Roadblock for walkway to Ashhurst
The last section of the Manawatu Riverside shared pathway from Palmerston North to Ashhurst is unlikely to be completed until at least next year.
The obstacle is gaining access and making land between the end of Raukawa Rd and Te Matai Rd suitable for pathway formation so the $320,000 project can be joined up. The city council is expecting to be able to make a statement about progress next week.
In the meantime, a report to its audit and risk committee on Monday said a memorandum of understanding had been signed with the owners of the Higgins site that agrees in principle to the pathway going through.
But councillors were told there could be no progress until metal extraction at the Raukawa Rd site had finished, which was likely to be during the second half of 2017.
After that, the extraction pits would have to be filled in, and the availability of material to do that could be a problem that the report said could take ‘‘a number of years’’ to resolve.
The agreement with the property owner had given the council confidence that the pathway would be able to be joined up eventually. It had moved ahead in November to establish an off-road pathway on the stretch between 284 Te Matai Rd, the end of the straight, and Riverside Drive. The pathway runs along the southern side of Te Matai Rd.
Six months into the 2016/17 financial year staff told councillors the budget for the final section of the pathway would need to be carried forward into the coming financial year.
Once complete, the Ashhurst to Riverside Drive will link to the 11.7km pathway along the river banks to Maxwells Line and offroad pathways extending as far as Longburn.