Clock is ticking on Titahi Bay cycleway
A planned $1 million cycleway between Titahi Bay and Porirua’s CBD needs to be built in the next 10 months or the lion’s share of funding could be lost.
Porirua City Council will contribute $368,000 and NZ Transport Agency $702,000 towards a 2.6-metre wide pathway that is to be shared by pedestrians and cyclists and built on the harbour side of Titahi Bay Rd.
At a public meeting at Titahi Bay Intermediate on Wednesday night, attended by about 30 people, council officers Christine Foster, Ron Lucas and Wendy Barry outlined the design options.
Lucas said it was important to get the wheels turning.
‘‘We have a narrow timeframe here - it needs to be built by June next year because that’s when we have the NZTA funding until.
‘‘We’re sure usage of Titahi Bay Rd will blossom once it’s built.’’
The four design options include fitting the pathway into the existing road, narrowing the lanes for motorists and keeping the speed at 70kmh, narrowing the lanes and lowering the speed to 50kmh, or extending the pathway into the harbour.
There was almost unanimous support from the meeting’s attendees to have the speed limit lowered to 50kmh, but opinions on other design options varied.
An extra pedestrian crossing, access to the beach, erosion problems and whether to have a rock wall installed were just some of the issues raised by the council officers and discussed by residents at the meeting.
Foster said the ‘‘special coastal values’’ of Porirua Harbour would be encroached upon by the pathway, so all feedback needed to take this into consideration.
Barry said consultation would be carried out with Porirua schoolchildren, Ngati Toa, waka ama clubs and other potential users.
‘‘We need the community to be well heard on this,’’ she said.
One resident said cyclists and pedestrians should not share the pathway because New Zealand cyclists were more aggressive than overseas ones.
The public has until September 9 to make comment. Go to pcc.govt.nz and search Titahi Bay Shared Pathway.
Email the feedback form or your comments to: Rlucas@pcc.govt.nz