Te Ara I Whiti starts by Upper Queen Street, crossing the motorway via a bridge and continuing on the old, disused Nelson Street motorway off-ramp. It is now at the core of an ever-expanding connected network of Auckland cycling routes.

When the path opened on 3 December 2015, people clamoured to walk or cycle across this intriguing new hot-pink path. The 2015 launch invited people to enjoy ‘the interactive lights, dynamic magenta surface and Māori designs, including a 140 square metre koru pattern at the northern end.’

The project team worked with Māori artist Katz Maihi and iwi throughout the urban design stages to ensure the path had a distinctly New Zealand identity. 

The path was opened by then Transport Minister Simon Bridges, Councillor Chris Darby, Bike Auckland’s Barbara Cuthbert and children from nearby Freeman’s Bay Primary School.

The project was a partnership delivered by Auckland Council, Auckland Transport and NZ Transport Agency whose representatives also attended the opening. 

Coinciding with the anniversary, “Symphony in Space by Matthew Tucker plays on the path in recognition of the International Day of People with Disabilities on 3 December each year, a date which falls on the path’s anniversary. Matthew’s extraordinary piece combines his love of music, astronomy, and mathematics,” Trent says.

Symphony in Space was a collaboration between Matthew Tucker, Māpura Studios and iion, supported by Auckland Council Public Art in 2023. Imagining the pathway lights as a large-scale piano and then ascribing each one a constellation, Tucker created light patterns. He organised the stars from brightest to least bright and then ‘played’ them on the keys.

Symphony in Space plays on Te Ara I Whiti from 29 November to 7 December 2025 from 8pm to 6 am each night. View the light patterns and hear the music on YouTube.

A public event for Aucklanders to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the path is being planned by Bike Auckland for mid-summer 2026.