The weather this weekend certainly hasn’t been the flashest here (or in most parts of the country…), but we’re starting to see more nicer spring days returning (next week looks particularly good). So, as the warm months arrive, it’s worth thinking about places where you might want to get out on your bike. And if you haven’t tried it out yet, one to consider is the Christchurch Northern Corridor (CNC) pathway.
This shared path snakes its way alongside the Chch Northern Corridor motorway. This new connection between the Waimakariri Bridge and St Albans was opened nearly five years ago now – they even had an open day for people to walk and ride along the new facilities.
Guest writer Angela Cassidy briefly profiled the route back in June 2023. So let’s have a bit more of a look along the route from town out towards Kaiapoi:
(note: some of these photos are from the early days of the route, so things may be a little different now – certainly the weather was nicer!)
The best way to get onto the start of the CNC pathway is from the Papanui Parallel Major Cycle Route at Rutland Reserve. This will take you past the Cranford Basin towards Cranford St.
At Cranford St, turn left and head past the roundabout to the signalised crossing just north of it. Slightly annoying that you have to cross here and then double back on yourself but, so be it…
Now the pathway will briefly start to follow the motorway proper. However then you will be detoured again, past Winters Rd, around alongside QEII Drive, and then under the Grimseys Rd underpass. Weirdly when the underpass was first upgraded, there were some odd concrete bollards around the entranceways, but thankfully they have been removed.
Time to get back towards the motorway and head north! When the path was first opened, it initially had no connection to the adjacent Owen Mitchell Park in Redwood, which seemed a strange omission. Fortunately, this has now been rectified for those who want to access the pathway from here.
The pathway weaves underneath the various road overbridges along the route. Sometimes you have to be wary of any oncoming people in the opposing direction.
Between Prestons and Radcliffe Rds, the pathway crosses over the Styx (Pūharakekenui) River. A special composite material bridge was created to bridge the gap.
Approaching the Belfast Rd overbridge, there is even an underpass beneath the motorway off-ramp, with good width and sightlines.
As we approach the Kaputone Creek, the pathway now crosses over from the western side of the motorway to the eastern side, again via a riverside underpass.
On the other side you want to turn left onto the Kaputone Creek bridge – but be careful you don’t hit the sudden bollard that shows up…
The path so far has been mostly separated from the motorway corridor but, approaching the Main North Railway Line and Old Main North Road, it runs alongside the motorway on the bridges that cross these routes.
Most of the route is nicely vegetated and has good fencing to protect you from various hazards. I do wonder at times though whether they have been a bit over-zealous with some of the bollards in the middle of nowhere…
The pathway is approaching the Chaneys off-ramp where it crosses over via a signalised crossing. Now we’re getting near the Waimakariri River…
After at least 20 years of discussions about it, at last, a clip-on bridge over the Waimakariri River! This is proving to be a godsend for all those people who previously had to brave riding on the old Main North Road bridge…
On the northern side the pathway veers around onto Tram Rd, heading for the signalised intersection with old Main North Rd.
At the intersection, signalised crossings get you across the road, where you can choose either the off-road shared path or the on-road cycle lanes.
The shared path now takes you all the way into Kaiapoi and from there you have various options to get you into town by the river or even venture further along the Passchendaele Memorial Path towards Rangiora.
So that’s the CNC pathway route! Overall, it’s a pretty lovely ride (even in proximity to the motorway), and it’s great to finally have a safe cycling connection from Christchurch to Kaiapoi and beyond.
If you want to know a bit more about the history and environment of the area surrounding the route, there are eleven beautifully sculptured information panels along the way too – well worth a stop and read. And let’s not forget about the huge “Fanfare” sculpture just before you reach the Waimak Bridge too.
Have you ridden the Chch Northern Corridor pathway yet?
This is my favourite route!