The fate of the Bayfair pedestrian-cycle underpass may be decided at a meeting between the Sustainable Business Network's BikeNow and the New Zealand Transport Agency's cycleway specialist from Wellington this Monday.
The news comes as another cycle group, Bike Mount, calls for a public petition to protect the underpass.
Bike Mount believes the underpass will be demolished during construction of the Baypark to Bayfair project, as it disappears from the plans so far made public.
Fellow local group BikeNow has been dealing with the NZTA over cycleways in Tauranga.
BikeNow spokesman Glen Crowther thinks confusion over cycleways may be an NZTA issue.
The transport authority started the whole process without their cycling team developing guidelines, says Glen. Then in July those design guidelines came out.
'At the Sustainable Business Network we are strongly supportive of those design guidelines and they being used well in Rotorua; and we would like to see them being used well and implemented in Tauranga,” says Glen.
'What we are really saying is that perhaps through no fault of their own the people involved in the Baypark to Bayfair project came up with what seemed at the time to be good cycleways, but we are suggesting they go back and revisit those designs because in the meantime their own cycleways team has come up with better quality design guidelines,” says Glen.
'And we are just suggesting that they implement their own design guidelines for this project. It's just a matter of timing.”
BikeNow is also saying is the intersection at Bayfair is a key part of the Tauranga cycleways network where all the cyclists from Papamoa and Arataki go through that intersection to get across to the Matapihi link to the CBD.
'We do have some concerns about cycleways and so we are hoping for, you could say, broadly similar outcomes to what Bike Mount wants,” says Glen. 'We have similar ends to be honest, and I think NZTA does as well; and I think the [Tauranga] city council do too.
'The key thing is we just need to work through the process, the outcome being genuinely safe cycleways there, and we hope right throughout Tauranga City.”
4 comments
cyclists ...yaaaaawn
Posted on 09-12-2016 15:01 | By CC8
For the amount of road dedicated to cycleways in the past ten years, there are bugger all cyclists using them properly . In fact it is common to see "cyclists" riding against the traffic (wrong side of the road) or dodging in and out of traffic, or on the footpath rather than use the marked cycleways... Mostly with NO Helmet, lights or any care for other traffic/pedestrians. In winter those 5 Oclock commuter cyclists who do have lights are often seen with their way too bright led headlights connected to their heads instead of the bike. So that head down they cannot be seen from behind and they blind you when they look at you, while riding on the footpath against the traffic...total ignorance and selfishness. IMHO if cyclists are having all this money spent on cycleways etc they should all be registered, WOF and policed.
hoping
Posted on 09-12-2016 15:49 | By wazzock
heres hoping for a good outcome that makes for a safe intersection for ALL the community, on foot, bike, skateboards, scooters, pushchairs, mobility scooters, cars, trucks, buses, young, old, able bodied or not. The current proposal seems to be pretty much priority for freight to the port and cars in a shopping mall. We can do way better.
whingers....yaaaaawn
Posted on 09-12-2016 20:30 | By GreertonCynic
Your arguments have NO merit.
On your bike
Posted on 10-12-2016 08:15 | By Davemacnz
I suggest you get out of your car and on a bike and you will soon get fitter and healthier as well have a new found perspective and appreciation for cycling.
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