Meola Rd cycleway use flat
More than a year after opening, the number of cycling trips along a key route shows no signs of growth.
The cycleway built into Auckland Transport's rebuild of Meola Road is carrying no more cyclists than it did a year ago, AT's own counter data shows.
The counter, near MOTAT, records a few hundred riders a day: about 500 at the late-summer peak and closer to 300 through winter. Across every month that can be compared between 2025 and 2026, use is flat or slightly down. March fell from about 500 riders a day to 428, June from 374 to 336, and July from 317 to 303. Only April and May were marginally higher. Over 17 months of counting there is no upward trend.
The cycleway was one part of a long and disruptive rebuild. Meola Road was reconstructed within the wider Point Chevalier to Westmere upgrade, a 2.8km corridor across Point Chevalier Road, Meola Road and Garnet Road that added separated Copenhagen-style cycleways, widened footpaths, bus lanes, and new stormwater and power services. Meola Road itself needed the most work. Built across a closed landfill and an old tram route, its foundations were sinking, and the road was rebuilt from the ground up with raised levels. Construction ran from December 2023 to mid-2025, closing sections of the road for months and drawing repeated complaints from residents and businesses. The wider project carried a revised budget of about $41 million.
Inner Auckland Press has contacted Auckland Transport, seeking information on cycle use along Meola Rd before the rebuild.
