Paving the way for future cyclists

Brian McLachlan watches as Valerie Green-Moss of NorthTec's Sustainability Committee and Bike Northland's Norman Gruebsch try out a portion of Raumanga's new cycleway. Photo / Michael Cunningham

A Whangarei Hospital employee living in Kamo will be able to cycle to work almost entirely on car-free cycleways within the next three years.

Work on a web of five cycleways - Raumanga, Kamo, Onerahi, Tutukaka and Waipu - is well under way, though it has been pointed out that building infrastructure is just the first step in encouraging Whangarei residents on to their bikes.

Whangarei District Council cycleway project manager Nick Marshall said only about 3 per cent of school students biked to school.

"So we construct the path, train the kids, try and get them excited about that ... and change some attitudes," he told WDC's Inner City Revitalisation Committee. Mr Marshall said it would take up to three years from the completion of the tracks to start seeing changes in cycling behaviour.

Councillor Brian McLachlan, a member of WDC's Walking and Cycling Reference Group, agreed: "It's not just about building these tracks, it's about getting people to use them," he said.

This was being done through initiatives like Bikes in Schools, run by Bike Northland and supported by a range of businesses.

So far there were seven cycling tracks at Northland schools, and helmets and bikes had been provided to students at five schools.

Just over $7 million from central Government and council would be spent on the three town routes - Onerahi, Raumanga and Kamo by 2018. Routes at Tutukaka and Waipu were backed by their respective community groups. These had received some money from WDC but would primarily be funded through other means.

How they are tracking:

Onerahi

This 6km track will connect Onerahi to the CBD and Hatea Loop walkway. Much of the route was based around the upgrade of the Waimahanga Track including its two bridges, linking Riverside Drive to an already completed track alongside Beach Rd. A new track would then run alongside Riverside Dr, requiring an embankment to be built along the shoreline. The Riverside Drive section would take several years to complete, because soil brought in would need to settle before three new pedestrian and cycle bridges next to the existing road bridges could be built.

Expected completion: 2018-2021

Raumanga

The 5km Raumanga route is almost complete. It started near Forum North and followed the Raumanga Stream out towards Whangarei's western suburbs. A small section running between the end of Bernard St at Jubilee Park and Maunu Rd is set to happen within the next year, as WDC negotiated with landowners.

Expected completion: 2016

Kamo

This 6.5km route is in its early stages and will follow the existing railway corridor from near Rust Ave up to Kamo's Station Rd. More than 5000 students attended schools within 500 metres of this route. Construction is expected to start in 2016.

Completion date: Mid 2018

Waipu

Stage 1 of this project is a cycleway from Waipu Village to Riverview Place, near the estuary, set to begin this summer. The trail is designed to be its own separate carriage way and will include a designated bridge to ensure safety away from the present one lane vehicle bridge over the Waionehu Stream.

WDC granted $105,000 under its Long Term Plan to Waipu Cycle Trust to make up the group's funding shortfall.

Tutukaka

The Tutukaka Ratepayers' Association looked towards eventually forming a route that would originate in Tikipunga and follow unused country roads out the back of Ngunguru, taking riders away from the main highway and reducing costs.

The association had $65,000 funding from council and this year would look at signposting and promoting the overall route in time for the busy summer period.