E-bike highway to link Tauranga CBD, Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa proposed

Pāpāmoa Residents and Ratepayers' Association president Philip Brown says an e-bike highway could help alleviate the city's traffic issues. Photo / Andrew Warner

Brown says an e-bike highway established next to existing railway lines could help alleviate the city's traffic issues. Photo / Andrew Warner [pic being taken] By Kiri Gillespie

The Tauranga City Council is exploring the possibility of an e-bike highway to link Mount Maunganui, Pāpāmoa and the city's CBD.

The proposal was presented to the council's Transport Committee this week as an option to help alleviate the city's traffic woes.

Pāpāmoa Residents and Ratepayers' Association president PhilipBrown told the council and elected members they had a chance to "become leaders of innovation".

Brown presented the idea, saying the rapidly growing population of Tauranga, particularly Pāpāmoa, was overwhelming the local roading network and other transport options needed consideration as public transport was not working.

"Roading infrastructure is at its maximum peak capacity," Brown said.

"Personal transport is the mode of choice and the only one that works. However, more people equals more cars which equals more congestion which equals longer travel times and a reduction in enjoying living here."

Brown said Pāpāmoa was now busy with many residents and the upcoming Te Tumu development would only make the demand on infrastructure worse.

"The solution is e-bikes. They're almost free to run, there's no sweating, easy parking, flexible timetables, fast and work best long term."

Brown graduated as a traffic and roading engineer many years ago "but I've always maintained an interest".

Brown proposed to use railway corridors.

"All we are asking for is 2.5m to 3m wide, nothing major ... A highway independent of the major roads.

"We have the opportunity to put this in place at very low cost and become leaders of innovation."

Deputy Mayor Kelvin Cout said he liked the idea and Cr Larry Baldock said it was "very interesting".

Committee chairman Rick Curach said he used the Matapihi cycleway and it was regularly becoming congested. Having a separate, good quality cycleway was needed, he said.

Acting general manager of infrastructure Martin Parkes told the Bay of Plenty Times the council supported biking, including e-bikes.

The council would talk to KiwiRail to establish the feasibility of Brown's proposal and potential challenges regarding safety and access.

"We definitely support more people to get on their bikes. Regarding e-bikes, there is a lot of interest in them. We have noticed a significant uptake in e-bike users in the last 12 to 18 months."

Parkes said the council was in the process of developing a citywide network that would support biking across Tauranga and its infrastructure would be rolled out over the next few years.

"The beauty of e-bikes is that they are also attractive to a wider age range. E-bikes have given numerous people an opportunity to go back to cycling after many years, which brings advantages for health and traffic."