The Dunedin City Council will submit its new proposed urban cycleways programme to the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) for approval after councillors voted to approve the plans yesterday.
Although a tunnel track running through the former Chain Hills rail tunnel linking Mosgiel and the rest of Dunedin is the most ambitious addition to the city's cycle network, the programme includes a connection from the city to St Clair and improved cycle infrastructure in Northeast Valley, Wharf St, Thomas Burns Dr and the Portsmouth Dr area.
In its 10-year plan, the council has set aside $20 million for improving and adding to the city's cycleways.
It is not yet known how much the work would cost, its timing and the level of NZTA funding, although in the past the agency had provided 66%.
Cr Kate Wilson said linking up the harbour, city and Taieri by way of cycleways would be a ''game changer'' for the city.
Dunedin was already experiencing problems associated with population growth, such as increased traffic congestion, and one way to address that was to give people more options one of which was cycling, Cr Wilson said.
Cr Jim O'Malley supported the programme as long as it did not negate future rail connecting between Mosgiel and the city centre.
Arguing against it Cr Lee Vandervis said the cycleways were a ''nice to have'', but the city council not afford them. His was the only no vote.
Before the vote, Cr Vandervis moved the council not approve any option and retain the present level of service with no changes, but his motion was not supported so was not voted on.
''Again it's more of the Cull council voting for cycleways which remain largely unused and are incompetently designed.''
Mayor Dave Cull said it had been a long wait for the Dunedin Tunnels Trail Trust but its hard work was paying off.
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Comments
I use to walk that tunnel as a kid to get to North Taier. It would make for a nice cycleways but people having dry feet in South Dunedin must come first, surely.
Yes I can see a dozen or two people using this on a fine day. Council appears to lack the capability for cost/benefit analysis and financial restraint. Ratepayers will keep paying for under-utilised services...are we mugs? Vote them out!
This will be a commuter trail, a recreational trail, and a tourist trail, as well as a link GI to Mosgiel (swimming pool) for kids & families without a car dependency. Hard to quantify on any one department's budget but overall a large qualitative boost for Dunedin. If anything it may become too busy at times. Given that NZTA are offering 66%+ of the required funds to build such cycleways, now is the time for DCC to pursue this so we get the best value for Council spend.
After reading the above article this morning, I was so angry at the Councillors, with the exception of Cr Vandervis who is the only one that cares about Dunedin rate payers, that I delayed posting this comment. Unfortunately, rather than tempering my reaction, I have become more enraged at their arrogant assumption that it's ok to squander a further $20 million on a cycleway that maybe a few people will use over the urgent necessity (as pointed out by "Eyes Wide Open") of preventing continuous flooding of South Dunedin. Prevention of flooding on the Taieri also needs urgent attention. Roads are fraught with potholes and dangerous obstacles. Footpaths in the city centre are broken with upward protruding surfaces. Should I have the misfortune to befall an accident due to the DCC's negligence in maintaining our roads and footpaths, I will not hesitate to sue them for negligence. These are dangerous and desperately need to be addressed prior to frivolous spending on frivolous desires. I've lost count of the number of times that I've seen cyclists riding on a footpath, situated next to a newly constructed cycleway proudly protected by dangerous concrete obstacles
Gypsy, let's put things in context: That $20m is over 10 years covering the whole cycleway network in the greater Dunedin area, not just one item. Over that same period Council staff are expecting to spend $373m on Roading & footpaths, $305m on Water infrastructure, and $67M on reserves and recreational facilities. Cycleways are considered an essential part of the transport infrastructure (as per Govt/NZTA) and will be more important as transportation methods and options evolve over the next decade.
The ODT website is not the place for reasoned debate.