New ‘green street’ opens
Cyclists and walkers will be able to take full advantage of Lynfield Reserve with the opening of a new track.
Puketapapa Local Board member Michael Wood says the pathway opens up the whole space and encourages more people to use it.
‘‘There was no route here before. It was just overgrown with weeds and so it wasn’t accessible which meant that the people who came here were more likely to be wanting to drink or get up to mischief.
‘‘With other reserves where we’ve put shared paths in we get huge numbers of people now walking and cycling through that didn’t previously come.’’
Planting native species, weeding and installing more seating are all on the list of initiatives that will improve the green space.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and community barbecue will be held at the reserve tomorrow at 2pm to mark the opening.
The pathway is part of the Puketapapa Local Board’s greenway network. A greenway is a network of attractive and safe routes for cyclists and walkers through parks and along slow-speed ‘‘green streets’’.
The board is working with Auckland Transport on a project to connect the shared paths at Keith Hay, War Memorial and Waikowhai parks with new cycle routes.