Push for cycling path on Manawatū-Hawke's Bay highway grows louder
Thursday, 28 March 2019
Cycling lobbyists are continuing to push for the inclusion of a cycling and walking path on the Manawatū-Hawke's Bay highway.
The lack of a dedicated path has been the biggest issue in the proposed design of the replacement road for State Highyway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge, which closed almost two years ago.
It has prompted the formation of lobby group Build the Path, which has warned of legal challenges and delays if a cycling path is not included in the highway design.
Path advocates have made their voices heard at a commissioners' hearing in Palmerston North, pushing the safety and tourism benefits of a path.
**READ MORE:
* Cycling lobby critical of transport agency's 'rush job' on Manawatū-Hawkes Bay highway
* Iwi urges co-operation to avoid Manawatū Gorge replacement road mistakes
* Adding cycleline to Manawatū Gorge replacement highway would 'over complicate' plans, officials say
* Cycleway beside Manawatū-Hawkes Bay highway would get few users, officials say**
In response to questions from the commissioners on Thursday, most speakers agreed a path running beside the highway, with appropriate safety measures, could be an acceptable alternative, although it was less than ideal.
Manawatū Mountain Bike Club treasurer Peter Wells said, at a bare minimum, the NZ Transport Agency needed to include measures such as barriers between traffic and cyclists, and underpasses so hikers and bikers could cross the highway safely.
A pathway separated from the 100kmh traffic by at least a few meters of grass verge would be the safest option for a path alongside the highway, he said.
Wells believes a separate cycleway and walkway across the ranges would be a scenic trail and a huge cycle-tourism drawcard.
Market research by the club, which also runs and helped create the Arapuke Mountain Bike Park, near Linton, found many international cyclists skip Manawatū entirely on their tours.
Wells said the majority of the 1200 survey participants said they would come to the region, if such a scenic trail plugged the large gap between Taupō and Wellington.
He argued the agency should put in infrastructure to make a future dedicated path easier to build, even if officials decided not to build it now.
Wayne Wolfsbauer, a member of Cycle Aware Manawatū, thought there'd been plenty of time to plan for a separate path if the agency been more forward-thinking.
'This whole process has been a disaster… We need to take the reins and actually get ahead of things… With NZTA we always seem to be playing catch-up.'
Wolfsbauer said New Zealand was far behind similar countries in creating cycling infrastructure and it was garnering negative publicity in key tourism markets.