Defending the Federal to Nelson Street Cyclepath and Victoria St Linear Park Project | Wayne Brown

Sent to Wayne Brown, Mayor of Auckland. CC Ken Turner (my local Board), Dean Kimpton AT

Hi Wayne, 

 

I've always thought you were a bit of a dick and didn't vote for you. Seeing your comments in the NZ Herald article on the Victoria St linear park project and temporary cycle link from Federal St to Nelson St seems to confirm this. 

 

Here's my position on the project:

• Living in the West, working at Victoria Park Market I need that cycleway to get me to/from the new Te Waihorotiu Station or beyond to Queen St, Albert Park, Aotea Centre, and Auckland University.
• I want to ride this connection and prefer not to cycle in the traffic. I currently get off the train at Grafton and cycle to Victoria Park Market because it is all non-traffic (bus shared) lanes or cycle path. Seems daft for a new station, part of a multi-billion-dollar project itself, to not be connected to a substantial area, some of it new and growing, the city business district.
• There are thousands of people working in the areas surrounding Victoria Park, more every month with the construction and likes of Beca's recent move. Surely connecting them to the CRL is worthy?
• Providing transport options is crucial for modeshift. We need safe cycleways and public transport options to be available to reduce motor traffic congestion. 
• A cycleway right outside our tourist icon, the Sky Tower, is also the perfect vision of a clean, sustainable Aotearoa.
• Te Hā Noa Victoria Street is a huge step towards achieving the vision in the City Centre Master Plan. If we don’t do something when it’s already outlined in key plans and strategies, when will we do it?

Prove me wrong, don't be a dick, finish the project. Might even be a vote in it.

 

Robin Capper

[Address and Contact Details]

 

PS: Ken, why not drive to Henderson, or New Lynn, and get on a train. It's quicker, and cheaper, which is why I do it. Even if you do have to drive, more people on bikes will mean less congestion for you to add to*. Remember a bike lane has ~6x the passenger capacity of a mixed traffic road lane. **

 

 * A friendly reminder that if you’re in traffic, you ARE traffic. | https://bsky.app/profile/brenttoderian.bsky.social/post/3ldptz7tcc22l 

 

** https://www.transformative-mobility.org/publications/passenger-capacity-of-different-transport-modes 

"Studies have shown that a mere 10% shift from car drivers to bike riders has resulted in a 40% reduction in traffic congestion. Even if you never touch an e-bike, you would benefit from supporting their increased use."

https://electrek.co/2023/08/22/electric-bike-craze-future-of-transportation/

 

Cycling uptake also rose 12.3% from February 2023 to February 2024 - despite the government claiming it hadn’t seen evidence of a significant uptake.
Source: TVNZ One News | https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/02/01/will-simeon-brown-regret-slashing-funding-for-cycleways-launched-by-key/ 

Scientific study shows how much traffic increases when e-bikes and e-scooters are banned | The study found that on average, travel times for car trips in Atlanta during evening hours increased between 9.9-10.7% immediately following the ban on shared micromobility.
From https://electrek.co/2022/10/31/scientific-study-shows-how-much-traffic-increases-when-e-bikes-and-e-scooters-are-banned/