On yer bike: Cyclists not using flash new bike facility in Auckland

Cyclist Angus McDonald is the only person using the bike parking facility in the new Huron Street car park building in Takapuna. Photo / Dean Purcell

A flash new bike parking facility on Auckland's North Shore, complete with charging and repair stations, CCTV and toilets, is missing one important thing - bicycles.

The bike park is part of the $36.1 million Toka Puia car park with 420 car parking spaces on Huron St, which opened last December to replace the loss of the nearby Anzac Ave car park for a new town square.

The car park has been well used by motorists since opening, but the bike park has mostly been empty.

Charging stations for electric bikes. Photo / Dean Purcell

Unlike cars, bike parking is free. There are 56 parks for pedal bikes plus 28 charging stations for another 28 e-bikes, two fully equipped bike repair stations, four toilets and CCTV for security.

When the Herald visited there was just one electric bike parked in a corner, whose owner Angus McDonald said he had started using the facility about two weeks ago.

He lives at the nearby Spencer on Bryon complex, where he says security is lax and where three electric bikes had been stolen in the past five years.

The bike park at Toka Puia has been empty for months. Photo / Dean Purcell

"People should use the bike facility, it is very, very safe. You get a free charge and free security.

"The car park is quite full. This [bike park] is empty. It should be the other way round," said McDonald.

A North Shore cyclist who has kept an eye on the new bike park since it opened said he had never seen anyone use it.

The new Toka Puia car park building and bike facility in Takapuna. Photo / Dean Purcell

What's more, the keen road cyclist said he was worried the "white elephant" would be followed by the $685 million bike bridge across the Waitemata Harbour - "the biggest white elephant New Zealand has ever seen!"

An Auckland Transport spokesman said the Toka Puia car park was built with future growth in mind.

In the short term, he said, AT is planning cycle activations in the area in the spring and this will include publicity for the new facilities at Toka Puia.

He said there are a number of cycling projects planned or under way on the North Shore, including the $685m dedicated bike bridge.

This weekend, two shared path bridges across SH1 to complete the Northcote safe cycle route will open, planning is under way for protected cycle lanes on Lake Rd and Auckland Council is upgrading Hurstmere Rd to include a 1.2m wide cycle lane.

"These will all make cycling a much more attractive option in Takapuna," the spokesman said.