Investing in cycling will make Wellington 'a better place', advocate says

Thursday, 17 February 2022

Cycling Advocates Network project manager Patrick Morgan says investing in cycling will be good for the capital.

Patrick Morgan is the project manager at New Zealand's national biking charity, Cycling Action Network. He believes we are all better off when more people ride bikes, more often.

OPINION: Anya, 28, lives in Berhampore and cycles to her job in Lambton Quay. She had a car, but it's faster to bike. Anyway, parking is expensive, and petrol is $3 a litre. The bus is an option, but it gets held up in traffic. Anya is nervous about cycling down Adelaide Rd but loves her ride through the Basin Reserve and along the waterfront. She spends the money she saves on going out, or banks it for her dream of home ownership.

Anya wants to know when Wellington will build more protected bike lanes, like the ones she cycled on in Vancouver and London during her OE.

I have good news for her. Wellington is responding to demand for better transport. It is investing in cycling. In September 2021, councillors voted 14-2 to invest $226 million in 147 kilometres of bike lanes.

Popular bike lanes on Cobham Drive, Oriental Pde, Hutt Rd, Brooklyn hill, Island Bay, and Crawford Rd will connect with new lanes to serve all suburbs. Bowen St and Adelaide Rd are next.

Patrick Morgan says there is no doubt that cycling is on the up.

* Wellington city council approves Greta Point to Cobham Drive cycleway

* Reimagining Wellington: How Austria's Graz found the right pace – and never sped up

Transmission Gully could pump a staggering 11,500 cars into the city, says Patrick Morgan.

Cities are changing, and improving our transport choices is part of that change.

Wellington is expected to grow by 50,000 people in the next 30 years. Transmission Gully could pump a staggering 11,500 cars into the city. What impact will that have? Will we suffer gridlock, or do we give people more transport choices? Cars are amazing machines, but too many on our streets is a pain, as we can see near Parliament. There simply isn't space.

Ministry of Transport data shows two thirds of all urban trips are less than 6 km, an easy distance for cycling. More people on bikes and scooters makes sense.

According to the Council's bike counts, cycling in Wellington has doubled in the past decade. Bike racks on Grey St, Willis St, and Cuba St are popular. Volunteers are building trails to meet demand from mountain bikers. With the success of Bikes in Schools, and Pedal Ready programmes, it's no longer rare to see kids on bikes.

Hills? Wind? Electric bikes flatten hills and defeat headwinds. Sales are rising more steeply than The Terrace. A cargo bike service offers quick deliveries, and food waste is recycled by bike. Bikes mean jobs.

There can be no doubt that cycling is on the up. That's good news whether you ride a bike - or not.

More people on bikes cuts congestion and makes parking easier. It reduces the need for expensive flyovers. It delivers compelling health benefits, cleaner air, and physical distancing.

But perhaps the greatest benefit is that it makes Wellington a better place. It unshackles us from car dependence, frees up household income for local spending, and unlocks public spaces. It makes streets safer and more attractive.

More people cycling makes good cities great. It's excellent value for money. Wellington's 147 km cycling network will cost less than 5 km of motorway. Cycling projects return up to $20 of benefits for every dollar spent. That's an investment to make economists smile.

The Northwestern Cycleway in Auckland is one of the busiest in the country. Its history provides a fascinating insight into the evolution of cycling infrastructure in New Zealand. Video first published in August 2021.

With 76 percent of Wellingtonians saying they would cycle if protected lanes are built, it's giving people what they want, and what they voted for. Pro-cycling councillors have done well at recent elections.

But change can be unsettling, so it's no surprise there has been pushback. Every project has doubters. Opposition to bike lanes is already softening, although a few local politicians haven't got the memo yet. Bikelash is fizzling out as people embrace the convenience and fun of cycling.

This is a pattern familiar to observers of New York.

As Transport Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said, “When you push the status quo, it pushes back, hard. Everyone likes to watch a good fight. And the battle over bike lanes most surely was a street fight. Call me biased, call me crazy, but I’ll tell you this: the bikes, and all New Yorkers, won.”

It's not all about cycling or being anti-car, it's about making cities for people our top priority.

Wellington is already a great place to live. Our compact layout and easy access to nature give us a competitive edge. Like all cities, our task is to provide better transport choices. Our challenge is to build more bike lanes, even faster.

We'll all be better off as we move with the times.