Bike Waikato December 2022 Newsletter
In this newsletter from Bike Waikato:
- Bike Waikato’s new co-chairs.
- Te Awa River Ride completed.
- Aotearoa Bike Challenge.
- Our latest submissions.
- Urban mobility in Hamilton and Waipa gets $53 million boost.
- Bike Waikato meets with HCC transport staff.
Introducing our new co-chairs
Matt Leach and Melissa Smith have been nominated as the new co-chairs of Bike Waikato, following Richard Porter taking a step back from Bike Waikato after many years of service.
Matt formed part of the inaugural Bike Waikato committee in 2019 to help get more people on bikes safely. He draws on his personal experiences to advocate for connecting people and places by opening our streets for everyone to ride a bike. In his role as co-chair, Matt will be focused on the behind the scenes operations of Bike Waikato, while balancing his day job as a public servant.
Melissa is new to the Bike Waikato committee, and is passionate about using evidence-based policies to improve communities and livelihoods. They split their time between working as a public servant and studying Environmental Planning at the University of Waikato, where they research how to make cycling safer and more attractive. In their own time, Melissa enjoys bike-packing, creative writing, and learning foreign languages.
As well as co-chair, Melissa will be acting as Bike Waikato’s new spokesperson.
Both Matt and Melissa are excited for a year of events and advocacy, including the annual Bike Month, to be held in February 2023 – keep an eye out for Boon Art tours, Big Bike Film Night, and much more.
Te Awa River Ride now complete
The 65-kilometre-long Te Awa River Ride has finally been completed.
The 13-yearlong project was finalised with the public opening of its three-kilometre section which connects the Hamilton Gardens to Tamahere. With the track’s final section now complete, riders can ride alongside the Waikato River all the way from Karāpiro to Ngāruawāhia.
Our co-chair, Matt, was lucky enough to join Hamilton City Council staff on a ride through the Riverlea section earlier this week. Check out the video here.
Aotearoa Bike Challenge
The Aotearoa Bike Challenge (ABC) is New Zealand’s biggest month-long bike event, it brings together riders of every level to promote the benefits of bike riding. The challenge is delivered by Love to Ride: behaviour change experts with over a decade of experience running bike riding campaigns.
Throughout February, riders from across the country will head out on their bikes and ride as individuals or with their workplaces to top leaderboards and win prizes.
You can register, or find more about the challenge here.
Our latest submissions
Bike Waikato made a number of submissions to different organisations over the last month to further our cause to get more people on bikes safely.
We shared our views on a wide range of strategies and plans including:
- Hamilton Urban Growth Strategy (HUGS)
- Waikato District Council’s Ngāruawāhia Town Plan
- Waka Kotahi’s Interim State Highway Speed Management Plan
- Waipa’s Proposed Private Plan Change 20 – Airport Northern Precinct Extension
Our verbal submission on HUGS was the first opportunity for Melissa, as our spokesperson, to get in front of the new Councillors for Hamilton City. You can expect us to be a constant presence at council meetings throughout 2023.
Urban mobility gets $54 million boost
Waipā and Hamilton have been allocated up to $54 million for walking and cycling infrastructure from the government’s Climate Emergency Relief Fund.
Waipā will receive up to $10.4 million, while Hamilton will receive up to $43.7 million.
The money, as part of a nationwide Transport Choices programme, which aims to reduce transport emissions via a mode shift away from single passenger vehicles to more active and public forms of transport.
Bike Waikato meets with HCC transport staff
The Bike Waikato Committee met with Hamilton City Council’s Urban Mobility Team and Programme Delivery Team last month. We’ve developed a positive and constructive relationship with transport staff over the last two years, and we’ve committed to meeting with them on a bi-monthly basis in 2023.
Our November meeting was a chance for the full committee to get an overview of the Biking and Micro-Mobility Programme and learn about current or upcoming biking projects.
We learnt a lot during the meeting and discussed how we can work together with transport staff in 2023. Hamilton has a large number of projects to be designed and delivered next year, and we intend to be there every step of the way to get the best possible outcomes for people on bikes.
