transport|page=|docket=|quote=|author-link=|access-date=}}

!AT Targets 2021 (km){{cite report|url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1983228/statement-of-intent-july-2020-final.pdf|title=Statement of Intent 2020/21 – 2022/23|author=|date=2021|publisher=Auckland Transport|page=|docket=|quote=|author-link=|access-date=}}

2016

|11.8{{cite report|url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1971310/at_ar-2016-final-14-sep-16.pdf|title=Annual Report 2016|author=|date=2016|publisher=Auckland Transport|page=|docket=|quote=|author-link=|access-date=}}

|7.4

2017

|14.2{{cite report|url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1974713/at_annual_report_2017.pdf|title=Annual Report 2017|author=|date=2017|publisher=Auckland Transport|page=|docket=|quote=|author-link=|access-date=}}

|16.4

2018

|6.5{{cite report|url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1978334/at-annual-report-2018.pdf|title=2018 Annual Report|author=|date=2018|publisher=Auckland Transport|page=|docket=|quote=|author-link=|access-date=}}

|28.8

|10

2019

|9.65{{cite report|url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1980960/at-annual-report-2019.pdf|title=Auckland Transport 2019 Annual Report|author=|date=2019|publisher=Auckland Transport|page=|docket=|quote=|author-link=|access-date=}}

|10

2020

|6.09{{cite report|url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1983812/at-annual-report-2020.pdf|title=Auckland Transport 2020 Annual Report: Moving Forward Together|author=|date=2020|publisher=Auckland Transport|page=|docket=|quote=|author-link=|access-date=}}

|10

2021

|6.75{{cite report |url=https://at.govt.nz/media/1986879/at-annual-report-2021.pdf |title=Auckland Transport 2021 Annual Report |author= |date=2021 |publisher= |page= |docket= |quote= |author-link= |access-date=16 June 2023}}

|8.5

2022

2023

As of September 2021, Auckland Transport has not been able to meet its targets for newly constructed cycleways since 2017, even though the targets have decreased in subsequent years.

The New Lynn to Avondale shared path is a {{cvt|2.9|km}} shared path that goes from the New Lynn railway station to Blockhouse Bay and crosses over the Whau River.{{cite web|url=https://at.govt.nz/projects-initiatives/past-auckland-projects-and-initiatives/new-lynn-to-avondale-shared-path|title=New Lynn to Avondale shared path|website=Auckland Transport|date=30 May 2022}}

= Bicycle rental =

Auckland has a small bike rental scheme, Nextbike. It began with around 170 bicycles available at rental stations mostly in the CBD and the inner suburbs.{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/auckland-region/news/article.cfm?l_id=117&objectid=10584949 |title=Rental bike scheme an option for World Cup |author=Dearnaley, Mathew |date=17 July 2009 |work=The New Zealand Herald |accessdate=26 September 2011}} The scheme ceased operation in 2010, and restarted in 2013 with only 13 bikes in 3 locations in downtown Auckland. In 2017, Auckland Transport began to investigate the feasibility of implementing their own bike rental scheme.{{Cite web |url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/331073/auckland-commuter-bike-rental-scheme-on-the-cards |title=Auckland commuter bike rental scheme on the cards|date=18 May 2017 }}

A dockless bikeshare operator, Onzo, launched in 2017. Their yellow bikes were deployed without any prior arrangement with local government.{{Cite web |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/auckland/31-10-2017/what-are-all-those-black-and-yellow-bikes-doing-on-aucklands-bike-racks/ |title=What are all those black and yellow bikes doing on Auckland's bike racks?|date=31 October 2017 }} As of April 2021, Onzo has not renewed its license with Auckland Transport and the Companies Office has attempted to remove the business from its register.{{Cite web|last=Junn|first=Jihee|date=10 April 2021|title=Whatever happened to Onzo bikes?|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/10-04-2021/whatever-happened-to-onzo-bikes/|access-date=18 October 2021|website=The Spinoff }}

Proposals

= Harbour link =

One of the links most called-for by local cycling groups is a connection over the Waitematā Harbour between the Auckland city centre and the North Shore, where cyclists currently only have the option of a very distant detour, or of taking a ferry. There have been many recent history of attempts to provide walking and cycling access on Auckland Harbour Bridge.

The political and public relations campaign to provide a link led to one of the largest ever demonstrations of its kind in New Zealand, when in May 2009, several thousands of walkers and cyclists ignored police barriers and peacefully marched onto the motorway bridge, calling for the New Zealand Transport Agency to reconsider the walk/cycleway proposal.{{cite news|date=24 May 2009|title=People power breaks barricades|work=The New Zealand Herald|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/transport/news/article.cfm?c_id=97&objectid=10574283|accessdate=26 September 2011}}

Following years of campaigning a Harbour Bridge crossing, known as Skypath, was promised funding by the Labour Party in the lead-up to the 2017 general election.{{Cite news|title=Labour announces $30m boost for Auckland's SkyPath|work=Fairfax Stuff|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/96159357/labour-announces-30m-boost-for-aucklands-skypath|access-date=27 August 2019}} Once Labour was in government, the project was passed to the Waka Kotahi / NZ Transport Agency{{Cite news|title=SkyPath across Auckland Harbour Bridge to get $67m in funding|work=Radio New Zealand |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/364754/skypath-across-auckland-harbour-bridge-to-get-67m-in-funding|access-date=27 August 2019}} which released a revised design in 2019.{{Cite news|title=New design for Auckland Harbour Bridge shared path announced|work=New Zealand Herald |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12233192|access-date=27 August 2019}} In 2021 Waka Kotahi revealed that they were no longer able to build Skypath due to technical problems.{{Cite web |date=22 March 2021 |title=Skypath project likely cancelled over technical problems |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/438907/skypath-project-likely-cancelled-over-technical-problems |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=RNZ |language=en-nz}}

Following this news, non-profit cycle advocacy group Bike Auckland led the 2021 'Liberate the Lane' rally, advocating for one lane of the Harbour Bridge to be reallocated for walking and cycling{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}. After the rally around 1000 people ignored police barriers and peacefully walked and cycled onto the motorway bridge calling for Waka Kotahi to have a three month trial of walking and cycling on one lane. Following the rally, Transport Minister Michael Wood released plans for a separate walking and cycling bridge across to the North Shore.{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Caroline |date=4 June 2021 |title=Auckland Harbour Bridge cycle rally: Arrested cyclist says access to bridge needed to modernise city |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300323635/auckland-harbour-bridge-cycle-rally-arrested-cyclist-says-access-to-bridge-needed-to-modernise-city |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=Stuff |language=en}} Just months later, the plan was scrapped.{{Cite web |last=Niall |first=Todd |date=1 October 2021 |title=Government scraps $785m cycle and walking bridge across Auckland harbour |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/126562689/government-scraps-785m-cycle-and-walking-bridge-across-auckland-harbour |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=Stuff |language=en}}

In July 2023 Bike Auckland released a report by SmartSense Limited, addressing key concerns about reallocating a lane on the motor bridge to walking and cycling, and proposing a design solution to mitigate safety concerns.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Erin |date=10 July 2023 |title=Engineer gives thumbs up to bike lane on Auckland Harbour Bridge |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/300922545/engineer-gives-thumbs-up-to-bike-lane-on-auckland-harbour-bridge |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=Stuff |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Auckland |first=Bike |date=2 July 2023 |title=Engineering Report Confirms an Auckland Harbour Bridge Active Lane is Safe and Viable |url=https://www.bikeauckland.org.nz/engineering-report-confirms-an-auckland-harbour-bridge-active-lane-is-safe-and-viable/ |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=Bike Auckland |language=en-NZ}}

On 6 August 2023, Waka Kotahi announced their Waitematā Harbour Crossings{{Cite web |last=Agency |first=NZ Transport |title=Waitematā Harbour Connections {{!}} Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency |url=https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/waitemata-harbour-connections/ |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=www.nzta.govt.nz |language=en-NZ}} plan which includes a tunnel for light rail and a tunnel for motor traffic under the Harbour, and walking and cycling on two lanes of the existing Harbour Bridge. Construction is expected to start by 2029.{{Cite news |title=Prime Minister Chris Hipkins reveals two new road tunnels for second Auckland harbour crossing |language=en |work=Newshub |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/08/prime-minister-chris-hipkins-reveals-two-new-tunnels-for-second-auckland-harbour-crossing.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129035105/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/08/prime-minister-chris-hipkins-reveals-two-new-tunnels-for-second-auckland-harbour-crossing.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 November 2023 |access-date=18 October 2023}} Waka Kotahi's forecast is that 6400 people would walk and cycle across the Auckland Harbour Bridge every day.{{Cite web |date=18 October 2023 |title='No question' second Auckland harbour crossing needed – PM |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/second-auckland-harbour-crossing-governments-mega-plans-revealed/TB3WTGHGR5BYFH6S4XXKWWZNMI/ |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}}

Bike Auckland continues to advocate for Waka Kotahi to Liberate the Lane, stating that Waka Kotahi's Waitematā connections project will take too long to deliver a walking and cycling connection across the Harbour.{{Cite web |title=$45bn Auckland tunnels plan: 'Money apparently grows on roads' |url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/08/06/45bn-auckland-tunnels-plan-money-apparently-grows-on-roads/ |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=1 News |language=en}} Their campaign has attracted the support of a diverse array of organisations, calling for Waka Kotahi to liberate the lane now to give Aucklanders more affordable and sustainable transport options, and that it would be a key symbol of climate action.{{Cite web |title=Liberate the Lane |url=http://www.liberatethelane.nz |access-date=18 October 2023 |website=www.liberatethelane.nz |language=en-NZ}}

References

External links

[https://at.govt.nz/cycling-walking/cycling-walking-monitoring/monthly-cycle-monitoring-report/ Monthly Auckland Transport cycling statistics]

Auckland

Category:Transport in Auckland