Bayswater cycle lanes stall

Cycle lanes for Bayswater Ave have been put on ice by Auckland Transport, citing council funding cuts, which also raises doubts over the connected $52 million Lake Rd project.

The Flagstaff has seen a memo from Auckland Transport (AT) that says with timing for Lake Rd’s controversial upgrade yet to be confirmed, there was “a risk the benefits of the cycleway cannot be fully realised as part of the cycle network for the Devonport peninsula.”

Auckland Council budget cuts impacting Vibrant Streets – the programme the cycleway is being built under – were also cited for the deferral.

Vibrant Streets and the Lake Rd budget stood to get an injection of funding from Waka Kotahi, which is also reprioritising its spending in the wake of recent weather events.

On deadline, the Flagstaff was unable to get answers on the government transport agency’s ongoing commitment to Lake Rd and if AT was pushing back its Lake Rd timelines. Detailed design work is underway.

Complicating matters further is Waka Kotahi’s planned mid-year announcement of the preferred option for a second harbour crossing, with the most expensive option involving Lake Rd. Light rail to Takapuna also figures in harbour-crossing deliberations, adding to uncertainty about how future transport projects will connect.

Devonport-Takapuna Local Board member George Wood said the cycle-lane deferral was good news for businesses that stood to lose parking along from the Belmont corner.

“It would wreck those businesses and the end of Bayswater Ave.”

The entire south side of Bayswater Ave was pegged to become a bi-directional cycle lane, with parking remaining only on the northern side.

Wood initiated a board call last month for AT to provide an update on why public consultation over the cycleway seemed to have stalled.

AT’s Vibrant Streets team said the project had received significant board support and input from stakeholder groups.

“Auckland Transport stands behind this project and the important benefits it will bring to the community by increasing safety for cyclists, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users, improving community access to more active transportation modes, and for its role in making Auckland’s transportation network more environmentally friendly, accessible, multimodal, and liveable for all who live and work here,” its memo said.

The work would not be wasted, the memo claimed, with feedback to be used “when we’re ready to move forward once again.”

Concrete path around historic tree sparks alarm

Council workers digging across Windsor Reserve to install a concrete path across the rootline of Devonport’s historic Moreton Bay Fig sparked alarm early this week.

Devonport-Takapuna local board member Gavin Busch was alerted about the new path on Monday night and went to investigate prior to a Devonport Business Association meeting at the RSA.

Trish Deans of Devonport Heritage had received calls from the public and said she would be contacting Auckland Council’s heritage team, questioning the concrete construction over tree roots.

Although ‘Old Albert’ was an historic, protected tree, Devonport Heritage had not been informed about the project in advance, she said.

Work on the project is part of renewing paths around the reserve and would take three weeks, according to a contractors information sheet.