Photos from the Sod Turning ceremony on 31 July 2020:
Auckland Transport (AT) and the NZ Transport Agency are creating a shared path for cyclists and pedestrians from Merton Road near Glen Innes Station to Tamaki Drive – allowing you to walk, run or cycle from Auckland’s eastern suburbs to the Waitematā Harbour. More information here: https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/glen-innes-to-tamaki-drive-shared-path/
18 July 2020
Finally … Section 2 of the GI to Tamaki Dr Shared Path Te Ara Ki Uta Ki Tai is underway with the first sod getting turned on 31 July 2020. For details of the construction plan see the AT Press Release.
26 November 2019
We were fortunate to have the newly elected Chairperson of the Orakei Local Board (OLB) Scott Milne speak at our November 2019 monthly meeting, as well as Troy Churton, Troy Elliot and Margaret Voyce also in attendance. We were keen to hear their thoughts on priorities for Orakei Ward over the three year team ahead. Below is a brief summary of the discussion.
The OLB is in good health with a mix of incumbents and newly elected members. They are in the process of getting up to speed and understanding council systems, relationships and processes.
Some priorities that the OLB outlined for our area:
Mayor Phil Goff will be visiting the OLB area in late January 2020 to visit the major project sites including the shared path site and the Gowing Drive and John Rymer Place connection sites (funding secured in the OLI) to understand the area and the benefits these projects will bring to the community.
Our youngest residents association member (aged 10) asked a question from the floor about what the OLB intends to do to tackle climate change. Scott noted that the shared path and local links to it would contribute to fewer car trips and also encourage people to take alternative and more active methods of transport. He also emphasised that there is a long list of little things that collectively add up that we can all do to change the way we think and consider more climate friendly options.
24 October 2019
Auckland Transport (AT) have released a media statement outlining the process for building Stage 2 (thorugh the Pourewa Valley) and Stage 4 (across Hobson Bay) of the shared path. Most disappointingly, timelines have slipped significantly further and reading the media release there are certainly a lot of “ifs” in the wording that raises a lot of questions – namely what the heck is going on here?!
Five years ago in November 2014 AT organised a public meeting in Meadowbank seeking feedback on the proposal and in October 2015 this was the projected timeline:
In March 2019 we were given the following timeline and we were extremely dismayed at the delays:
As of the latest media release, both section 2 and section 4 are “subject to funding approvals” and no timelines are currently available at all, other than a decision will be made by the end of the first quarter in 2020.
We have watched delayed weeks slip away and turn into delayed years… and more years… Our children are growing up without being able to cross the valley to school, people who were looking forward to cycling to work are retiring, and 3 years after the first section of the shared path opened, it still leads nowhere. How did it get to this? Surely the difficult terrain and design and construction challenges have been well and truly investigated before now?
We have asked everyone we could possibly contact about this but haven’t been able to get any answers on what is going on with the project. It has been especially difficult with the recent election and the Orakei Local Board (OLB) are yet to have their first meeting. We will keep asking questions and seeking answers.
First and foremost we want to see Stage 2 of this path (through the Pourewa Valley) completed and the local links that also provide cross valley access to be constructed. There are many places to go once you’ve reached Orakei Station, but there is no way to get up/down the Pourewa Valley, and no (safe) way to get across the valley. This is why Stage 2 of the path is so important and the reason why the council funding for the local links was successful in the first place – because it provides links to our communities and the shared path from both sides of the valley. Kids can walk and bike to school and college, and Meadowbank Station becomes just a few minutes from Kohimarama. There would be no problems with parking at the station either yay! And we need this path now, not in another five years time, or further way.
We wonder how does the OLB feel about funding the Tahapa Reserve upgrade including spending money on connecting paths that now don’t have anywhere to connect with? What does this mean for the OLB and council funding from the long term plan that was secured to build the local links to the path, providing a route across the valley from Gowing Dr to John Rymer Place? We rely on our elected representatives to advocate for the Orakei Ward and Orakei Local Board area. This shared path and its local links was chosen as their #1 project for funding because it commanded substantial community support and huge benefits. We are relying on them to see this project to completion.
We are looking forward to AT delivering the promised community consultation in October 2019… or if not October, then ASAP. Irrespective of whether the project gets delayed further (heck, we’re used to that by now), there’s no reason not to share the detailed design. The detailed design was sufficiently done in April 2019 to announce construction starting in October 2019, so we just don’t understand what the delay is in getting the information out to the public.
We just don’t think this situation is good enough for our community. Come along to our monthly meetings on Tuesday 12 November and Tuesday 10 December to find out the latest from our elected representatives. You can also email and tell them why the shared path is important to you and your community and ask for more information. Don’t let the construction of this fantastic asset for our community become further delayed or even worse, no secure the necessary funding.
6 May 2019
NZTA held a meeting for those whose properties border the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path. The meeting was held on Wednesday 3 April 2019 at St Thomas’ Church Hall, Kohimarama. Tim Duguid, the Meadowbank & St Johns Residents Association’s spokesperson for the GI to Tamaki Drive shared path attended the meeting and his report follows.
There were about 6-10 NZTA / AT PR / Community Relations and Project Team Engineers present. The focus of the meeting was for “neighbours” i.e. those residents living in properties backing onto the path. There were up to 10 residents while I was there (7:30-8:00 pm).
Fifty or more A1 colour drawings of the entire route from St Johns Road to the Boardwalk were laid out on trestle tables around the hall. Very impressive. In fact they couldn’t all fit on the tables. Two (or more) of the engineers them had walked the entire route, on surveys and knew it in great detail, which was excellent. Given the focus of the meeting, the sheets showing where the path ran adjacent to properties were prioritised.
The team seemed nervous of residents’ concerns. They are offering new back fences and gates for those who want them and providing reassurance about lighting. I agreed lighting would be a reasonable concern, but I also suggested that anyone on Whytehead Cres or JRP who were lucky enough to find themselves backing onto the path would land a windfall of $ 50k on their property value, because they will have a 5-10 min bike ride or 10-15 min walk to Meadowbank Train Station and an 8 min train ride to Britomart (and 10 mins to Aotea Station in 2024) which was much better than 45+ mins on a bus along Kohi / Kepa / Ngapipi / Tamaki Drive (none of which has any transit lanes). So, the PR team could be bullish about this project and not at all defensive.
I invited the team to contact MBSJRA and present the whole set of design drawings to us (we’d need the conference room). I said we’d love them to present the drawings to us before they started digging, which they agreed to. In the end they were quite keen and agreed to try to find a date before construction.
6 May 2019
The fabulous journalists at The Hobson magazine have uncovered a scoop on the green space on St Johns Rd currently grazed by the Meadowbank Pony Club. The land is owned by NZTA and designated for a motorway. However with this no longer required and under government direction, land not required by Crown agencies must be offered first to the government’s housing agencies. Read more in The Hobson’s article here or you can read the whole issue here.
5 May 2019
The Tahapa Reserve upgrade project has begun. We look forward to the improved play facilities and recreation areas (plans here), as well as the connections to the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path that is currently under construction.
This project is split into two stages. You can see this distinction in the map below. Stage 1 is represented in blue, and Stage 2 is represented in red.
Stage 1 includes:
The main access for the construction of this section of path will be via the existing maintenance access way on Tahapa Crescent, between house numbers 45 and 41.
Works for Stage 1 began in early April 2019. Stage 1 is expected to be completed by October 2019, pending any adverse weather conditions.
Timeframes for Stage 2 are yet to be confirmed, as these works are contingent on the shared path from Glenn Innes to Tamaki Drive, which is a project under Auckland Transport. Stage 2 will begin once this shared path is constructed.
23 March 2019
This page has links from other articles and commentary on the GI to Tamaki Drive Shared Path
https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/glen-innes-to-tamaki-drive-shared-path/
https://waiotaiki.co.nz/blog/pedal-power/
Bike Auckland has some great articles on the path and how the route has evolved over time:
https://www.bikeauckland.org.nz/category/glen-innes-to-tamaki/
https://www.bikeauckland.org.nz/a-tale-of-two-paths-gi-tamaki-local-connections/
12 March 2019
We have received a detailed project update on the Glen Innes to Tamaki Drive shared path and it is a brilliant summary of what is happening with each remaining stages of the project, the challenges the team is working to overcome and also timelines for the remaining three stages. Carmel Claridge, Transport Lead at the Orakei Local Board assures us that updates similar to this will be provided on a regular basis, which are exactly the kind of updates that we have been asking to see for years. Click here to read the four pages of this update. Summary extracts from the update:
26 February 2019
At its business meeting last Thursday the Orakei Local Board approved the Tahapa Reserve Playground concept design and it will now progress to the construction phase. We are very excited to have this area developed into something actually usable for more than dog walking, and for there to be more safe, green space for our children to play and adults to use for picnics and recreation. This playground will also provide an important link to and from the GI to Tamaki Drive Shared Path to other parts of Meadowbank and we like the inclusion of lighting to improve safety for commuters using the shared path. Check out the approved design below. We look forward to construction beginning.