For anyone who has been a regular user of the Northern Line cycleway (previously known as the Railway Cycleway), one of the challenges has often been safely crossing some of the busier roads in Papanui. Certainly the last time I checked out the newly completed northernmost section through Casebrook, it was a bit tricky getting across some of these roads along the way.
Three crossings needed upgrading; across Harewood Rd, Langdons Rd, and Sawyers Arms Rd. This is complicated by the fact that these crossing are right next to the Main North railway line, meaning that any work to provide signalised crossings here has also required linking in with railway crossing upgrades at the same time. Needless to say, things get rather tricky when KiwiRail get involved, and this was no exception…
So, while the physical construction of these three sites were largely done over the 2024/25 summer period, they remained switched off for several months, causing a bit of confusion and frustration for several people. The technical reason behind this is that all three sites needed to be interconnected (and tested for this) before they could be officially opened at the same time.
And so it was that finally on July 16th, the three crossing sites were all commissioned and made operational for general use. People cycling or walking along the pathway can now push the crossing buttons at each road crossing and the signals will stop the traffic for them.
For people walking/biking along the crossing roads, there are also automatic pathway gates installed on Harewood and Langdons Rds that shut when trains are about to pass (Sawyers Arms Rd just has chicane fencing and signage to warn people to check for trains). If you happen to get caught inside the gates, don’t worry – there is a push-button to allow you to manually exit via a side gate.
It’s great to finally have these crossings all operational; no doubt they will greatly improve the safety for people trying to cross these busy roads.
Have you tried the new Northern Line crossings yet?
I commute down the Northern Line from Casebrook to the CBD. Installing lights to cross Sawyers Arms Rd was possibly overkill, although the ones for Langdons Road are useful and at Harewood Road they’re a lifesaver! The only rail crossing I’m using (out of the 3 new crossings) is at Harewood Road, and it’s a lot less circuitous than the old arrangement. Overall a ten out of ten from me.