Views sought on Tahunanui cycleway
Nelson city councillor Mike Rutledge is urging residents to have their say on the proposed Tahunanui cycleway.
Route options to link existing shared cycleways at the Nelson airport and Tahunanui beach area are open for feedback next month. The recommended primary route goes along Bolt Rd and Golf Rd.
The public will have a chance to have their say on the suggested routes at two open days on February 7 and12.
‘‘What [the cycleway] really needs to be able to do is have lots of really good connections to where people are actually living and going to,’’ Cr Rutledge said.
‘‘If you think about the schools, and being able to link across into the Tahunanui Hills as well, and I guess also making sure that it’s a natural flow for people, because kids are simply not going to go say three times their usual distance to school, just to stay on an established pathway.’’
Cr Rutledge said while there was a recommended option suggested by council advisors, there was room for it to change.
‘‘Parents, teachers, and others, they know what their kids are doing and they know how they get there.
‘‘It doesn’t necessarily mean that consultants or others actu- ally know that level of detail, so this is the opportunity to really make sure that the best information is being fed into the people who are doing the design.’’
Tahunanui Community Centre Manager Judy Robinson said she hoped people would take the opportunity to make their views known.
‘‘I think they need to go out and try the different routes,’’ Robinson said.
‘‘...it’s about keeping everybody as safe as we can and being able to ride a bike to and from schools, or wherever they have to go to.’’
She said keeping people safe as they cross roundabouts and intersections was particularly important.
The Tahunanui cycleway is one of many cycle projects being wheeled out across Nelson, in an effort to connect up cycling infrastructure and create an off-road cycle route from the Maitai right through to Kaiteriteri.
In December, Nelson City Council approved funding for a $255,000 cycle connection along the CBD’s Haven Road.
The first phase of the investigation into the Tahunanui Cycleway took place in 2014.