Te Puke cycleway scrapped: ‘It would have ruined’ Te Puke’s main roads

Plans for a cycleway along Boucher Ave in Te Puke have been scrapped. Photo / Daniel Hines

Plans for a cycleway in Te Puke have been canned because of community opposition.

The 4.2km cycleway would have run along Cameron Rd and Boucher Ave and linked four schools with the town centre. The goal was to create safe cycling routes between Fairhaven School, Te Puke Intermediate School, Te Puke Primary School and Te Puke College.

The decision to cancel the cycleway was made at a Western Bay of Plenty District Council projects and monitoring meeting on Tuesday.

Te Puke resident Adele Alexander told the meeting people were scratching their heads about who would use the cycleway.

”To destroy two main roads in Te Puke for an hour in the morning, and an hour in the afternoon for five days a week, seemed absolutely crazy and a huge waste of money.”

Adele Alexander said the cycleway would have ruined two of the town's main roads. Photo / Alisha Evans

Not many students cycled to school, she said.

Also speaking in the public forum, Robbie Frew said there was nothing wrong with cycleways but they needed to be in the right place.

He felt the cycleway would be “totally unsafe” for children.

The project was estimated to cost $6.75m with $2.33m already secured from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. If the project had gone ahead, the council planned to apply for more funding or scale back the project to meet the budget, senior transportation engineer Calum McLean said in a report.

The council carried out community engagement from July to September.

This included meetings with affected businesses and schools, a letterbox drop to homes along the proposed route, advertising, social media posts and a survey.

A graphic of the proposed cycleway route. Image/ WBOPDC

The council survey asked: “Do you support the concept of a proposed cycleway and safety improvements along Cameron Rd and Boucher Avenue?”

Of the 391 responses, 72 per cent said no. People were most concerned about the loss of parking on the streets and that the cycleway would make school drop-off and pick-up harder.

Unhappy with the council’s consultation, Alexander created her own survey.

The council’s survey looked at the design options, rather than if people supported a cycleway, she said. A quick poll on the council’s website asked which of the two design options people preferred.

Alexander said her survey found 96 per cent of 136 respondents didn’t support the construction of the cycleway.

Her survey also found three-quarters of people said the council didn’t provide enough information, she said.

”Many residents felt that the decision had been made and their opinion was not going to be heard.”

Maketu-Te Puke ward councillor Grant Dally said they had made a “mistake” with the engagement approach.

”There’s a strong public perception that it was a predetermined done deal, rather than asking the public for their thoughts.”

Councillor Rodney Joyce said the community had sent a very clear message.

”There’s no point in going to consultation unless you’re willing to listen.”

Councillor Grant Dally said the council's engagement approach had been a mistake. Photo / John Borren

He said future consultation needed to allow people to pick the status quo.

”We do need to remember we’re not there to promote things, we’re there to put things in front of the community, both sides of the story.”

Mayor James Denyer said the way the consultation was structured antagonised people.

He was also “disappointed” by the lack of flexibility and options presented. Denyer said there were a number of cycleways that would have been preferred.

Council cycleways manager Scott Parker told the councillors that Waka Kotahi had put a pause on implementation funding for the project while it waited to see what the government was doing. Joyce said with the public opposition and “funding disappearing” it was a simple decision.

Speaking after the meeting Alexander said she was glad the council made the right decision.

”If they had have gone ahead with the proposal it would have ruined our two main roads in Te Puke.”

- Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air