30 March 2016
Auckland takes to the pink path

More than 100,000 cycle journeys have now been made over Auckland’s Lightpath Cycleway since its opening in December, cementing its place as a favourite cycling destination.

Since its opening on 3 December 2015, there has been an average of 848 cycle journeys each day across the Lightpath leading to a five-fold increase in people cycling on Nelson St during the week.

Lightpath was popular over Easter with an average of more than 1,000 cycling journeys each day.

Seeing these big numbers at the weekends and on holidays tells us that the Lightpath is well-used by Aucklanders for leisure and recreation as well as for commuting, says Kathryn King, Auckland Transport’s Cycling and Walking Manager.

“We know lots of parents are taking their kids on it during the weekend. Children seem to love the pink colour, the artwork and the lights at night.

“It confirms what the all research says, if you make a city bike-friendly, more people will cycle and they will cycle more often,” she says.

The NZ Transport Agency says it’s thrilled to see so many people making use of the new cycling facilities.

“The Lightpath and Nelson St Cycleway are a vital link in the Auckland Cycle Network and part of our vision of creating a world-class cycling infrastructure to make cycling a safe and efficient transport choice within the city,” says Ernst Zöllner, the Transport Agency’s Regional Director.

“Aucklanders have told us they want more cycling facilities, and the success of Lightpath shows that if we build them they will be used, which will help us achieve our goal of increasing cycling journeys by 30% by 2019.”

Lightpath is a shared walking and cycling path from Canada St to the Union/Nelson St intersection via a bridge and the disused Nelson St off-ramp. It is part of the Nelson St Cycleway which continues down Nelson St as a two way cyclepath.

The path is also popular with walkers and counters are being put in to record the numbers taking a stroll along it.

Lightpath and the remaining section of the Nelson Street Cycleway are funded through the Government’s Urban Cycleways Programme and have been jointly delivered by the NZ Transport Agency, Auckland Council and Auckland Transport.

Auckland Transport is currently working on phase two of the Nelson St Cycleway from Victoria St to Quay St with the final route to be announced soon.

The numbers
Average of 848 cycle journeys per day across Lightpath since opening 3 December 2015
7.4% increase in cycle counts across Auckland 2015/2014.
29% increase in people new to cycling in city centre (2015 survey)
27% (up from 20% in 2014) of Aucklanders do some cycling (2015 survey)
38% increase in people cycling on Grafton Gully (February 2015 compared with February 2014)

ends

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