Sign the Lake Road Cycle Lane Petition - Now Please

A very active petition is under way now, for the North Shore cycle lane. I've just checked out comments left by recent signatories.


Here's a selection:

2558
Name: Ryan CrawCour on Feb 2, 2010
Comments: Cycle Lanes should be kept. In fact with Auckland's traffic congestion problems more cycle lanes should be developed and people encouraged to ride more and drive less. It will make for a fitter, happier nation!
2559
Name: Anonymous on Feb 2, 2010
Comments: I think new zealand is very "unfriendly" to byciclists.it is very dangerous to drive with a bike on new zealand roads,and I think if there were more cycling lanes then more people would use their bikes,so it would aalso be more environmental frindly.
2560
Name: Jared Scollay on Feb 2, 2010
Comments: The North Shore is congested and dangerous of cycling - the number of cycles lanes and their coverage needs to be extended not reduced.
2561
Name: Natalie Jessup on Feb 2, 2010
Comments: We REALLY need to keep more cycle lanes! The North Shore has been so ahead in many other things (recycling, bus lanes) so please keep the bike lanes and make more.

YOU need to sign this petition, and get your friends to sign it too.

Here's the introduction to the petition from Bronwyn Jones who has organised the petition and who will be presenting it to North Shore City Council next week:

Dear all,

We need another 500 signatures by 8 Feb, which is just 10 days away, on the residents’ petition to save the Lake Road cycle lanes. Please get one or two, or even three, or more people onto the online petition. Family members (kids ok), work colleagues, friends, whoever. Anyone from the Shore or Greater Auckland (Lake Rd is an arterial route and part of the Regional Road Plan), who has not signed already. Or, email me for a Word doc of the petition sheet and circulate a hard copy.

Why the hurry? We need to present the petition to the NSCC Infrastructure & Environment Cttee (which includes transport, cycling etc) on the evening of 9 Feb. Council officers will present a report recommending that the cycle lanes be left as is and they need the petition as support. The chairman, Ken McKay keeps saying that the council “cannot ignore the views of 2,700 people” from the anti cycle lane petition and we have to send a clear message to the council that there is a lot of support for the lanes, more than the antis. So far, we have about 2,700 names (2k online, once the double ups are deleted; 730 from our own efforts circulating the petition at events). We need to get well over that 3,000 mark.

Please forward this email or get onto the petition online and get the names of those who haven’t signed in there: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lakeroadcyclelane/

There is a tab at the top that allows you to see who has signed. Ignore the donation page that pops up after you have signed – just click out of it.

Thank you, everyone, for helping with this. Our efforts at events have shown us that this issue is bigger than just our local interests. People who support safety on the roads WANT to sign.
Apologies if you get this email more than once. Thank you so much if you have signed.

Thanks and regards
Bronwyn,

SAVE THE LAKE ROAD CYCLE LANES. SIGN THE I-PETITION AT:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lakeroadcyclelane/

So. What are you waiting for?

You support cycling don't you?

Even if you're not a North Shore cyclist, you can see that this is an exemplary project that needs support so it gets the Council support it needs, so it develops into an exemplar for all Auckland.

Won't take you long.

Toward Better Cycling in Auckland...

The Tamaki accident has galvanised action and attention around cycling in Auckland. I will not try to add much to that in this blog, but I will provide a few bits and pieces:

1) the media info pulled together by Mark Bracey for Cycle Action Auckland (who have been doing a magnificent job through this period. Congratulations.)
2) a couple of nice cycling pics from Copenhagen (above)
3) two video clips about cycling I shot and put up on youtube a while ago
4) .... and you MUST go and add your name to the Lake Road cycling lane petition (see bottom).

1) Cycle Action and Tamaki Drive

The team at Cycle Action Auckland have been very busy. Barb Cuthbert (Deputy Chair CAA) and Barb Insull (Secretary CAA) have been highly active in the media, and it has been excellent to see would-be-super-mayor John Banks put on the spot on this critical issue. Here are some bits and pieces:

27 Sept: Our thoughts and best wishes go out to the cyclists and the families of the victims of the accident on Tamaki Drive on Saturday.This is an all too familiar tale that many of us are acutely aware of. As "the voice for cyclists" in Auckland, Cycle Action has been active this weekend in ensuring that the people who choose to cycle are fairly represented.Our concerns have been reported in a story in the Sunday Herald, and another will be in tomorrow's NZ Herald. Plus, there will beinterviews on Breakfast and Sunrise TV (Channels 1 and 3) at 7:10am.There will also be a radio interview on Radio Live Breakfast showand Barbara Cuthbert will be discussing the issue with John Banks onMorning Report at 8.10.

and then a couple of days later with news updates:

Tamaki Drive Crash Links to Media Reports and Interviews

MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER – morning

1) TVNZ Breakfast: Ensuring Safer Roads for Cyclists. Interview with Barbara Insull (Secretary, Cycle Action Auckland)

http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast-news/breakfast-monday-september-28-3022620/video?vid=3022708

2) TV3: Can Cyclists and Drivers Exist Harmoniously? Interview with Barbara Cuthbert (Deputy Chair Cycle Action Auckland)
http://www.3news.co.nz/Can-cyclists-and-drivers-exist-harmoniously-/tabid/572/articleID/122980/cat/525/Default.aspx

http://www.3news.co.nz/Home/Story/tabid/209/articleID/122980/cat/525/Default.aspx

National Radio: Morning Report: ran two items: (3) Cycling Advocate Calls for Speed Limit on Tamaki Drive: interview with Barbara Cuthbert and John Banks, (4) Injured City Cyclist in Critical but Stable Condition. Background including comment from John Wilmer, BikeNZ
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport

5) NZ Herald: Push to Lower Speed Limit After Crash
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10600013

6) Herald on Sunday: Cyclist Critical After Tamaki Drive “Carnage”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10599817
BFM Radio also interviewed Barbara Cuthbert on Monday morning.

Members of the public contributed opinions on the issues to radio and newspaper forums, including:

7) NZ Herald: What Can be Done to Make Cycling Safer?
http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2009/9/27/what-can-be-done-make-cycling-new-zealand-safer/?c_id=1&objectid=10599925&commentpage=2

MONDAY 28 SEPTEMBER – afternoon and evening

8) TV3 Campbell Live: Auckland – A Cyclist's Nightmare.(Mon 28 Sept)Interview with members of Pickled Peddlers group. . Also interview with Bicycle NSW CEO Alex Unwin about conditions for cyclists in Sydney.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Auckland---a-cyclists-nightmare/tabid/367/articleID/123107/cat/221/Default.aspx

9)National Radio: Afternoons Jim Mora: Interview with Glen Koorey (CAN Co-Chair) http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons

10) RadioLIVE Drive show with Maggie Barry: Interview with Barbara Cuthbert (not sure if audio available)
http://www.radiolive.co.nz/OnairHosts/MaggieBarry/tabid/371/Default.aspx

And that's a selection. There have been some truly horrible letters. The one I saw was written by someone from Waitakere who basically said that cycling was like smoking - both bad for your health - both private choices - take the consequences..... It is amazing when this happens. But I see it the world over. Make a change and there is always a proportion of the population who can be relied upon to react in the most vicious and emotional way. I would ask you to - this is not over till it's over - to go on the NZ Herald blog about this and add your views to the debate....

http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2009/9/27/what-can-be-done-make-cycling-new-zealand-safer/?c_id=97&objectid=10600143#message

3. My favourite cycling videos

This one's in Devonport, North Shore.

It's got better. But can you can see this has to be the idea of a traffic engineer having a joke at cyclist's expense....

And this one's in Copenhagen.

I just put the camera down and let it run for a while.

The cycling speaks for itself....

Did you like these?

4) Cycle Petition

This petition is for everybody who believes that cycle infrastructure - which allocates road space to cyclists - is an essential step in making cycling safer in Auckland. The lane is on Lake Road between Devonport and Takapuna. It is unfinished, but soon will be. Please follow the instructions below and go there, and add your name.

Dear fellow cyclists

The Lake Rd cycle lanes are under threat again. Responding to a group of Devonport residents who wrongly believe the cycle lanes cause motorist delay, North Shore City Council is reviewing whether the cycle lanes should be removed.

We need to send a strong message to North Shore City Council to let them know the cycle lanes MUST stay. Please help us by signing the on-line petition, and forwarding this email to your friends and colleagues, especially if they live on the Shore. You could also add the petition link to your Facebook page, send a tweet, or anything else you can think of to get the word out.

Sign the petition at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lakeroadcyclelane/

Read more about the Lake Rd cycle lanes on Cycle Action's website: http://www.caa.org.nz/

Thanks in advance.

Cycle Action Auckland

So go to it, if you haven't already.

Remember, you can tell how civilised a city is, by the amount of cycling.