Grey Lynn Pump Track “Give a Little”

Probably one of the most exciting community led projects of the last four months has been the campaign to build the Grey Lynn Pump Track.

Local Grey Lynn Resident Paul Wacker approached me as the Sports & Recreation Portfolio Holder on the Waitemata Local Board asking about building a Pump Track in Grey Lynn Park. The location Paul had identified next to the North Western Playground at Grey Lynn Park was an ideal location; for young families; for its proximity to existing play equipment; and as a destination for those travelling along the Grey Lynn Greenway.

Like all campaigns you need to create scale, momentum and justifiable change.

On the 11 August 2015 the Grey Lynn Pump Track presented with the children of Grey Lynn Primary School a petition seeking the Waitmata Local Board’s “in-principle” support.

Within a month, and a lot of work behind the scenes, the Waitmata Local Board gave that support and a grant for $30k to progress the project.

 

What is a Pump Track?

When people see an image of a Pump Track the first thing they think of is BMX. But it’s more than BMX. The track is an all-weather small size circuit that kids of all ages can utilise their bodies momentum to  pump around using a bicycle, skateboard, scooter or rollerblades.

Watch this video of the all-weather Pump Track in Chur Switzerland:

 

“Give a Little” Campaign

Through the Waitemata Local Board , Sport Auckland and generous individual donations the Grey lynn Pump Track have raised $45k but they need an additional $105k ($150k budget).

Through the give-a-little site the group plans to raise $50k and will seek the remaining $55k from sponsorship. Please dig deep and help crowd source fund the Grey Lynn Pump Track.

Please make a donation visit https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/greylynnpumptrack/

 

Photo: handing out flyers at the Grey Lynn Festival

 

 

On your bike to the New Zealand Future of Cycling Symposium

It was a freezing start to the day when elected Waitemata Local Board Members Christopher Dempsey and I decided to hitch our saddles and make the 117km cycle from Auckland to the 2015 New Zealand Future of Cycling Symposium in Cambridge.

To avoid the main trunk lines of Auckland’s busy arterial roads we took a ride on the first southern bound train service from Britomart to Pukekohe. Chris and I talked in length about the old dunger trains that still service the line from Papakura to Pukekohe. If Auckland is to encourage town centre development along train stations we need to be able to service those stations with high occupancy, frequent and reliable train services. This has certainly been an oversight not to continue the electrification to Pukekohe and through to Hamilton. A line to Hamilton would considerably open more sustainable land growth and economic development to the South with a frequent rail service.

As a school boy I used to catch the diesel clunkers to Otahuhu and it felt like the Pukekohe service was more of a novelty, a step back in history, and certainly shows the significant changes and improvements to rail services that most Aucklanders now expect with electric trains.

We had a perler of a day as the sun rose across the country side warming up our frozen hands and ears. The roads along our route are not designed specifically for cyclists but the reduction in traffic, with the accommodating Fonterra trucks which I should mention were amazing on the road, made for a pleasant and mostly safe journey.

At Huntley we stopped to see another relevant day relic, the Huntley Coal Fire Power Station. New Zealand is producing almost 80% renewable electricity through hydro, thermal, solar and bio fuels. The technology exists today for New Zealand to go 100% renewable, despite concerns by industry experts that say New Zealand needs to fire-up when we have peaks and troughs in wind, sun and rainfall. Massive leaps and bounds have been made in technology to create reliable renewable electricity supply and we need to think smarter and just get on with it.

We had lunch in Hamilton with conference attendees Hitoshi Ebishima (Japan) and Catherine Elliot (USA) both studying in the field of sports and human sciences. They had both made the journey to the Waikato to take their learning back to each respective community of influence.

Finally after an 8 hour cycle and a full day, we arrived at the “Home of Cycling” at the Avanti Valadrom.

 

Conference Day One

Registration was in the afternoon on day one, with a meet and great, along with two give it a go activities:

Gallagher Bike Skills Park – www.avantidrome.co.nz/facilities/skills-park

With our trusty folding bikes and touring bikes we gave the Gallagher Bike Skills Park a ride. Since this experience I have been working with local residents to build our own Pump Track in Grey Lynn Park. To date the Waitemata Local Board has committed $30k and land owner approval. Through the efforts of volunteers they have also raised an additional $70k and are well on their way to reaching a total target of $150k. Read more about the project here: www.robthomas.co.nz/grey-lynn-pump-give-a-little 

Cycling the Avantidrom – www.avantidrome.co.nz

Clip in with no breaks, this is not a task for the faint-hearted. In fact when it comes to cycling there are many different disciplines from mountain biking, touring, racing and then there is the valadrom.

The Avantidrom is all about giving anyone the opportunity to experience the trill of rising an indoor track. They provide all the necessary gear to get out on the track. However, unless you can’t hit the  44 degree wall at 28kms/hr you may come sliding down the corners. Fortunately this was not the experience of anybody that gave it a go on our ride.

This extraordinary facility in the heart of Cambridge is truly accessible. The in-field has a public gym, bicycles for stroke victims to ride and access to the-best-of-the-best in New Zealand professional cycling.

 Photo taken from www.avantidrome.co.nz/facilities/velodrome

 

Conference Day Two

Workshops pursued on day two of the conference after an introduction from New Zealand Cycling CEO.

The CEO comments struck a cord with me about the link between his own personal life of cycling as a child and how he overcame major health challenges that he faced in his 40s. There are many well document case studies that show that during periods of stress people often go back to what they know and rely. Cycling was his mechanism for coping with his change of metabolism and dealing with middle age weight issues. He like many New Zealanders, face a challenging and growing obesity epidemic:

“New Zealand has the third highest adult obesity rate in the OECD, and our rates are rising. Almost one in three adult New Zealanders (over 15 years) is obese, and one in ten children.” – health.govt.nz

Since the conference I have connected both our Waitemata Local Board and our Sports & Recreation Council Employees with the Auckland Healthy Together Team at the Auckland District Health Board. Their primary goal is to reduce obesity in Auckland. We are currently working through plans to provide healthier eating choices at our local pools which could be rolled out to regional facilities such as the Auckland Zoo and Motate. The Waitemata Local Board has also been strongly advocating for more walking and cycling connections in our community to get people more physically active. This has resulted in some big successes with $90m to be invested in cycling over the next three years in our community: www.robthomas.co.nz/big-win-for-cycling-in-auckland

 

The changing views of society – presentation by New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA)

NZTAs presentation on cycling was refreshing. NZTA has historically operated as a deliver of roading projects to move freight and people as quickly as possible from A to B. There is no denying this is still a critical roll for New Zealand’s economy, however, their view now includes a focus on public transport infrastructure, cycling and walking.

“Cycling is now the fastest growing mode of transport in several cities and towns across New Zealand.” – nzta.govt.nz

Thanks to the political will and support from our Prime Minister John Key, Transport Minister Simon Bridges and Local MP Nikki Kaye we are seeing more and more investment going into cycling. The most recent project delivered by NZTA and Auckland Transport have been delivered with positive benefits over costs that have rivaled many road projects (arguably to a much smaller scale).

The other major shift in thinking has been to experiment with different road layouts and understanding that there is no “one size fits all” view but an aim to increase safety for all road users. This was one of the experimental images shared, how confusing:

There were many other great presenters from Hitoshi Ebishima on his work in Japan on competitive road cycling to the barriers faced by minority groups to get on a bike. There were many others at the conference which included Waitemata Local Board Member Pippa Coom and Barbara Cuthbert from Bike Auckland.

It was an inspiring and epic trip. Thanks to the team at Adventure Cycles that gave me an awesome deal on a bike rental and the Waitemata Local Board for paying the cost of attending the conference, shared accommodation for two nights and a ticket to get the train back to Auckland.