Spring is upon us and it seems also the Major Cycleway action season. Almost all at once, there is a flurry of both consultation and construction activity starting up on a number of cycleway routes across the city. The Christchurch City Council has lots of details on their website now about the different routes, and in due course we’ll give you some more details about them all individually. But here’s a general overview of what to look forward to over the next few months…
Firstly, a number of cycleway projects are under construction or just starting construction:
- The St Asaph St cycleway is taking shape in the central city, creating a one-way cycleway route that mirrors the existing Tuam St one
- Diggers are now on the Papanui Parallel cycleway, from the Railway line in Papanui through St Albans and Edgeware to the central city
- Meanwhile, the city end of the Little River Link is also kicking off, connecting South Hagley Park with Addington, Spreydon, Middleton, and the cycleway route further out.
- Out to the east, the first section of the Rapanui-Shag Rock cycleway connects the central city with Linwood
- Soon, the next section of the Uni-Cycle route will continue from Riccarton Bush through University to Dovedale
Meanwhile, another bunch of routes are now being rolled out for public consultation:
- The Quarryman’s Trail was released for consultation this week (submissions closing Nov 10), connecting Halswell with the central city via Hoon Hay, Somerfield and Addington. We’ll report on this in more detail soon, but you might want to take note of some of the public consultation meetings starting next week.
- Next week it’s the turn of the Northern Line to start consultation. This route incorporates the existing Railway Cycleway and will extend it south through Riccarton and north to Northwood.
- Expect to hear about consultation on the next stage of the Rapanui – Shag Rock cycleway in a month or so; this will continue the route from Linwood, past Charleston to Ferrymead and the Coastal Pathway.
- Another route to be consulted on soon is the Heathcote Expressway, which will take riders from the central city to Heathcote via Woolston and Opawa.
All this means that a number of new cycleways will be completed by the end of summer, while another bunch will be nearing final sign-off for going ahead. Out west, I’ve also seen preliminary plans for parts of the Nor’west Arc and South Express; expect to see some discussion about these in the New Year. Keep an eye on the City Council’s website for the latest information about each of the projects underway.
Which cycleway are you looking most forward to?