Progress on Chch Cycling Projects

It’s a chilly old time of it in Christchurch lately, and it can feel sometimes like not much is happening locally on the cycle front. Actually there are quite a few projects on the go, either physically on the ground or behind the scenes with planning. Here’s a quick overview of where some of these projects are at (if you know about other things, then please sing out in the comments):

• The City Council’s Long Term Plan, signed off last month, includes over $240 million of funding to be allocated for cycleways over the next 10 years, to complete all the remaining Major Cycle Routes and to also provide some local connections to them.

• The South Express major cycleway section from South Hagley Park to Main South Rd (Upper Riccarton) has been full steam ahead since late last year, with many sections pretty much rideable now. Work continues at a number of major signalised intersection crossings, such as Curletts Rd, Matipo St, and Clarence St. It will probably be about October before it is all completed. Meanwhile, planning/design is being finalised to start the next section from there towards Hornby and Templeton soon.

• The Nor’West Arc major cycleway route has seen most of the southern section now completed from Cashmere to Upper Riccarton. Currently work is underway along Middleton and Ilam Rds to connect the route to the University. And very soon there will be some initial conversations with key stakeholders about the northern section through to Papanui, with full public consultation due later this year.

• If you’re wondering what has happened to the Wheels to Wings major cycleway along Harewood Rd, work has been underway to refine the draft design after the initial consultation attracted over 1200 submissions. Some further stakeholder meetings have been held to discuss potential changes and some public drop-in sessions to discuss these further are planned for August, after which a Hearings Panel will confirm the final design for implementation.

• The “missing link” connecting the Heathcote Expressway major cycleway into town along the top two blocks of Ferry Rd has been filled in with an interim “innovating streets” treatment, making use of temporary separators and paint to provide a separated cycle route. The public can now provide feedback until next January on what they think of the design, including providing feedback on an interactive map.

• Te Ara Ihutai, the Christchurch Coastal Pathway is nearing completion, with the final section around Moncks Bay about to start construction. There’s a pretty cool fly-through video  that has been created to show you what this section will look like.

• Away from the main cycleways, construction has also started on the upgrade of High St, from Cashel Mall to Tuam St. This will feature a cycling route along here (a popular connection from the southwest of the city into town) and a much simplified signalised crossing of Tuam St. Construction should be done by the end of the year; there will also be plans later to reconstruct the section down to St Asaph St as well.

• Some of you might have noticed the construction work in North Hagley Park to reconstruct and seal the pathway around the perimeter from the Armagh St Bridge to Harper Ave (Carlton Mill corner). This will then mean that there is a continuous sealed route around the park (there have also been pathway improvements behind the hospital alongside the river).

In other interesting related news:

• The three red zone walk/cycle bridges across the Avon River have been designed and steelwork is currently being fabricated for construction.
• Not long to go either until the new Avon River central city walk/cycle bridge in the Colombo-Manchester block  is opened; construction is pretty much complete.
• Work has started on upgrading the Cashmere/Worsleys/Hoon Hay intersection to traffic signals, including cycle lanes; this will make life a bit easier for locals and those accessing the Chch Adventure Park.
• City Council is currently looking to see who might like to offer shared e-scooters and e-bikes when the current contracts expire soon.
• A community housing development in south Christchurch has started trialling the use of two shared electric cars and five shared e-bikes for its tenants.
• Expect construction work to start pretty soon on the next sections of these major cycle routes: the Heathcote Expressway cycleway from The Tannery to Heathcote Valley and the Rapanui / Shag Rock cycleway from Linwood Ave through Charlesworth Reserve to Ferrymead Bridge.

What other cycle-related news is happening around the city?