Whanganui Mountains to Sea Cycle Trail: Mayor looking for alternative government funding for upgrades

Work on the Gilberd St section of the trail has stopped while Whanganui District Council talks with local businesses. Photo / Mike Tweed

Shared pathways along the Whanganui section of the Ngā Ara Tūhono Mountains to Sea Cycle Trail will not be finished any time soon after funding cuts to cycling and walking programmes.

Whanganui District Council transport manager Mark Allingham said there were still sections to complete at the Castlecliff end of the Mountains to Sea (MTS) trail, as well as a long section on Somme Parade from the Aramoho Cemetery to the Aramoho Rail Bridge.

Allingham said the change in Government priorities meant no funding had been allocated for the $2.18 million requested to finish the work.

“The council is currently considering how shared pathway maintenance and construction work will be funded.

“It is likely that unfinished sections, such as the section between 505 Heads Rd and Wharf St, will be completed at a slower rate as funding allows.”

In August, the council’s interim transport manager Brent Holmes said he was delighted by new government funding for the Pothole Prevention Fund “but we are facing the chop elsewhere”.

At the end of last year, Transport Minister Simeon Brown told NZ Transport Authority Waka Kotahi not to commit any further funding to local authorities - beyond existing contractual obligations – to develop cycling and walking programmes.

In the new National Land Transport Programme (NLTP), funding for walking and cycling improvements has been halved from $910 million in the 2021-24 programme to $460m for 2024-27.

Whanganui MP Carl Bates says there are other ways to support initiatives like MTS while the Government focuses on “getting the economy back on track”.

Whanganui MP Carl Bates (National) said the country needed to have functional roads and “stuff that’s going to get New Zealand moving” had to be prioritised.

“If we don’t, we can’t get people around, we can’t get goods and services around and we can’t have a productive economy,” Bates said.

“And ultimately, we can’t have the wealth New Zealand needs to pay for the social goods and services we all need, including things like the Mountains to Sea trail.”

The trail from Upokongaro to the North Mole is rated as grade three (intermediate) but more shared pathways would bring it closer to grade one (easiest).

Whanganui Mayor and chairman of the MTS Trust, Andrew Tripe, said the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund was an option to complete pathway work and get it closer to grade one.

“We are currently working with [Regional Development Minister] Shane Jones and other ministers on that, along with Ruapehu,” he said.

“There is an option to put it under the visitor section funding as opposed to Ministry of Transport funding.”

A small section of pathway in Castlecliff around Gilberd St was also on hold as the council worked with local business owners on a safe solution that worked for everybody, he said.

Bates said there were other ways to support initiatives such as MTS while the Government focused on “getting the economy back on track”.

Council prioritisation of the work was one option, as was community funding.

“Whanganui was a big beneficiary of the Regional Events Fund this year – around $180,000 – so maybe they can look to do an event around the pathway in the future that drives income or ticket revenue to help get something built,” he said.

Whanganui District Council transport manager Mark Allingham says almost 2km of shared pathway was built in Castlecliff last year. Photo / NZME

Allingham said the trail MTS was a significant New Zealand Great Ride and a major drawcard, attracting local and international tourists to Whanganui.

It begins in the Ruapehu district, with options to start at Ohakune or National Park Village with a boat ride to bridge an unrideable section along the Whanganui River, and ends at the North Mole in Castlecliff.

He said almost 2km of shared pathway was built in Castlecliff last year.

“Over the last three years, $3.67m was approved for walking and cycling improvements in Whanganui with $1.36m spent on the Mountains to Sea pathway.”

Trail champion Lynley Twyman said in the past, people were not riding the Castlecliff section of the trail because they felt unsafe but most of it was now off the road.

“It’s not perfect but it’s significantly better than it was,” she said.

“Riding around Heads Rd was pretty awful - you’re on a bike in an area that has primarily industrial heavy traffic like trucks.

“They aren’t really looking for bikes because it wasn’t set up to be bike-friendly anyway.”

She said the Whanganui River Rd and Upokongaro to the North Mole sections of the trail were “absolutely critical” to tourism infrastructure in the district.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.