Auckland's bike paths
Gratitude and gripes
I love Auckland’s cycleways and shared paths. I’m eternally grateful for the ones we have. They’re much safer than using busy roads and they open up active transport as a viable possibility for more people. As we continue to get more paths, the network will become even more useful, unlocking its value for more and more people.
I gave up cycling to work in Melbourne in 2001, because I got sick of nearly being wiped out by people driving cars. A handful of drivers display outright aggression toward people riding bikes but in my experience, most simply don’t have their mind on the job. And with the advent of smartphones it’s a lot worse now than it was back in 2001.
A big reason I’m back cycling now is thanks to Auckland’s investment in safe infrastructure. It’s my preferred form of transport and has drastically reduced my car usage. It’s also good exercise and good fun, especially on days when I have no particular place to go!
Benefits of exercise and low-cost, low-emissions transport are clear to anyone who cares to peruse published evidence, and obvious to anyone who takes it up.
Shared paths aren’t the best
Shared paths put pedestrians and kids and dogs on the same carriageway as bikes and e-bikes and e-scooters, some travelling at quite high speeds. Recent improvements to a section of a central suburban shared path where kids walk to school is a massive safety upgrade, but this is an exception. Most of the paths are shared paths.
As a cyclist I’m happy to share the path and, in much the same way that power gives way to sail at sea, I consider it my responsibility to ensure pedestrians, kids, dogs and others are safe around me and feel safe if I overtake them - e.g., I’ll slow down, ring the bell, smile and wave, pass at a safe distance. Not rocket science.
I love to see kiddies wobbling along on their first wheels.
Unfortunately though, in all honesty I can’t recommend the shared path to friends or family and I wouldn’t choose to walk on it myself. Here’s why - just a few examples of things I see on the daily or weekly. Let me know what I forgot:
Happy people on powerful e-bikes who must be able to see around corners, because they will happily overtake anywhere!
Pelotons of recreational cyclists on fancy road bikes riding at speed, 2-3 abreast who don’t leave enough space for ordinary cyclists to feel safe coming the other way.
Riders who close-pass, for no good reason, without warning (no bell, because bells add weight, apparently). Thanks for the adrenaline spike, duuude.
People who enter the path from a blind entry lane (why do we have blind entry lanes?) without stopping and looking left or right.
Cyclists who come to a sudden stop without pulling over, or do a U-turn without looking behind (perhaps they’re Uber drivers?)
Heavy vehicles like this one (technically an e-scooter, but too heavy to lift) and sometimes even a 2-stroke vespa (at least you can hear those coming).
Muscle dogs with a 250 pounds per square inch bite force, running off the lead.
Hire scooters parked in the middle of the path, forcing two-way traffic into a head-on scenario.
Truckloads of broken glass (throwing bottles at the shared path is a national passtime on Saturday nights).
Paths that abruptly come to an end (bye, good luck in the traffic!), with no wayfinding to help navigate to where they pick up again which might only be 1-2 streets away.
Plants and weeds that aren’t trimmed regularly, narrowing the path down to one lane for two-way bike traffic and obscuring visibility.
Trees that have branches dangling down below head height so I can’t see ahead and occasionally have to swerve or get smacked in the face by low-hanging foliage.
Delivery trucks that park in the bike lane.
Despite all this, I am somehow still in one piece - and I keep returning. An hour on the bike paths in the morning always sets my day on a good trajectory. It’s a happy place. Just be careful out there.
Addendum
I know what I forgot to mention: These. 65kg, 110kph jump-scare machines. You’re riding along peacefully in your happy place and all of a sudden this races up silently behind you and whizzes past at warp speed. Dude wearing full motorcycle helmet and leathers, as you would.
Gone before you can say WTF. Fill your nappies.
I’d also like to acknowledge Tim Adriaansen’s comment on linkedin:
A great post but a bit of a shame that it lists a lot of end-user behaviours without more focus on how all this can be avoided/fixed: Build dedicated bike paths, with physical separation from vehicles and pedestrians.
Agreed - and thanks!