Community has its say on Mt Albert cycle lanes

Auckland City held a productive community feedback session last night on cycle lanes proposed along Mt Albert Road.

The cycle lanes are proposed for along both sides of Mt Albert Road, between New North and Sandringham roads, and along a section of Carrington Road, between Woodward and Willcott streets, connecting with the popular Northwestern cycleway.

The proposal involves the removal of car parking along the eastern stretches of Mt Albert and Carrington roads and this was the key concern for a number of residents at the meeting.

Auckland City’s senior transport planner, Daniel Newcombe, says it was a fruitful evening and good to talk to people face to face.

“We received a lot of feedback in the couple of weeks lead-up to the meeting so we knew people were interested,” says Mr Newcombe.

“The people I spoke to aren’t against cycle lanes. They’re just concerned about losing parking outside their home. Speaking directly to people, we got some really good ideas on ways to improve the design.”

The purpose of the evening, at Mt Albert Presbyterian Church, was to hear from stakeholders their thoughts on the cycle lanes to improve the project with local knowledge.
It was also to provide information using maps, graphs and aerial plans as well as to give people the opportunity to have one-on-one dialogue with travel planners and engineering experts.

Mr Newcombe says the council has the difficult job of balancing people’s individual concerns against the wider public good aspect of the project.
“The council is committed to making Auckland city a place that is easy and safe to get around,” he says.

“We are working hard to provide a range of sustainable travel options for Aucklanders. That means providing people with infrastructure and services that encourage them to leave their cars at home.

“We have to assess individual parking concerns against the big picture.”
Auckland City urges people who were not able to attend the feed-back evening to make submissions and find out more information online at: http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/auckland/transport/bikes/mtalbert.asp
The last day for feedback has been extended until 2 July at the request of residents.

Auckland City will then need time to assess responses and revise the plan accordingly. A proposed final design will then be presented at a public meeting, with the date to be announced.

Ends

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