| Matt Facts: Matthew dislikes drinking cold drinks from coffee mugs. He also hates plastic forks. | | Did you Know? Toothpicks are overrated. | | Words of Inspiration: "You can tell a lot about a fellow by the way he eats Jelly Beans" – R.Regan | | Did you know? There are no Pez Facts. Pez is, in fact, not factual. | | Matt Facts: Matthew's fortune cookies always predict success. | | Words of Inspiration: When I'm sad I stop being sad and be awesome instead - Barney Stinson | | Did you know? "Buf­falo buf­falo Buf­falo buf­falo buf­falo buf­falo Buf­falo buf­falo” is a gram­mat­i­cally valid sentence. | | Matt Facts: Matthew is best served on the rocks with a slice of lemon. | | Words of Inspiration: "Life is futile." | | Did you Know? Dinosaurs and Dandelions is the name of a popular blog that has been around since the 15 April 2010 | | Matt Facts: Unlike some people, Matthew only celebrates his birthday once a year. | | Words of Inspiration: "I'll be back" - The Terminator. | | Did you Know? The two modern breeds of Cocker Spaniel, American and English, are thought to have been descended from only two dogs? | | Matt Facts: On the second to last full moon of the year, Matthew develops an itch on his right shoulder. | | Words of Inspiration: “You can do it!” - Rob Schneider, in every Adam Sandler movie ever | | Did you know? Lettuce is often eaten raw. | | Words of Inspiration: "Science is always at work and never sleeps – just like Rust" | | Did you Know? When you dream, every­thing you see in that dream, you’ve seen before in real life. | | Matt Facts: Matthew officially endorses the Cadbury's Moro bar as being delicious | | Did You Know? A tadpole is also called a 'pollywog'. | | Matt Facts: Matthew has his own Facebook fan page. Creepy. | | Did You Know? Cats sleep for 70% of their lives. | | Words of Inspiration: "End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it." - Gandalf. | | Did you Know? This is the end. The journey ends here. Then it starts all over again. |

Monday 4 February 2013

A review of a bridge...yes, seriously.

As you well know, we here at Dinosaurs and Dandelions are the undisputed leaders in bridge related news in the North Massey-Westgate area. So when the "Westgate Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge" was officially opened last week by the NZTA and Auckland Transport, we were all over it - well maybe not all over it, but we certainly walked across it.
The bridge is yellow.
My first thought about the bridge was it's yellow. You can't escape it, it is very yellow. Apparently this is to complement the "Clarks Lane Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge" further along the motorway, but that doesn't explain why THAT bridge was painted yellow when it was built in 2010.

Perfect for skateboards?
My second thought was, it sure is windy. And indeed, it is. The bridge connects Oriel Ave in the east to Westgate Drive in the West and crosses the North West Motorway. From bus stop 5677 the bridge lazily curves up through several bends and then meanders for 209 metres over the seven lanes of traffic. Once you are on the bridge it is surprisingly spacious, being a comfy three metres wide. Pedestrians on the bridge seem friendly, although I didn't meet any cyclists so I cannot comment on them.
Ducks have not yet found their new pond.
After crossing the traffic, which indeed is the function of most bridges, this one quietly settles you down next to a duckpond surrounded by natives and complete with a loop path and park bench.The bridge reportedly makes use of special lighting at night, however this feature was not being utilised during my day time visit.

The bridge cost NZTA and AT just over six million dollars to build and was funded after a boy was killed crossing the motorway in 2004. However Hobsonville Road crosses the motorway just north of the bridge, meaning it will save pedestrians less than five minutes in walking time. A worthy investment? Probably not.

Still, we did get a lot of bridge for our $6 million  and it was a delight to cross. Four and a half stars from me.