Bike trail challenge laid out

The Taieri Gorge could attract international tourists as a destination biking trail. PHOTOS:...

The Taieri Gorge could attract international tourists as a destination biking trail. Photo: Clive Copeman

A Taieri cycle trail advocate says cyclists are on their way to Dunedin’s doorstep and the challenge is to work out how best to accommodate them.

Colin Brown is part of a group pushing for development of a trail between Waihola and Wingatui, near Dunedin, which is tantalisingly close to a celebrated network of trails known as Great Rides.

One of those is the Clutha Gold Trail, which is being extended from Lawrence to Waihola, and Mr Brown said Taieri needed to think about possible routes for cyclists who might want to press on to Dunedin if suitable facilities existed.

A public meeting is to be held tonight at the West Taieri Rugby Club in Outram.

"We, the local community, have the opportunity to determine the route that works for us," proclaimed a notice that went out with a school newsletter last week.

Surveys carried out after the opening of trails in Otago have demonstrated economic benefits exceeding $1million in the first few months that followed.

"The economic benefits these trails bring to local communities is significant," Mr Brown said.

They tended to arrive in the form of home stays and custom for cafes and accommodation providers.

However, there was also some wariness from landowners about working out where precisely it was best for routes to be established.

Mr Brown said the meeting would be a chance for people to exchange views.

Among issues to be considered were whether a trail should go through Outram, link up with Dunedin Airport and make use of stopbanks.

Concept development and talks were in the early stages, but Mr Brown said it was time to get a sense from the community about what it would back.

A preferred option or options for costings could be proposed early next year.

"We do want to keep rolling on this," Mr Brown said.

The stretch between Waihola and Wingatui loomed as a missing link in the network.

An Otago Harbour shared path continued to be developed in Dunedin out to Port Chalmers and Portobello, and the Dunedin City Council decided this year to accelerate creation of a trail between Dunedin and Mosgiel that will feature two disused railway tunnels.

It attracted emphatic public support in the 2022-23 annual plan submissions process.

Mr Brown said the extension of the Clutha trail would soon result in cyclists getting to Waihola.

A suitable conduit would then be needed to attract them to Dunedin, he added.

"It would be a real shame if Otago has this brilliant network of trails and then there’s a crucial gap of about 25km," he said.

The Otago Regional Council did not yet have a policy that might make use of floodbanks for trails straightforward.

Council engineering manager Michelle Mifflin said the council remained "in communication with those looking at proposed options to enable connectivity, which may not necessarily involve floodbanks".