8 March 2024, Issue 1200
Choosing to ride It’s a favourite part of her day. Riding the boardwalk through the mangroves, bullrushes and toi toi as the sun comes up over the Waikareao Estuary. Stunning! But when she reaches the CBD on her flash recumbent
electric bike, the day used to turn a bit flat for the marine scientist, Dr Sharon De Luca. Because, to keep her machine safe and secure, she would have to manoeuvre through doors and squeeze into a lift to her fifth-storey office.
Tricky and laborious for someone living with a debilitating disorder of the central nervous system. But now Dr De Luca can park up at ground level at the Bike Stop – Tauranga City Council’s first covered and secure bike
and scooter parking facility in Grey St in the CBD. It’s the cheapest and easiest parking in the city – just $1 a day. Another incentive to ditch the car. Dr De Luca’s story is on pages 14-15. Photo: David Hall.