WHEEL GOO D
Isn’t it time we looked at other ways of getting from A to B, Gord Stewart asks
They get us to work with zero carbon emissions and no need to park the car. They get kids to school in a healthy, active way. They get us to the shop, the cafe´ , to visit friends — easily and efficiently.
They’re great for an active family outing or a get-together with friends. And they support the trend to low-impact, slow tourism.
Impressive benefits for the lowly pushbike. No longer a simple one-speed, of course, there’s now a choice of brands, lots of gears, and options from basic to flash. And e-bikes, too, not to mention e-scooters and e-skateboards — all spawning whole new groups of avid twowheelers.
Some veteran members of my local cycling club were tackling the ‘TA’ this year — the legendary Cape Reinga-to-Bluffby-bike adventure. It made me want to get back on the road myself.
I had heard great stuff about the Te Awa River Ride. And I knew of Hamilton’s commitment to safe cycling with its Kids
on Bikes and other educational programmes and its network of on-road cycle lanes, off-road shared paths and park shared paths. Time to go check ’em out.
Leaving my own town and heading to Hamilton was the cycling equivalent of going from the 19th to the 21st century. Our local council has had a written commitment to safe-cycling infrastructure in the District Plan since at
least 2009, but is only now starting to do something about it.
There are the beginnings of a path network between new subdivisions and the original parts of town. But they’re footpath width, not the wide ‘shared path’ variety that dominates Hamilton’s development. And still no bike lanes to get cyclists safely door-to-door — from home to school or work or wherever.
To its credit, the council helped fund a ‘rail trail’ bike path joining us to a nearby town and hooking into a longer trail network. The bike path has been open for a couple of years now, yet not one new bike parking rack is evident around town.
I wish I could have taken local decisionmakers along for the ride. They’d benefit by seeing what’s going on in Hamilton … in seeing what’s possible.
But first, the Te Awa River Ride. It’s a 65km off-road shared (walking, running, cycling) path along Waikato River from Ngaruawahia to Lake Karapiro — a jewel and joy to ride, for sure.
Cyclists can dip in and out. There are many entry points along its full length, so you can start where you like and do an out-and-back ride if you wish. Or you can do a longer stretch.
I planned a four-day outing. I cycled up hill and down dale for a while before joining the River Ride at Lake Karapiro. The first segment into Cambridge is part of the infrastructure legacy of the 2010 World Rowing Championships.
On to the Velodrome (‘New Zealand’s Home of Cycling’) where it was only fitting that I had a cuppa and slice at The Bikery Cafe´ . Then into Hamilton where I based myself for three nights.
Day Two I pedalled north through Hamilton following the River Ride to Ngaruawahia. In the centre of Hamilton, some of the trail runs through bush along the river bank — at times so quiet and secluded you wouldn’t know you were in a city. For the return trip I looped west out onto country backroads before rejoining the city’s cycle network. I rode in bike lanes on the side of busy roads and always felt safe, like I ‘owned’ that space. There were spots near intersections where you’re directed up onto a wide path then on to road again on the other side.
Day Three I explored north and east to Gordonton and beyond — backroads again — before returning to the city. New residential areas are served by shared paths along both sides of main and connecting roads. (The aim is 4 metres as a standard width, though some older paths are narrower). In new-growth areas, the cost of cycling infrastructure is shared between council and the developers.
Informed and inspired, I headed home on Day Four. Leaving town, I inched my way past construction on the Waikato Expressway before hitting the backroads once again.
Hamilton — and other forward-thinking councils — are planning and building for a less car-centred future. Hamilton is striving to get residents “quickly, safely and comfortably” where they want to go. It’s not about bikes versus cars, they note. The goal is to “make the streets better for everyone, reducing congestion, improving safety and reducing pollution”.
The jump in petrol prices, triggered by the disastrous war in Ukraine, will surely get more people on to public transport and riding bikes. With climate change, increasing urbanisation and other challenges, there will be many more bumps on the road ahead. We must be ready for them.
Hamilton — and other forward-thinking councils — are planning and building for a less car-centred future.