I’ve just read with consternation your article “Taken for a ride” (May 11) in which Russell Brown laments the government’s new transport policy that puts the brakes on development of walkways and cycleways.
To understand the impact of this new policy, let me describe how it affects my neighbourhood in east Auckland. I have watched with delight over the last 10 years the building of the Pourewa Valley shared pathway from Glen Innes to Ōrākei Station: Te Ara ki Uta ki Tai – the path of land and sea. It’s nearing completion but lack of funding could get in the way.
In 2015, then-transport minister Simon Bridges turned the first sod for the first stage. Ironically, it was the Key government which initiated the building of urban walking/ cycling pathways throughout New Zealand’s cities.
Auckland Transport’s planning involved consultation with local environmental groups, such as the Eastern Bays Songbird Project, and led to the 2020 integrated plan for restoring the valley. The 2020 vision was that the Pourewa Valley catchment be recognised as a world-class urban sanctuary by 2040 of local, regional, and national significance, with pest control, clean water and reforestation. Four years on, it’s a work in progress with groups working each week on their particular sector of the valley.
