Bike Waikato September 2025 Newsletter

In this newsletter from Bike Waikato:

• Message From the Committee: Special Election Edition – Have your say and TRIPLE YOUR VOTE by 11 October
• Election article: Where do the candidates stand on cycling issues?
• Election article: The voting records of candidates standing for reelection
• Election article: Election mythbusting
• General updates – Bike Hub and Save the Streets Rally
• Biketober events

Message From the Committee: Special Election Edition

Every three years, we are presented with a crossroads. Our local Governments are responsible for roads, cycling infrastructure, and footpaths. Imagine (or if you don’t have to, reflect):

• Imagine not being able to get to the shops because somebody has decided to park across the footpath.
• Imagine trying to bike to a friend’s place but you have to cross a bridge with no cycle lanes.
• Imagine waiting for the bus to go to work and having to wait an extra ten minutes because the bus is caught up in congestion—and then does not offer level boarding.

This is not good enough.

We encourage you to vote before midday 11 October 2025.

If you haven’t received voting papers in the mail, visit a local library or Council building.

In this special election edition of our newsletter, we have included some information to help you make a decision.

This year, we are challenging our community to TRIPLE THEIR VOTE. Talk to three people from your whaanau, friends, and colleagues and encourage them to vote, too.

We have included some information below to help you start those conversations and counter the common narratives.

Election Special: Have your say!

We have been busy behind the scenes pulling together information to help you make a decision in the local Government elections.

We reached out to all candidates (both new and standing for reelection!) and even fact checked some common myths. We have read all the candidate profiles and meeting minutes so you don’t have to!

Find the results of our sleuthing below.

Election Special: Where do the candidates stand on cycling issues?

Read the full article here: https://bikewaikato.org.nz/candidates-on-cycling-local-elections-2025/

What did we do? We asked the candidates standing for election in the Waikato Regional, Waikato, Waipā, Matamata-Piako, and Hamilton City Councils about their views on cycling and public transportation. We got some great responses and clear vision for how candidates would build infrastructure, focus on safety for cyclists, and invest in multi-modal transport over the next three years.

Thank you to our members and the community for adding to the questionnaire.

How did we score responses? Our scorecard was designed to encompass any possible reaction to our questions: the positive, the negative, and the indifferent. Questions were graded from a +2 to -2 to reflect our member’s and the community’s interests in candidates who are pro-cycling, supportive of multi-modal transport, and aware of the lack of infrastructure faced by cyclists and pedestrians. Unanswered questions or non-committal answers received a zero.

The final scores are an average for a candidate over the whole questionnaire.

Election Special: The voting records of candidates standing for reelection

Read the full article here: https://bikewaikato.org.nz/candidates-on-cycling-local-elections-2025/

What did we do? In addition to asking candidates for their views, we wanted to test if candidates who are standing for reelection (i.e., are already elected members) have voted in line with their values.

How did we rank candidates? Votes from the Transport and Infrastructure Committee are considered. Only votes directly related to approving cycling infrastructure projects are considered (i.e., pedestrian and public transport projects, recommendations, administrative decisions, and directions to staff are not included).

Please note that due to the time required to collect this information, we only undertook this exercise for Hamilton City Councillors standing for reelection.

You can see our full working in our spreadsheet here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gWe4qiVLh7NyX7aSJpHhYos7j6sUFKMiIT7RsMMNwUs/edit?usp=sharing

Election Special: Election mythbusting

Read the full article here: https://bikewaikato.org.nz/election-mythbusting-2025/

It is local election season, so misinformation and appeals to bad faith are rife in our communities. Have you heard these myths about cycling and transport choice during the local elections? Here is some information about how to respond.

General Updates

Bike Hub

We are working towards getting the Bike Hub that we inherited from Go Eco/Waikato Environment Centre up and running. We have hosted some sessions at Fairfield Park this month to great popularity!

Save the Streets Rally (with Living Streets)

At the beginning of September, we hosted the Save the Streets Rally together with Living Streets Hamilton.

We invited our communities and members of the public to hear about why it was so important to consider cycling and transport issues when voting in the local elections. We encouraged everyone to TRIPLE THEIR VOTE by talking to three of their friends, whaanau, or colleagues. Then, we heard from some candidates on how they would support this kaupapa if elected. Finally, we took a walking tour around Hamilton CBD to demonstrate the good, the bad, and the ugly of urban planning.

We received great feedback from attendees and candidates alike.

We are considering to run more walking/biking tours in the future. Keep an eye out for this!

Biketober Events

Did you know that Biketober is next week? 😱

• Biketober: Library Activities (Glenview Library) – September 29 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
• Biketober: Learn to Ride (Ellicott Park) – October 1 @ 10:00 am – 10:45 am
• Biketober: Student Bike Maintenance (Western Community Centre) – October 1 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
• Biketober: Learn to Ride (Hillcrest Stadium) – October 2 @ 10:00 am – 10:45 am
• Biketober: Library Activities (Chartwell Library) – October 2 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
• Biketober: Student Bike Maintenance (Hillcrest Library carpark) – October 2 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
• Biketober: Learn to Ride (Hare Puke Park) – October 3 @ 10:00 am – 10:45 am
• Biketober: Student Bike Maintenance (Te Kete Aronui Library – Te Kete Tuatea) – October 3 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
• Biketober: Love Your Bike Day – October 4 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
• Public Lecture with Melissa Smith – “When Bike Lanes Are Not Enough” – October 20 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Keep an eye out for upcoming events at our events page: https://bikewaikato.org.nz/events/