A cycle friendly city ready for the making
With concrete plans approved for the Porirua to Tawa cycle lane, Wellington City Councillor Celia Wade-Brown is turning her attention to the other missing parts of the puzzle.
In July the Council announced $4.75m of funding over 10 years for a Wellington walking and cycling network, including a harbour track and a cycle-walkway alongside the Porirua Stream. The Tawa to Johnsonville route and the ‘Great Harbour Way’ route, linking Wellington to Petone, are next on the agenda for Cr Wade-Brown.
“There are three main parts to this; the ‘Great Harbour Way’, the Johnsonville to Tawa, and Tawa to Porirua City.
“We are in the middle of looking at the Tawa to Johnsonville walking and biking route, and this week I will be talking with Claire Biddy about what has to happen on Middleton Rd.
“The road is pretty tight, and it’s good the speed limit is down to 70km/h,” she says.
Getting all the ‘in-between’ parts right requires cycle lanes to be planned with other infrastructure projects throughout the area. The Porirua and Wellington Councils are working together on the Porirua stream walk and cycleway. The six-kilometre walkway will follow Porirua Stream from Tawa to Kenepuru Railway Station in Porirua. For the ‘Great Harbour Way’, Cr Wade-Brown says a ‘Triangle study’ of the routes connecting Wellington, Granada, and Petone is due to be released before the end of the year.
“We want to launch the study and find stakeholders for the Harbour Way before the end of the year.
“It will be of benefit to local economy, local businesses, as well as walkers and cyclists,” she says.
Hutt City Council roading manager Ron Muir says the two councils are on the same frequency when it comes to the ‘Great Harbour Way’.
“Our existing programme meshes in well with the Wellington one.
“The triangle study is a joint initiative by Hutt, Wellington and the NZTA,” says Mr Muir.
The missing cycling links from Eastbourne to Petone will hopefully be completed over the next ten years. The Eastern Bays walking and cycle way is an important part of completing Wellington’s cycle network.
“We are progressing from the Seaview end at the moment, and currently working on Lowry Bay.
“We definitely want to lift the standard and meet the great harbour way concept,” he says.
