Footage has emerged of a man recklessly driving down a cycle lane in the Auckland suburb of Waterview.
At 8.20am this morning, Jessica Rose was on her regular commute along the Waterview cycle lane with her husband when she suddenly saw a car backing over the kerb, around the bollardsand onto the cycleway.
Despite numerous cyclists and walkers using the cycleway, the driver continued his off-road antics and drove down the path.
Rose approached the driver, asking him if he was meant to be working on the cycle path, but the driver ignored her.
"It's pretty unusual to see and it is really difficult for them to access it in a car. The person must have made quite an effort to get there," Rose told the Herald.
Footage has emerged of a man recklessly driving down a cycle lane in the Auckland suburb of Waterview. Photo / Jessica Rose
"We asked the driver if he was alright and told him it's not for cars but he ignored me and drove across using the cycle lane into an adjacent carpark.
"They mounted the kerb and went over a big grass verge.
"This person went to extraordinary means to access the cycle path. After they accessed the carpark, they made a specific point to drive around the bollards and onto the path again around the other side."
During the ordeal, a big crowd gathered and asked the driver to instead use one of the many access ways to get back onto the road.
That's when he finally answered Rose, saying he had to get to the Unitec down the road.
"A big crowd started to gather and we made the recommendation to get back onto the road.
"He almost backed over a woman walking a dog and started saying 'there's a lot of students coming' before he tore off towards the Unitec carpark, avoiding using multiple access points to roads along the way.
"His behaviour was pretty erratic and didn't appear capable of answering our questions with a direct answer, they seemed out of sorts."
The driver drove down the cyclepath that backs onto a sports field in Waterview. Photo / Google Maps
Rose told the Herald it's disappointing the driver chose to ignore the signs, and wants all road users to show respect for one another.
"We need to be careful and kind as all road users, and not all the spaces and roads need cars, especially on safe and poplar cycleways and walkways.
"They went to an extraordinary effort to access the space.
"Transport engineers go through so much effort to create these spaces that are so highly used by people, and sometimes there's no proofing against those who want to abuse it."
"The cycleways are delightful to use, we just didn't expect to see a car in the middle of it."