It's one thing that Auckland is hilly, it's another thing that the city doesn't have bike lanes on major roads. What they do have are bike boxes on intersections. These are spaces painted green placed in front of cars, where cyclists can wait while the traffic signal is on stop. I guess it's the least thing the city can do--making sure cyclists have an allocated space at intersections, and have a jump start when the light turns green.
But cycling is still a challenge here in Auckland. Since there are no bike lanes, I share the outermost lane with the buses. And buses here run fast and stick very close to the curb. Hindi lang nakakatakot para sa siklista, pati na rin sa naglalakad. There have been quite a few times that I almost got sideswiped by a bus while walking on the sidewalk. That's how close they drive!
I guess sanayan lang, as I still see many cyclists around the CBD. But I'm not cycling anytime soon. It's winter and it's freezing cold. I'll probably wait 'til spring.
In the meantime, I hope the MMDA back home can do something similar at our intersections and paint bike boxes for cyclists.
