Simon Wilson: All hail Wellington, our cycling capital

Always a good day! City life with bicycle, Evans Bay, Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington on a good day, right? What’s not to love. And now there’s even more to cheer about: Wellington has become our undisputed cycling capital, beating out 265 other cities in 66 countries for one of 10 big cash prizes. Because of the quality and ambition of its cycleway plans.

It’s a magnificent win and the council, cycling advocates and everyone who rides a bike there should be very proud.

Wellington’s a great place for cycling. Yeah, there are some hills, but the city centres and many of the suburbs, from the south coast to Silverstream, are more or less on the flat. Besides, e-bikes change everything.

The Bloomberg Award went to 10 cities. Fortaleza in Brazil got the US$1 million (NZ$1.6m) first prize, for its strategy of “putting cycling infrastructure and road safety at the top of its priorities”.

Trainer wheels up: Making the streets safe in Fortaleza.

You hear that, Auckland Council and Auckland Transport? Over the past 10 years, this strategy has meant the annual number of deaths on the road has fallen by half. Prioritising cycling is good for everyone.

The prize money will help Fortaleza build 180km of new bike lanes, make 100 intersections safer and connect the bike lanes throughout the inner city. Their goal now: to get more children, women and less-skilled riders on to bikes.

The other cities, which each won US$400,000 (NZ$660,000), were Bogota, Addis Ababa, Lisbon, Milan, Mombasa in Kenya, Pimpri-Chinchwad in India, Quelimane in Mozambique, our own Wellington and the Albanian capital, Tirana.

Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and the South Pacific. Their projects include safe cycleways on furiously busy transport corridors, all-ages cycle networks, networks linking schools, community projects that engage kids in the planning and design.

School-run cycling in Bogota.

Milan wants to become the most bike-friendly city in Europe, a title for which there is very stiff competition. Pimpri-Chinchwad wants to embed the concept of a 15-minute city. Wellington plans to increase its existing bike networks by 160 per cent.

This is terrific stuff. We’re running out of room for cars and there are now so many of them the roads have become much more dangerous. EVs aren’t going to solve the problem. But bikes are, along with trams and buses and trains and walking.

The wonderful world of cycling in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell

It’s not that everyone has to ride a bicycle. Especially in Wellington, where a lot of homes really do cling to the side of a cliff. But more than any other city in Aotearoa, Wellington is trying to get serious about cycling. Trying to create a safe, connected infrastructure that will make cycling possible for tens of thousands more people.

Not just possible, that’s not enough. That’s the curse of tokenism, the status quo that has created the dysfunction on our roads today. It has to be desirable. Preferable for many people on many trips. Fun. Even on a not-so-good day. Actually, I grew up there, I can say this: especially on a not-so-good day.

Wellington's controversial Island Bay cycleway. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Design for Living appears most weeks in Canvas magazine.