Uncertainty clouds upgrade of ‘intimidating’ cycleway

Cycling infrastructure across Nelson is being improved but advocates are disappointed that a popular pathway is being “neglected”.

Waka Kotahi is currently conducting a $325,000 upgrade of the busy junction at the Orphanage Stream underpass.

The underpass lies on a section of the region’s Great Taste Trail called the Whakatū Coastal Pathway which runs adjacent to State Highway 6 – Whakatū Drive.The path is being widened and its alignment is being changed to make it easier and safer for users to get past each other at the underpass.

Work began on 10 June and is expected to be completed by 12 July, a week later than originally planned due to the wet weather.

The Nelson Tasman Cycle Trail Trust manages the Great Taste Trail and chair Gillian Wratt says the Coastal Pathway is growing in popularity with 167,000 using that section of the trail last year.

“It’s good to see [the underpass] being done,” she says, but “in the bigger picture we’re disappointed.”

She describes the Coastal Pathway as narrow and “intimidating”, with sections running adjacent to a 100kmh highway and being within the ‘deflection zone’ of the current wire rope barriers, meaning users could be endangered by a crashing vehicle.

Waka Kotahi has developed plans that would see stretches of the path replaced with a 3-metre-wide boardwalk along the estuary to widen the route and shift users away from the highway.

Gillian says those plans would be a “win-win” for path users and the environment, with native plantings included in the plan to further provide separation from traffic. But, while she has been told that Waka Kotahi will keep working towards a resource consent for the project, she remains unsure if it will eventuate given the Government’s prioritisation of road infrastructure.

“The cycle trust keeps pushing it… and it just seems to get buried. I don’t know if it’s in the too hard basket.”

A Waka Kotahi spokesperson confirmed that any future major works on the Coastal Pathway would likely be contingent on funding from the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF). The current draft Government Policy Statement for Land Transport indicates NLTF funding for cycling projects would be reserved for those where there is “clear benefit” for increasing safety or economic growth.

Bicycle Nelson Bays convenor Bevan Woodward thought it was a “real shame” Waka Kotahi wasn’t upgrading the Coastal Pathway yet. He highlighted that uncertainty about the pathway was coming just months after an upgrade of Nelson’s Rocks Rd and its cycling infrastructure was dropped from the Government’s draft policy statement on land transport.

“Two quite important sections of coastline in Nelson have been neglected.”

But unlike cycling in Nelson’s coastal environment, the inland route along the Railway Reserve is receiving investment. The route is in the final stages of having lights installed, with contractors working on the final section between Waimea and Beatson Rds.

Bevan describes the Railway Reserve as the “heart” of the city’s cycling network.

“It’s absolutely critical to Nelson’s cycling success.”

Ensuring the reserve is lit, especially during the darker commuting times in winter, would make cycling a more attractive option for residents, Bevan says, with a greater uptake of cycling along the route potentially saving commuters money while reducing emissions and congestion.

“It’s fantastic… I take my hat off to [Nelson City] Council for getting it delivered.”

The work to light the Railway Reserve began in March 2023 and cost $1.9 million, 51 per cent of which was covered through the Government’s Better Off funding.