Hamilton cycleway has to be resurfaced
A controversial cycleway that wasn’t up to scratch in a central Hamilton suburb has had to be redone.
The new Rifle Range Rd cycleway in Dinsdale didn’t meet the Hamilton City Council’s quality standards, which meant the contractor had a do-over on their hands.
The $3 million project has faced plenty of opposition due to a separated cycle lane removing car parks while under construction from outside Swarbrick Park, a popular sports and recreation facility and also nearby Frankton Primary School.
The lack of car parks resulted in people illegally parking on the cycle lane.
Council’s capital projects director Kelly Stokes said from time-to-time, work doesn’t go as planned and, in this case, council has identified a section of the bike lane that doesn’t meet their quality standard. The contractor is resurfacing this section with no cost to council.
Stokes said as part of their normal quality assurance process, council staff and the contractor identified that the 300m section failed to meet quality standards.
“Our contractor is being proactive and moving quickly to resurface the bike lane using the school holidays to complete the work while there are lower traffic volumes.”
The do-over doesn’t affect the project’s completion date of July.
Despite plenty of opposition by nearby residents and users of Swarbrick Park, Stokes didn’t say if they’d considered demolishing the cycleway instead.
“We’re making these improvements, so it is safer for people to walk and bike around their neighbourhood, every day.
“There are two schools along this road and giving the children a safe place to walk, bike or use their scooters to get to school in the area safely is a big focus.”
Stokes said they ran a community engagement programme for the project which included about 750 letters and emails to residents, businesses and key stakeholders.
Local businessman and former road engineer, Tom Andrews whose grandchildren go to the local schools, opposes the project and advised the council not to go ahead with it in November.
He believes the cycle lane has made the area unsafe as children now have to cross the road to meet their parents before and after school.
Andrews called the project “mentally deranged” and it isn’t required on Rifle Range Rd.
“It's not that we don't want bike lanes. There's no need for what they’wve done. They just wasted $3.6 million.”
He believes no-one has thought about what riding a bike down the cycle lane would be like in actuality.
“I ride a bike all the time with my wife to try and keep fit, and there’s nothing wrong with [the original painted cycle lane].” Andrews said they’re happy enough using the painted cycleways all around the city.
“Me and my wife cycle the whole of Hamilton. We go off on our bikes some evenings, and it's amazing how far you can go on a bike.”
The budget for the entire project is $3 million. Council’s share is $300,000. The balance is funded by the Climate Emergency Response Fund, which is supported by revenue collected from the Emissions Trading Scheme.