Noisy cyclists spoiling the serenity
East Auckland residents are fed up with noisy cyclists waking them up at the crack of dawn.
St Heliers resident Philip Stickland said he was constantly being woken up by cyclists riding through his quiet neighbourhood ‘‘yelling to each other’’ as early as 5am.
‘‘I am not anti-cyclist, I just want them to be quiet,’’ Stickland said.
Cyclists rode up and down Glover Rd in packs of up to six from 5am, having conversations at the top of their voices, waking residents, he said.
‘‘My house has double glazed windows and they are still waking me up, I feel for the people down the street who don’t.’’
He said the disruption had become an issue for the entire neighbourhood, causing antagonism towards cyclists.
‘‘It’s arrogant and obnoxious.’’ NZTA has a cycling code of conduct that outlines specific road rules and cyclist responsibilities. It does not, however, have any rules or regulations around noise.
Auckland Transport manager of walking, cycling and road safety Kathryn King said it did not track complaints about cyclists making noise and were not aware of any major issues around the city.
‘‘Overall, attitudes toward cycling are continuing to improve,’’ King said.
‘‘In 2016 we saw that 39 per cent of people are positive about the state of cycling in Auckland com- pared with 22 per cent in 2015.’’
Mark Taylor has been a cyclist for 30 years and leads morning cycle groups three times a week.
He said when riders first came together in the mornings there could be ‘‘a fair bit of talking’’, but was surprised by the claims of excessive noise once on the road.
‘‘We typically come together at around 6am and there can be a bit of noise, I think that is probably an area where we could be more considerate,’’ he said.
‘‘But when we are riding there is virtually no talk at all. We are focussed on breathing, perhaps those riders are going too slow.’’
Peter Mumby from Kohimarama likened the issue to people who move to Western Springs and complained about the sound speedway or concerts coming from Western Springs Stadium.
He said central Auckland had been a popular spot for cyclists for many years.