Upgrade Of ‘Intimidating’ Cycleway Faces Uncertainty

Thursday, 20 June 2024, 5:03 pm
Article: Max Frethey - Local Democracy Reporter

Cycling infrastructure across Nelson is being improved but advocates are disappointed that a popular pathway is being “neglected”.

Waka Kotahi is currently conducting a $325,000 upgrade of the busy junction at the Orphanage Stream underpass.

The underpass lies on a section of the region’s Great Taste Trail called the Whakatū Coastal Pathway which runs adjacent to State Highway 6 – Whakatū Drive.

The path around the underpass is being widened and its alignment is being changed to make it easier and safer for users to get past each other.

Work began on 10 June and is expected to be completed by 12 July, a week later than originally planned due to the wet weather.

The Nelson Tasman Cycle Trail Trust manages the Great Taste Trail and chair Gillian Wratt said the Coastal Pathway is growing in popularity with 167,000 people using that section of the trail last year.

“It's good to see [the underpass] being done,” she said, but “in the bigger picture we're disappointed.”

She described the Coastal Pathway as narrow and “intimidating”, with sections running adjacent to a 100kmh highway and being within the deflection zone of the current wire rope barriers, meaning users could be endangered by a crashing vehicle.

Waka Kotahi has developed plans that would see stretches of the path replaced with a 3-metre-wide boardwalk along the estuary to widen the route and shift users away from the highway.

Wratt said those plans would be a “win-win” for path users and for the environment, with native plantings included in the plan to further provide separation from traffic.

But while she has been told that Waka Kotahi will keep working towards a resource consent for the project, she remained unsure if it will eventuate given the Government’s prioritisation of road infrastructure.

“The cycle trust keeps pushing it … and it just seems to get buried. I don't know if it's in the too hard basket.”

A Waka Kotahi spokesperson confirmed that any future major works on the Coastal Pathway would likely be contingent on funding from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF), which would be distributed according to the Government's finalised priorities.

The current draft Government Policy Statement for Land Transport indicates NLTF funding for cycling projects would be reserved for those where there is “clear benefit” for increasing safety or economic growth.

Bicycle Nelson Bays convenor Bevan Woodward thought it was a “real shame” Waka Kotahi wasn’t upgrading the Coastal Pathway yet.

He highlighted that uncertainty about the pathway was coming just months after an upgrade of Nelson’s Rocks Road and its cycling infrastructure was dropped from the Government’s draft policy statement on land transport.

“Two quite important sections of coastline in Nelson have been neglected.”

But unlike cycling in Nelson’s coastal environment, the inland route along the Railway Reserve is receiving investment.

The route is in the final stages of having lights installed, with contractors working on the last section between Waimea Road and Beatson Road.

All the lights will finally be turned on sometime in early July.

Woodward described the Railway Reserve as the “heart” of the city’s cycling network.

“It's absolutely critical to Nelson's cycling success.”

Ensuring the reserve is lit, especially during the darker commuting times in winter, would make cycling a more attractive option for residents, Woodward said, with a greater uptake of cycling along the route potentially saving commuters money while also reducing emissions and congestion.

“It’s fantastic … I take my hat off to [Nelson City] Council for getting it delivered.”

The work to light the Railway Reserve began in March 2023 and cost $1.9 million, 51 per cent of which was covered through the Government’s Better Off funding.

Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air

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