Residents in Herne Bay and business owners on Jervois Road have been anxious to know what plans Auckland Transport has for cycleways in our suburb.
It had been mooted that the Pt Chevalier to the city cycleway would reach Jervois Road from Westend Road, and either go down Jervois Road to College Hill and thence to the city, or go down Clifton Road or Wallace Street to Argyle Street, along Sarsfield and either across the bridge or back up Curran Street and thence down College Hill to the city.
Neither of those options has been confirmed.
Herne Bay waterside will undergo extensive traffic calming measures designed to encourage slower driving speeds and improve routes for people walking and cycling in the area. The proposal takes into consideration submissions from the Herne Bay Resident’s Association about speeding and ‘rat running’ in their suburbs.
The ‘treatments’, as AT calls them, on several streets will occur rather than cycle lanes on those streets. The aim is to enhance the look and feel of the Herne Bay area, and improve routes for local people walking or cycling to local shops, beaches and cafes.
AT will introduce speed tables and reduce the speed limit to 30kph.
The overall aim is laudable and should reduce rat running, be more attractive to bikers, safer for pedestrians and will minimise loss of parking. Construction is due to start shortly.
The future for Jervois Road is less clear. AT told me the cycleway from Pt Chevalier Road, Meola Road and Garnet Road towards the city is not set in stone. How the cycleway to Garnet Road shops travels into the city has not been decided. A workshop between AT and the Waitemata Local Board will decide the final route.
It may go down Jervois Road, very much against the wishes of Herne Bay shop owners, or it may somehow link through Coxs Bay Reserve. Linking through Coxs Bay, through to Richmond Road to Ponsonby Road and down Franklin Road, which already has a brand new cycle way, makes sense.
If you are concerned, you should lobby Waitemata Local Board members before they make their recommendation to AT. (John Elliott)
Photographed above - the mess Auckland Transport made in Richmond Road village in West Lynn.