I spent ages checking around the neighbourhood when we first moved in, at all the obvious egress points like this, discovering that there was no way to cross the large swath of greenery on the map. The public-owned "Park" was not really a park, nor truly open to the public...

Gauntlet is somewhat hyperbolic, but yes the stretch from Lynwood Ave to the overbridge. Which is an extra mess at the moment, what with the motorway upgrades (though that should mean an improved cycleway once it's done). Heading townwards on the west side of St Lukes is generally fine, but coming home on the east side is a mess: the options are, a) ride on the footpath (dubious legality) which involves cycling across turning traffic and queueing traffic at Western Springs Road, then cutting out onto the cycle lane or, b) dropping over the extra-height edge of the footpath to join St Lukes Road as soon as possible, which puts you in the path of traffic turning into Western Springs Road but is the only way to get to the cycle lane directly as it starts in the middle of the intersection.

Being able to access the quiet, suburban streets directly from the cycleway (as you can all the way from St Lukes Road to Newton Gully) via Chamberlain Park would be a much preferable option.

I live only a street away, and it was years before we discovered it by accident as well. It's a great wee spot with a cool playground for the little monkey - shame about the nose-curling funk that comes out of the stormwater/sewage vent right in the middle of it.

Yes - I live pretty much one street south of Chamberlain Park, and to be able to ride through it to access the Northwestern Cycleway would be amazing. I'd never have to run the gauntlet of St Lukes Rd ever again.

I have tested your recommendations - a post of yours over at io9 put me on to Alif The Unseen - and I like the results! I will now be searching out Phillip Mann, thankyouverymuch.

The CentUp model is pretty interesting too. Though when I tried to start a balance it was discovered they don't support non-US credit cards yet!