Councils have Long Term Plans that they develop every 3 years. But every year, each Council reviews its budget and makes a few adjustments as new circumstances arise. And so it is that Christchurch City Council is currently consulting on its Draft Annual Plan for 2019-20 – and there are some nice bonuses proposed for cycling…
The catalyst for this good news is changes to the funding subsidies being offered by NZ Transport Agency for certain priority areas. These “targeted enhanced funding rates” include walking & cycling projects, effectively allowing Councils to get twice as many projects delivered for the same amount of ratepayer contribution.
For Christchurch, this has allowed a number of Major Cycle Route projects to be brought forward in programme from what was originally agreed to last year. That includes most of the South Express currently out for design consultation (get your feedback in by Mar 20th!), and parts of the Nor’West Arc and Southern Lights.
The enhanced funding assistance is also allowing a number of other safety-related projects to be brought forward, including some intersections with cycling improvements, and connections to the Northern Arterial cycleway. Next year we will also finally see some cycleway connections inside the Four Aves to the Major Cycle Routes, as part of An Accessible City (AAC).
You have until Mon Apr 1st to make your submissions, so show your support for these proposed changes.