If you’re interested in finding out about more about Skypath (particularly if you’re a local) then you might want to make your way to one of their open day sessions this Saturday. They also say they’ll have information packs available and want more feedback before a resource consent application is lodged which is likely to be in May. Further they are expecting the application will be fully notified so that people will have a chance to submit on the project as part of the consenting process, something I’m sure many of the locals will do.

Skypath Open Day

Skypath Images
Images thanks to Reset Urban Design
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38 comments

      1. They’re the ghosts of those that never got to walk across the bridge, jealously haunting the renders, trapped on earth by their unfinished business.

        1. Would of been good to have seen a couple of Lambo’s, a Ferrari and maybe even a Porsche

  1. I’m surprised the Audi isn’t driving up the skypath while swearing at the people blocking their way.

    1. It should of included Angry Northcote Point residents protesting about how the skypath has ruined their environment and way of life

      1. I would be very interested on how many Northcote / Northcote Point / Birkenhead residents are actually against this project compared how many can’t wait until it’s in place.

        1. A friend of mine lives over in Northcote Point and he’s very enthusiastic about the project.

        2. As a resident I can attest that there is very little opposition. Most residents are fairly apathetic but there are far more that are enthusiastic than opposed (and these are pretty much limited to those that live at the end of Northcote Point closest to the bridge). The Northcote Point residents association too of course but they are an exclusive club of like-minded individuals that blindly opposes any changes to Northcote Point.

        1. Well someone has got to take a/the piss…

          Really looks like a fantastic design that the guys have done here, look forward to rallying the troops south of the bridge to get all and sundry to submit on this proposal to drown out the naysayers like Phil with overwhelming support.

          As an aside to Phil comments about “steep stairs”, basically if you can’t walk to the start of Skypath, you probably can’t really get very far on the SkyPath on your own.
          And those with mobility requirements are catered for at the Westhaven end.

  2. Are they going to make use of the toll-booths made redundant from the 1960’s when they scrapped the toll on the bridge. This must be the only country in the world where cyclists and pedestrians pay a toll and motorists don’t!

  3. The plans seem to be lacking a lot of detail – almost as if it has been removed to avoid resident objections but will still be part of the construction.

    – where will the public toilets be located?
    – where is the parking for the ‘park and ride’ patrons this facility will attract?
    – how are people with bikes or less able (but not disabled) getting from the ‘drop off’ to the start of the path – up the steep stairs?

    I can see many reasons to object to the consent from my home in Oxfordshire.

    1. I don’t know that the Skypath team are quite so Machiavellian to sneak something in like that, but perhaps you see it differently.

      If I may, some questions for you in turn

      – Why does skypath need public toilets?
      – Why does skypath need to provide parking?
      – Which stairs are you referring to? Neither of the public consultation documents (ie: the Westhaven and Northcote Point documents on the skypath website) have any mention of stairs.

      What are some of the reasons to object to the consent?

    2. Yes, I don’t see stairs in those plans. Also, I’m pretty sure there are already public toilets at the Westhaven end. Bev, I suggest you pop along to the open day and ask the Skypath team yourself.

    3. I love the insistence on the idea that people will have to drive to Northcote in order to use a pedestrian and bike route, as betrayed by Oxfordshire resident Phil Moore’s use of the terms ‘drop off’ and ‘park and ride’ in the comment above [pretending, as ever to be someone else]. The idea that a walk or a bike ride between a suburb and city can’t happen without driving first is very strange. And it really isn’t something like Rainbows End; its a long overdue transport link. Why would a short walk need its own toilets? Although if that what he wants….

      So driving is the only problem. Amazing that in the end the only objections to a project that offers a way to leave the car at home is opposed because of the disbenefits of the car. Ironic is an understatement.

      The best ways to make sure there are no or few ‘park ‘n’ riders’ is to provide no parking, and to ensure that the connections for cyclists and pedestrians are well made to and through the rest of the area. Parking is what generates driving to a location. Ok at first curious auto-dependent people might try to come and look at in a car, but they will soon find that with nowhere to park in Northcote that won’t work. If there is still seen to be a problem with parking introduce a residents parking scheme.

      Dearest Phil I would also suggest constructive engagement with the process rather than objection as a means to ensure that ‘driving walkers and riders’ [!?] are no problem.

      Especially because it seems that the small but noisy group of objectors want nothing less than a veto over the project and this is something they can’t reasonably expect, and will not get.

    4. I don’t see any devious behaviour at all. The skypath trust website says they will have a fully notified consent hearing so that everyone can have their say. The plans for the Northcote end say no toilets, café or food kiosk to minimise noise and disruption for the residents. They are also screening that end of the path so that users don’t disturb residents. They also propose parking restrictions in the local streets to be resident only. As far as I can see they are being very open and responsive to residents concerns.

    5. Replying to Phil. There’s Oxfordshire and there’s Oxfordshire. Cowley or Hook Norton? Just wondering which bit you’re in?

    6. Northcote Residents (well, at least some of them) opposed to any toilets.

      There is proposed to be no car parking dedicated to SkyPath. Except some mobility spaces.

      There are no stairs. This is a shared path which is part of the Auckland Cycleway network. The steepest gradient is 1 in 18.5 – you don’t need stairs for that.

  4. Here is the information pack material that we are distributing today and will be letterbox dropping to local residents & businesses next week…

    Northcote Point landing:
    http://www.skypath.org.nz/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/PublicConsultation_Apr14_Northcote_-Pt_low_res.pdf

    Westhaven landing:
    http://www.skypath.org.nz/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/PublicConsultation_Apr14_Westhaven_low-res.pdf

    Plus there’ll be an insert for feedback and the FAQ’s: http://www.skypath.org.nz/frequently-asked-questions/

  5. As someone who lives in Northcote Point just 3min walk to the proposed skypath I can’t wait for it’s completion and the ability to cycle into town. Don’t understand what all the fuss is about by the neighbours.It’s really frustrating to see them find the silliest details to get all worked up about.

    1. Some people are just selfish, insular and petty. They treat their house as a status symbol, and the idea that other people might come near it threatens their delicate sense of self worth.

      How can they feel big and rich and special without knowing they have something others can’t have? A normal person says ‘great, I can use this, it makes my neighbourhood better, my property more valuable, it makes my city better’ they say ‘I don’t want this because other people get it too’.

      Needless to say all their concerns are ephemeral, they’re just looking for reasons to make everyone else go away.

  6. Yes, it is amazing that those set to benefit most from this project are those objecting most vociferously i.e St Mary’s Bay / Northcote Point Residents. I have an apartment in Birkenhead Point and am greatly looking forward to this project. Maybe a 40 min cycle to the city? Sounds wonderful. How anyone could oppose this project is beyond me. Keeping the Harbour Bridge the exclusive domain of motorised transport is an insult to the people of Auckland.

    1. from my place in Northcote Central to QE Square is 9.25km according to map my ride, 30 minutes or less, it was good to catch up with a few people under the bridge this afternoon

        1. I doubt you could avoid hills completely. Probably the least steep, but circuitous route to gert to Queen St would be from Exmouth Rd through the Onepoto Basin and up Onewa Rd to Queen St, possibly on the footpath.

          But that would be much, much slower than going down (45-50 kph easy) and up the dip in Lake Rd. In the morning you’d have the T3 lane to ride up, which would most likely be empty and is a shorter less steep climb than northbound, I’ve seen a guy on a single speed climbing it.

          Seriously, take Lake Rd and the hill, it’s about 1K shorter and probably a lot quicker

    2. I know of several people personally who live on Northcote and currently love the ability to catch the ferry to town and home, they said having that plus the ability to cycle/walk across would be amazing. However, unlike the vocal minority these sorts of people aren’t, unfortunately, making themselves heard. Instead assuming that their neighbours also all see the fantastic opportunities that having this link would create for their neighbourhood.

  7. My wife and I are keen cyclists who have always ridden to work. As a recent arrival to Auckland from the UK, i was staggered that there was no bicycle or pedestrian access access across the bridge. My wife and I initially wanted to live on the North Shore, but decided against it due to the lack of a ‘self-powered’ crossing over the bridge! In our opinion it’s a long overdue project that will undoubtedly benefit the North Shore.

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