50 bike racks for Wellington

Just over 50 new bike racks and six cycle repair stands are being installed around Wellington’s central city and suburbs during the next few months to help meet growing demand.

This work is part of improving facilities and infrastructure to make cycling easier and more convenient, encourage more people to make more trips by bike (including e-bike), and help reduce road transport emissions.

The most significant thing people can personally do to make a difference is to change the way they move by reducing car trips and getting to more places on foot, by bike, bus or train, Wellington mayor Andy Foster says.

Fifty-two new bike racks, which will provide parking for double that number of bikes, are going in at 18 locations in Karori, Northland, Tawa, central city, Oriental Bay, Seatoun, Lyall Bay, Hataitai beach, Island Bay, and Miramar. In some places the new racks will add to existing bike parking.

Around the city and suburbs, the new parking will bring the number of racks to about 650, providing parking for about 1300 bikes.

Six new ‘fix-it’ stands are being installed at key locations to add to the 17 stands already in use. The new stands will go in at Makara mountain bike park, Tawa, Khandallah, Lyall Bay, Strathmore and Happy Valley. The fix-it stands have tools and bike pumps so people can do running repairs or basic maintenance.

From August, the Wellington City Council will also be installing several more ‘push channels’ on public stairways so bikes can be pushed rather than carried up steps.

More cycle-friendly sump grates are also going in around the city to replace more of the old grates which can create a hazard for people on bikes (like getting bike tyres stuck in the grates).

The changes are a small but important part of developing a citywide bike network, and making it easier and more convenient for people riding to visit shops, cafes, businesses and facilities, council planning and environment committee deputy chair Tamatha Paul says.

Locations like Miramar have been chosen with assistance from Enterprise Miramar and Cycle Wellington, and most will be close to cafes, shops and businesses.

Enterprise Miramar board member and co-owner of Palmers Miramar Phil Hughes says his business has seen more people arriving by bike than ever before during the past year.

“Particularly at weekends, we’re seeing more families out biking. They come in to have something to eat, look around, and some buy plants and other things while they’re here,” he says. “If people aren’t able to take their purchases with them, they arrange to drop back later to pick them up or have them delivered.”

The improvements are part-funded by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.