Beach Road Cycleway and street upgrade celebrated

Cycling from the top of town to the waterfront will be safer and more enjoyable with the opening of stage 2 of the Beach Rd Cycleway this morning. The Beach Rd Cycleway connects Grafton Gully Cycleway with Quay St creating a continuous cycle route from west Auckland to the waterfront via the Northwestern Cycleway.

Mayor Len Brown and Central Auckland Central MP, Nikki Kaye officially opened stage 2 of the Beach Rd Cycleway at 8am this morning at the corner of Britomart Pl and Beach Rd.

The cycleway includes an off road cycle path and major improvements to the urban space that will transform this part of the city centre says Auckland Transport’s Walking and Cycling manager, Kathryn King.

“This is another step towards creating a city centre where people feel safe to ride to work, study or just to get around. Working with our partners, the Transport Agency and Auckland Council, we are creating improvements for people cycling into and around the city centre. This provides better travel options for people who come into the city daily.”

“The first section of Nelson St will be open in December and soon we will have improvements for people cycling on Quay St. It’s really exciting to see the changes and there are more in the pipeline,” she says.

Improvements to the urban space include resurfacing pedestrian areas, seats with feature lighting and plant parks.

Mayor Len Brown says it’s another important chapter in his vision for Auckland as the world’s most liveable city as it is transforming the city centre into a pedestrian and cycle friendly destination.

“This project is another example of Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and the Transport Agency working well together to achieve a great outcome for Aucklanders.”

The street upgrade is part of Auckland Council’s City Centre Master Plan and is funded by the City Centre Targeted Rate, a special rate that all city businesses pay to fund improvements to city streets, parks and plazas.

The cycleway is jointly funded by Auckland Transport, the NZ Transport Agency and Auckland Council.

Ernst Zollner, the Transport Agency’s Regional Director says it’s been a privilege to work with Auckland Transport and Auckland Council to accelerate the delivery of cycling networks to help make cycling a safer and more attractive transport choice.

“We recognise the contribution cycling can make to easing congestion and by making it one of the Agency’s key priority areas we will help establish cycling as an integral part of the overall transport network.”

ENDS

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