Hundreds turned out last week to try out the new section of the Te Awa River Ride. Photo / Supplied
Hundreds turned out last week to try out the new section of the Te Awa River Ride. Photo / Supplied
More than 1400 people came out to celebrate the first Saturday of the Te Awa River Ride's newest section last week.
The $6.7 million section links the Grassroots Trust Velodrome with Hooker Rd in Tamahere and includes three bridges, 5.4km of concrete footpath as well as 1.2km of timber boardwalk.
To date more than 18,000 trees have been planted with a further 7000 to be planted in autumn.
"We were thrilled by the crowds over the weekend, and by the incredible feedback we've been receiving," says Te Awa River Ride trustee Sarah Ulmer.
"This stunning section is the result of years of hard work and collaboration and we're grateful to the support we've received from councils, Waka Kotahi, landowners and our generous family of funders.
"This link will provide commuters in and around Cambridge a safe option to cycle to Hamilton - to work and to events. This in turn helps ease congestion, pollution, and enables exercise to be integrated into their daily lives," says Ulmer.
The $6.7m section links the Grassroots Trust Velodrome with Hooker Rd in Tamahere. Photo / Supplied
When complete, Te Awa will be a 65km shared cycle / walkway running largely alongside the Waikato River, between Ngaruawahia and Lake Karapiro.
There are two final sections to be complete - the Airport Rd underpass will open before the end of the month and the final piece of the Te Awa River Ride south of the Hamilton Gardens is scheduled to open by mid-2022.
Waipā Mayor Jim Mylchreest said, "We hope you love it as much as we do and take the opportunity to ride, walk or glide your way through the Waipā.
"The velodrome to Hooker Rd section is a little more challenging than our others, there are a few more hills than you might expect. I recommend you bring water and slow down to enjoy the views," Mylchreest added.
"As the trail passes through working farms, from time to time it will need to be closed for spraying but we will give you as much notice as possible so please check our social media channels for regular updates."
General manager of Te Awa River Ride Charitable Trust, Jennifer Palmer, said she was thrilled to have another section of the Hamilton to Cambridge path open.
"Te Awa is already one of New Zealand's busiest trails and cycling is soaring across NZ – having 60km of connected, off-road path travelling through beautiful and diverse scenery has so many social and economic benefits for our region."
The Hamilton to Cambridge shared path section of Te Awa was one of the successful shovel-ready projects which received funding of $8.2m from the Infrastructure Industry Reference Group, supported by Crown Infrastructure Partners.
The Hamilton to Cambridge section is being built by Waipā District, Waikato District and Hamilton City councils and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, as it crosses each territorial boundary.
Find out more about Te Awa River Ride shared path at www.te-awa.org.nz.
Spray operations mean temporary path closures
The new section of Te Awa River Ride will be temporarily closed on occasion while a neighbouring business undertakes horticultural spraying.
Genesis Nurseries Limited, who have fruit tree nurseries on neighbouring properties, undertake routine horticultural spraying beside the shared path.
Spraying is expected to take place about half a dozen times between March and September 2022 when the crop reaches maturity, with the first scheduled to take place next week.
The new section of Te Awa River Ride during construction last year. Photo / Supplied
Spraying will take place on a 50m stretch about 1km north of the Velodrome and a 500m section of track immediately prior to the Hooker Rd entrance, heading north.
Notices of the upcoming spray operation dates will be posted with 48 hours notice on the Waipā District Council and Te Awa River Ride websites, and the Waikato and Waipā District Council and Te Awa River Ride Facebook pages.
Spraying is limited to take place between 8am and 4pm from Monday to Friday, with no spraying on weekends or public holidays.
● Waipā District Council is also scheduling a temporary closure for March 16-18 on a small section of Te Awa River Ride between Gaslight Theatre and the Grassroots Trust Velodrome to remove exotic pine and gum trees as a part of ecological compliance for the upcoming C3 development stormwater works.
