Onehunga foreshore with Mangere Mountain in background. (Auckland Council)
The seaside changed when State Highway 20 was built across old Onehunga Bay in the 1970s.
Well that’s an understatement. Although Onehunga may never have been the Devonport of Auckland, it’s still possible to see signs of the seaside community that use to exist there. And for me, it’s beauty is in how the harbour has retained much of its natural state. The bird life around this foreshore is magnificent. In fact, if it was Devonport, a monstrosity of a motorway would probably never have had a chance of being rammed through. Onehunga has always been a ‘working class’ neighbourhood. It is gradually becoming gentrified. Maybe that explains the current state of its foreshore and the renewed interest in attempting to restore it to it’s original state.
Thanks, in large part must go to Jim Jackson, who is the driving force at the Onehunga Enhancement Society. Jim’s tireless campaigning has ensured that significant funding has been allocated to this project. It is intended to mitigate against the uglier aspects of the recent motorway widening. While motorways may have the desired benefit of being able to move motor vehicles around the city faster, there are negative aspects that are still overlooked. Motorways present themselves as physical and mental barriers to a community. This project will be a welcomed opportunity to attempt to address this problem.
I am particularly interested in the treatment that Orpheus Drive will receive. Orpheus Drive runs parallel to the motorway and is designated as part of the new cycleway that links Mangere to Mt Roskill. It’s current sorry state can be seen here. At the moment it’s a ‘Rat Run’. Presumably, the Council is planning to hold off any treatment of this section until the big spend up takes place with the whole foreshore development project. Plans seem to indicate that recreational users from the community will be well served. But I hope it will be recognised that recreational users are different to people on bicycles who use this as a through route between Mangere and Mt Roskill.
Inquires to Auckland Council indicate that plans for Orpheus Drive are still on the drawing board. I don’t feel overly confident that the Council will get it right but I would be happy to be proven wrong. I am hoping that the Council will have a team of Urban Designers on the job. This is not a job for transport engineers. Put people on their bicycles ahead of cars for a change. Besides, motor vehiclists already have 8 lanes of high quality ashphalt at their disposal right next door.
Noises from the Council seem to indicate that urban design is featuring on the radar more these days. I hope that Roger Blakeley can get some of his junior planners to head over the isthmus to make sure that Aucklanders on the other side get a fair deal, this time.
The Council’s plan for the Onehunga Foreshore Restoration project can be found here.
Artists impression of Onehunga Foreshore, post restoration. (Auckland Council)
Cycling-the non-vehicular way.
I think we will all be happy with the result here. I can't say too much, but cyclists are well represented on the design team.
Any ideas on how to get around the hill that is Seacliffe Rd and Carlton St at the end?
The design is quite good, and Cycle Action submitted quite positively – the only things we really asked for are that some of the paths are widened a bit (from 2.5m to at least 3m) so cyclists and peds can share better, and to ensure that the future pedestrian overbridge is wide enough so an off-road cycleway can be built along Orpheus Drive (which is outside of the project boundaries).
We can also be reasonably (never perfectly, but that is life) certain that Council / AT knows the importance of Orpheus Drive for cyclists, as there are a number of past and ongoing cycling projects in the area:
Ironically, this one:
http://cyclingauckland.co.nz/front/2011/08/aucklands-latest-piece-of-cycling-infrastructure-is-now-open/
Was apparently created (that is what I have been told) when Council had their engineers do soil testing to check the feasibility of running a cycleway west around the pylon. Now I suspect that someone else stuck up the "cycleway signs" – that wouldn't be like Council to do that for a dirt track like that – but yeah, Council is working on it. Not as quick as we'd like, but much, much more than they'd do 5 years ago.
Alan – I'd love at least getting an uphill cycle lane on Carlton Road, though it will always remain a pretty stupid detour, after NZTA 6-7 years ago decided to make cyclists climb up the Himalayan slope that is Hendy Avenue, instead of putting in a cycle way down below.
Maybe we will instead have to advocate for a cycleway on the northern side between Queenstown Road and Hillsborough… much less steep.
"I am hoping that the Council will have a team of Urban Designers on the job. This is not a job for transport engineers."
I have not been particularly impressed with urban designers doing cycling design in the past. They often have even less idea of the needs of cyclists than engineers – though at least most understand that cyclists and cars are not the best combination. So this is very much a job for transport engineers… – the kind who "get" cycling, and the kind that are backed up by politicians to allow them to push back against the roads crowd.
This cycleway was not created by urban designers:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kingsland_Section,_Northwestern_Cycle_VI.jpg
This cycling bridge probably had an urban designer – but also several engineers:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Onehunga_Harbour_Road_Bridge_Almost_Done.jpg
This space was created by a team that had as many (if not more) engineers than urban designers:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Darby_Street_Shared_Space_Finished_I.jpg
It is pretty hard to compare these two distinctly different professions without making some gross generalizations.
In my opinion, any successful infrastructure is going to have collaborative input from a number of professions.
Your comment about widening the bike paths reminded me of the California highway design standard for main cycle tracks calls for a minimum width of 3.6m, with a 1m clear buffer on each side. These dimensions are from way back in 2006 too. We have a way to go here in New Zealand, but it definitely feels like we are making headway, now that the age of the automobile is coming to an end.
@Alan I agree that collaboration is the answer and that we keep acknowledging the improvements and achievements being made. But also recognise that we still have a long way to go.
It would of been nice to run the SH20 cycleway along next to the motorway at the same profile, instead of up Hendry Ave, it would of still been a challenge, but not polka dot jersey tuff like Hendry!
But all the same, it will be good to see the forshore cleaned up.
@Paul The only thing going for Hendry ave is going down.
Heard today that the Onehunga Foreshore project, thanks to TOES, had 900 submissions in favour, and about 10 against… wow.
900 in favor is great, good to see my vote counted!
Mark, Hendry is all good going down, except the driveway like transitions on a road bike, I will ride down on my MTB one day so I dont have to slow down
@Paul I like the way those transitions allow me to keep ahead of cars. Cars can't go over them at the speed I do.