Coastal pathway to get extra cash – but not yet
‘‘It makes us wonder that the council is only going to ‘react’ to our safety concerns ...’’
An additional $18.5 million of ratepayers’ money will be spent on a pathway linking Ferrymead and Scarborough, but it will not be finished for another 10 years.
While the money has been welcomed by the Christchurch Coastal Pathway Group, chairman Scott Babington is concerned nothing will be done in the meantime to improve the safety of the existing track around the final Monck’s Bay section.
The Christchurch City Council confirmed last week it would spend $15.8m during 2026/27 and
2027/28 to complete the final
800-metre stretch of the pathway around Monck’s Bay. The council also added an extra $2.7m to the budget to complete the penultimate stage between Shag Rock and Sumner Surf Lifesaving Club, now expected to cost $8.2m, up from $5.5m.
Work on the second-to-last stage was expected to start this financial year. The first 3.5km of coastal pathway from Ferrymead Bridge to Monck’s Bay, east of Redcliffs village, was already complete and used by more than 300 pedestrians and cyclists each day. When pedestrians get to Monck’s Bay they must walk along a gravel seaside path and cyclists have to jostle with motorists for road space.
There have been at least two crashes in the area in the past two and a half years.
Babington said he was concerned the council had not recognised the safety risk with the existing ‘‘terrible track’’ that was falling into the sea around the side of Monck’s Bay.
‘‘It makes us wonder that the council is only going to ‘react’ to our safety concerns when further accidents or injury occur, rather than proactively continuing to plan and build the vital connection around Monck’s Bay.’’
Council planning and delivery transport manager Lynette Ellis said in May, the council installed a barrier around the Shag Rock corner on Main Rd, but consideration of a longer barrier south of the corner was within the scope of the coastal pathway project.
The money for the pathway is in addition to the $206m budgeted for 101 kilometres of cycleways over the next 10 years. This was
$90m more than was budgeted in the council’s last 10-year plan. However, 50 to 66 per cent of the cost would be refunded to the council following completion of the work, because the Government was part-funding the work.
The council’s draft LTP pushed the completion date of the
13 planned cycleways out from
2022 to 2028 – 14 years after the council first committed to building them within five years.
Following consultation, the council last week decided to bring forward $12.2m into the first three years of the LTP to complete sections of the Quarryman’s Trail and the Nor’West Arc faster.
Scott Babington