$37m cycleway extension gets green light in $220m plan

20th July 2020 By Staff Reporter | news@tourismticker.com | @tourismticker

Auckland’s Te Whau coastal pathway will be extended thanks to a $37m investment from the Government, as part of a group of packages announced by transport minister Phil Twford and associate transport minister Julie Anne Genter.

The funding was part of a wider $220m cycleway package and a $182m investment from the Government into four transport projects around the Auckland region.

“Te Whau pathway will provide a safe walking and cycling route for kids getting to school, for commuters, and for recreation,” Genter said.

She said funding for the cycleways package formed part of the Government’s post-Covid rebuild infrastructure investment to create jobs.

Constructing the Te Whau pathway would to create more than 100 jobs while the broader cycling package would create more than 1000.

The pathway would be extended from Olympic Park to Ken Maunder Park, and Laurieston Park to the North Western Cycleway.

When completed, it would connect the Manukau and Waitemata harbours as well as 33 reserves, sports parks, local schools and the communities of Green Bay, New Lynn, Avondale, Kelston, Glendene and Te Atatū.

The $182m infrastructure investment would create around 800 jobs and would free up $98m in Auckland Council’s Emergency Budget to be re-invested on other infrastructure projects.

Twyford said it was a balanced transport package that reflected the need to invest in ‘shovel ready’ projects and create a pipeline of work.

The projects included the Te What Pathway, improvements to the North Western Motorway, upgrading Puhinui Station and the Ferry Basin Redevelopment project.

The Ferry Basin Redevelopment would create six new berths on the west side of Queens Wharf, improving accessibility and accommodating increased passenger numbers.