The Wrong Side of my Car
A blog about Auckland City, its streets, and culture shock
Park or Parking?
One of the more odd features of Hobson Street is the little cluster of businesses on the corner with Victoria Street. A few restaurants and grocery shops, surrounded by large apartment towers. In between we find a handful of parking spaces (with the obligatory collection of tow-away signs).
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Vogel Lane |
But is parking really the best use of that space? Is that really the way to draw in as many customers as possible?
Is cycling for the rich?
An argument often made against bicycling is that is only for the rich, and investment in bicycling infrastructure is thus a regressive measure. A casual glance at success stories seems to confirm this. Grey Lynn. Point Chevalier. Belmont. If you want to live there you and your significant other had better both get a 6 figure salary.
Is that impression correct? One way to get an idea is to look at census data. One of the questions asked is how you get to work. This is not a perfect measure (more local errands like shopping or going out are often more feasible on a bike than commuting), but it should give us an idea of where cycling is popular.
A peek outside my bubble: property speculator whining group
Something washed up on my Facebook a while ago.
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Name of the group may or may not be redacted |
Sponsored. Hmmm. Someone is paying to spread this stuff. Maybe I have been targeted due to my searches about growing veggies in my garden, something which you pretty much can’t do unless you own your home. *1
Learning how to ride a bicycle in an apartment.
What is it about kids and suburbs? Why do you have to move out of the city centre once you get those little ones?
Many theories exist. Maybe people just don’t get it. That is a popular theory amongst urbanists. And if you’re arrogant enough to actually believe that, what about you go do some proverbial stuff with yourself.
So let’s try another approach. Some empathy. A popular opinion amongst the same urbanists is that riding a bicycle is awesome. So how will that work out with kids?
What's wrong with Aetoa Square?
Aotea Square is often described as barren and wind-swept. A hole in our city. Why is that?
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Aotea Square |
Wsomc’s handy old network to new network translator
And here comes the new public transport network for the North Shore. So, let’s have a look at the improvements around me, in the Kaipātiki area:
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Part of the New Network, by Auckland Transport |
That looks familiar. Really familiar…
Pedestrians (and cyclists) also to gain right of passage across Cook Street
Last week I was wondering what’s up with that lonely pedestrian crossing on Hobson Street, while actually the worst street of them all is Cook Street.
And what do you know? Cook Street is next, and it will get an entire pair of cycleways.
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Proposed crossing, consultation drawing by Auckland Transport |
