As a resident of Eden Terrace in Central Auckland, I received a letter and plans from the Council regarding their proposed cycle and pedestrian path improvements in and around Ian McKinnon Drive. It seems the Council has their eye on this location for works to be undertaken prior to the World Cup.
Generally, I am supportive of any improvements to walking and cycling paths but I had a few issues with these particular modifications which included the extension of a cycle/pedestrian path along the western side of Ian McKinnon Drive – my reason being is that there is effectively no where to go – as Ian McKinnon Drive narrows as it heads north past Piwakawaka Street.
I would have thought that it would be better to upgrade the existing path along the eastern side of Ian McKinnon Drive as this has better connections to the existing cycle path etc. and would, I assume, cost less than the creation of a new path (and probably less disruptive for traffic as well).
So I drafted up an email with some comments to this effect and well …. my feedback went nowhere really as this is the ‘personal’ response that I got back from Auckland Council:
Council Response regarding consultation for cycle and pedestrian improvements to Ian McKinnon Drive
Council's Further Response regarding consultation for cycle and pedestrian improvements to Ian McKinnon Drive
All in all I wonder how much value is placed on this consultation – but I would probably provide feedback again.
