Draft Cycle Network Infrastructure Upgrade Sunday Ride on 14th Sept

NPDC's Draft Cycle Network Infrastructure Upgrade document is comprehensive. To help look at the content, 3 of us went for a ride on Sunday 14th Sept to look at what is proposed for St Aubyn St and Devon Street West.

Courtenay Street:

• From Eliot St to Hobson St: Ranked #25th. The improvements recommended are; Mark cycles 50 m each side at Hobson St end; Mark cycle lanes green at high use entrances and at the start and finish of the section.

General agreement was reached that the route for the cycle lanes as Courtenay St transitions into Hobson St and Northgate was very confusing. Layout for these need to be seen before detailed comments could be made but agree with the intent of the improvements.

Northgate:

• From Courtenay St to Watson St: Ranked #26th. The improvements recommended are; Mark green cycle lanes at conflict areas of Courtenay St and Watson St.

Again it was unclear what was to be marked as cycle lanes and what would also be be green cycle lanes. Layout for these need to be seen before detailed comments could be made so we couldn't comment. What young cyclists and those not confident at crossing lanes of traffic could do here didnt seem to be addressed.

One option could be for east bound cyclists is to carry on down Hobson St to meet Lemon St and then head east to go on the off road cycle path on the south side of Northgate, crossing Mangorei Rd at the lights and carrying on up to Waiwaka Terrace. This would be a two stage process of crossing traffic lanes, one for those on Hobson St wanting to head west on Leach St and then across SH3 for those heading west from Northgate onto Leach St. Not ideal.

• From Watson St to Waiwaka Terrace: Ranked #3rd highest requiring upgrading. The improvements recommended are; Mark cycle lane around Watson St/Lemon St to encourage west heading cyclists to go down Lemon St; Improve the kerb crossing at this bend; Ban parking on north side east of Mangorei Rd; Narrow solid median east of parking ban; Mark green cycle lanes at each end and Girls High entry to off-road section of cycle path.

Needs to tie in with the suggested changes to the Mangorei Rd/Northgate intersection being discussed with NZTA in Wanganui. Not all cyclists using this section of the road are willing to go on the off-road path.

• From Waiwaka Terrace to Ngaio Street: Ranked #13th. The improvements recommended are; Narrow solid median full length of section; Mark cycle lanes full length.

Road width for cycle lane is definitely needed. Not clear what was intended for east bound cyclists at the end of the off-road path at Waiwaka Terrace. We headed down Waiwaka Tce, turned left into Paynters Av, then turned right and went down the slip road back onto SH3 heading east. Alternatively one could go along Paynters Av a bit more then go down the off-road path that goes behind St John Bosco School and brings one down into a car park at the junction of Devon St East, Northgate and Devon Road.

• From Ngaio Street to Devon Street East: Ranked #7th. The improvements recomended are; Realign approach lanes to traffic signals at Devon St East; Mark green cycle lanes; Straight ahead cyclists to cross over left turning lane at signals.

Cycle lanes OK from Ngaio St through. Improvements needed as one comes up to the lights at the intersection with Devon St East. The cycle lane markings etc at this point need to be integrated with the changes needed to allow cyclists to move onto the footpaths on either side of the Waiwhakaiho River Bridge. This work is waiting on NZTA getting a design they can live with plus find the funds for the work to put removable barriers between the insides of the footpaths either side and the roadway.

Devon Road:

• From the Waiwhakaiho River Bridge to Atiawa Street: Ranked #6th. The improvements will be part of the the NZTA work as per above for the conversion of the two footpaths on the bridge to shared pathways.

No problems with this apart from the time it is taking NZTA to come up with the design, money and installation.

• From Atiawa Street to Katere Road: Ranked 22nd. The improvements recommended are set back the kerb on the south side through to Bridle Street; Narrow the flush median from Bridle Street to Smart Road; Set back the kerb on both sides from Smart Road to Katere Road; Mark green cylce lanes at Smart Road and at Katere Road.

General agreement that solution was OK and required.

• From Katere Road to Vickers Road: Ranked 18th. The improvements recommended are set back the kerb on one south side; Narrow the solid median; Mark cylce lanes throughout.

General agreement that solution was OK and required as no cycle lanes exist at present. Would need for those heading east to have signage telling them how to get onto the off-road cycle path going up the Mangaone Hill just past Vickers Road that would be coming up.

• From Vickers Road to the bottom of the Mangaone Hill: Ranked 10th. The improvements are part of the work being undertaken presently for the start of the Bell Block By-pass; Cycle lanes up both sides plus an off-road cycle path on the north side that will head into Bell Block along the existing road to Bell Block that will become an access road to the golf club once the by-pass is opened.

General agreement that solution was OK and required. After that, we headed back towards Fitzroy and went down Devon Street East.

Devon Street East:

• From Northgate to Strandon Place: Ranked #15th. The improvements recommended are; Reduce width of traffic lanes to 3.0 m whereever this no median strip, mark cycle lanes on west approach to traffic signals at main Fitzroy junction; Green cycle lane markings at these lights.

Not clear from report whether cycle lanes were to be installed for the section on the east of the traffic lights, these are definitely needed, especially for those heading west as vehicles veering left can cut the corner and squeeze cyclists into the gutter. 1.8 m cycle lanes required full length and green marking needed at the lights.

• From Strandon Place to Mangorei Road: Ranked #16th. The improvements recommended are; Reduce width of traffic lanes to 3.0 m; Reduce width of flush median; Mark cycle lanes; Green cycle lane markings at high conflict areas.

General agreement that solution was OK and required.

• From Mangorei Road to Eliot Street: Ranked #9th. The improvements recommended are; Extend cycle lanes by 50 m to Eliot Street lights; Green cycle lane markings on approaches to traffic lights with stopping boxes.

No mention made of Hobson Street lights and what would be proposed there. Same needed here as well what is proposed for Eliot Street lights. Otherwise OK. We then headed over to Molesworth Street to have a look at Section No. 40.

Molesworth Street:

• From Eliot Street to Liardet Street: Ranked #31st. The improvements recommended are; Extend cycle lanes by 60 m to Liardet Street lights; Remove the solid splitter island and replace the traffic signal pole in the middle of the road with an overhead mast arm; Green cycle lane markings at major conflict points.

This section leads into the first piece of road looked at the previous week that was ranked #1 in the need for improvement. The road is generally wider in this section and the are cycle lanes except at the Liardet St lights which is where the road does get narrower. So the improvements at the lights look OK. Need sign posting and a method for getting access onto the Coastal Foreshore pathway.