Walking and Cycling Network Plan

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Consultation has concluded

Council’s Walking and Cycling Strategy was developed in partnership with the community and adopted in 2017. It includes a vision that Waimakariri residents choose to walk and cycle and that the environment is friendly, safe and accessible for walkers and cyclists.

A key task that supports the strategy is to develop a network plan for walking and cycling across the District.

As our population grows, and more people choose to walk and cycle, we need to ensure our walking and cycling networks are accessible and safe, and connect people to where they need to go.

Several of our towns are connected and we now have a safe cycle path linking Waimakariri and Christchurch.

Council staff have now prepared a draft network plan, in conjunction with the Community Boards and Councillors.

We worked with a community reference group to refine the draft network plan and to prioritise routes. The reference group had representation from cycling groups, walking groups, schools, emergency services, businesses and Community Boards.

Watch this video about how people use walking and cycling routes around the District:


What’s in the plan?

To cater for increased demand on our transport network, we’ve identified new connections throughout the District in this plan. Alongside this, you will begin to see cycle facilities being built in new developments. We have not included these in the draft plan as the exact locations haven’t been identified yet.

The draft plan shows what routes are already in place and where new links and routes are proposed to make better connections in and around our towns. It also shows the type of facility for each route which relate to the different kinds of people who may use them. Guidance from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency groups people who cycle according to their skill level:

Family/low confidence: This group includes children and beginner adults with limited experience.

Medium confidence: This group generally are confident riding on quieter roads and can manage simple road layouts but may struggle in busier roads.

High confidence: People have advanced skills and are comfortable in all road environments and are very experienced.

In prioritising the routes identified in the plan we considered:

  • How we could provide immediate links to existing routes to make the District safer and more connected?
  • How people may use these routes?
  • What the build costs would be?

Council has approximately $560,000 allocated over the next three years to deliver the routes outlined in the plan. To build cycle routes we work in partnership with Waka Kotahi who can provide funding subsidies up to 51%. This is negotiated on a 3 yearly funding round and this plan will inform our future funding discussions with Waka Kotahi.


Cycleway Priority

We have to balance funding and resources available to progress this plan. We have prioritised the proposed cycleways based on a number of factors including connectivity, level of need and population growth. We want to know what you think about the order we want to build them in as outlined in this table.


Proposed Cycleways
Priority
Tram Road (Mandeville to Swannanoa School path) - Swannanoa
1
Ashley Street/Ivory Street/Percival Street - Rangiora
1
Railway Road/Torlesse Street/Coronation Street/Ellis Road - Rangiora
1
Harewood Road (High Street to Main Street) - Oxford
2
High Street (Main Street to Harewood Road) - Oxford
2
Earlys Road (end of current facility to Springbank Road) - Cust
2
Mandeville Road (McHughs Road to Mandeville Sports Ground) - Ohoka
2
Tuahiwi Road (urban limits) - Tuahiwi
2
Williams Street (north) - Kaiapoi
2
Sandhill Road (Williams Street to Woodend Beach Road) - Woodend
2
Main Street (urban limits) - Oxford
3
Cust Road (through the township) - Cust
3
Old North Road/Ranfurly Street/Walker Street OR Lower Camside Road - Kaiapoi
3
Woodend to Pegasus (SH1)
3



Next Steps

Your feedback will help us refine the plan, which will be presented to the community reference group, and then Community Boards and Council mid-year as they consider the next steps.

Gathering community feedback now will help us determine a what the Community see as the priority so we can then determine how best to fund this programme of works.

We would like you to think about:

  • Have we got the right links and connections in place?
  • What routes should we prioritise?
  • Have we got the time frame for delivering proposed cycleways right?
  • Any other comments or things you would like us to think about when developing this walking and cycling network plan.

Please to the time to review the information about the types of walking and cycling facilities we may build and the maps that show the proposed routes across the District before providing your feedback.

You can also come along to one of our drop in sessions to talk to staff about the proposed plan.

Let us know what you think on the survey below before 5pm, Thursday 30 June 2022.

Council’s Walking and Cycling Strategy was developed in partnership with the community and adopted in 2017. It includes a vision that Waimakariri residents choose to walk and cycle and that the environment is friendly, safe and accessible for walkers and cyclists.

A key task that supports the strategy is to develop a network plan for walking and cycling across the District.

As our population grows, and more people choose to walk and cycle, we need to ensure our walking and cycling networks are accessible and safe, and connect people to where they need to go.

Several of our towns are connected and we now have a safe cycle path linking Waimakariri and Christchurch.

Council staff have now prepared a draft network plan, in conjunction with the Community Boards and Councillors.

We worked with a community reference group to refine the draft network plan and to prioritise routes. The reference group had representation from cycling groups, walking groups, schools, emergency services, businesses and Community Boards.

Watch this video about how people use walking and cycling routes around the District:


What’s in the plan?

To cater for increased demand on our transport network, we’ve identified new connections throughout the District in this plan. Alongside this, you will begin to see cycle facilities being built in new developments. We have not included these in the draft plan as the exact locations haven’t been identified yet.

The draft plan shows what routes are already in place and where new links and routes are proposed to make better connections in and around our towns. It also shows the type of facility for each route which relate to the different kinds of people who may use them. Guidance from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency groups people who cycle according to their skill level:

Family/low confidence: This group includes children and beginner adults with limited experience.

Medium confidence: This group generally are confident riding on quieter roads and can manage simple road layouts but may struggle in busier roads.

High confidence: People have advanced skills and are comfortable in all road environments and are very experienced.

In prioritising the routes identified in the plan we considered:

  • How we could provide immediate links to existing routes to make the District safer and more connected?
  • How people may use these routes?
  • What the build costs would be?

Council has approximately $560,000 allocated over the next three years to deliver the routes outlined in the plan. To build cycle routes we work in partnership with Waka Kotahi who can provide funding subsidies up to 51%. This is negotiated on a 3 yearly funding round and this plan will inform our future funding discussions with Waka Kotahi.


Cycleway Priority

We have to balance funding and resources available to progress this plan. We have prioritised the proposed cycleways based on a number of factors including connectivity, level of need and population growth. We want to know what you think about the order we want to build them in as outlined in this table.


Proposed Cycleways
Priority
Tram Road (Mandeville to Swannanoa School path) - Swannanoa
1
Ashley Street/Ivory Street/Percival Street - Rangiora
1
Railway Road/Torlesse Street/Coronation Street/Ellis Road - Rangiora
1
Harewood Road (High Street to Main Street) - Oxford
2
High Street (Main Street to Harewood Road) - Oxford
2
Earlys Road (end of current facility to Springbank Road) - Cust
2
Mandeville Road (McHughs Road to Mandeville Sports Ground) - Ohoka
2
Tuahiwi Road (urban limits) - Tuahiwi
2
Williams Street (north) - Kaiapoi
2
Sandhill Road (Williams Street to Woodend Beach Road) - Woodend
2
Main Street (urban limits) - Oxford
3
Cust Road (through the township) - Cust
3
Old North Road/Ranfurly Street/Walker Street OR Lower Camside Road - Kaiapoi
3
Woodend to Pegasus (SH1)
3



Next Steps

Your feedback will help us refine the plan, which will be presented to the community reference group, and then Community Boards and Council mid-year as they consider the next steps.

Gathering community feedback now will help us determine a what the Community see as the priority so we can then determine how best to fund this programme of works.

We would like you to think about:

  • Have we got the right links and connections in place?
  • What routes should we prioritise?
  • Have we got the time frame for delivering proposed cycleways right?
  • Any other comments or things you would like us to think about when developing this walking and cycling network plan.

Please to the time to review the information about the types of walking and cycling facilities we may build and the maps that show the proposed routes across the District before providing your feedback.

You can also come along to one of our drop in sessions to talk to staff about the proposed plan.

Let us know what you think on the survey below before 5pm, Thursday 30 June 2022.

Consultation has concluded
  • Images of Cycleways and Paths

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    supporting image

    These images show the different types of cycleways that could be built and who might use them.

    Family/low confidence

    Examples of family/low confidence cyclists are:

    • Group includes children and beginner adults
    • Ride comfortably in off-road environments and very quiet local streets
    • May not possess the skills to safely interact with traffic

    Medium Confidence:

    Examples of medium confidence cyclists are:

    • Cyclists can ride on quieter two-lane roads, manoeuvre past parked cars, merge across one lane and turn right from beside the centre line
    • On busy roads, cyclists prefer cycle lanes and facilities at junctions
    • May lack confidence to defend a lane in narrow situations














    High confidence

    Examples of high confidence cyclists are:

    • Able to own a lane where there is not enough room to cycle beside motor vehicles
    • Can merge across faster multi-lane traffic and use multi-lane roundabouts
    • Unlikely to divert onto a cycle path if it impedes their speed


  • Cycle Paths Illustrations

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    supporting image

    Cross section View Cycle Paths

    The following four cross section views show different types of cycleways/walking facilities which are being proposed in the district as an outcome of this network plan. These are high-level examples, and as each road is different, these designs will vary when implemented. There are also other options that may be built that are not shown here. These include road shoulder seal widening, rural shared paths and protected cycle lanes.