Dunedin Tunnels Trail Trust chairman Gerard Hyland said the ambition to create a fully accessible trail from Mosgiel to Dunedin was in doubt after the latest New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) fund revealed no extra funding for cycleways in the city.
"NZTA had already indicated there wouldn’t be funding in this round.
"The council will support us, but we’re not going to have the top-end cycleway we hoped for."
The "top-end" would have been fully sealed and graded to the same quality as the harbour cycleways in Dunedin, he said.
It was initially proposed to cost about $20million when complete, the bulk of the funding coming from NZTA and the city council.
The trail would use two Victorian-era rail tunnels through Chain Hills and between Caversham and Kaikorai Valley.
The government’s changes to transport funding were "more than disappointing", he said.
"It’s really frustrating to see the government do such short-term damage.
"It’s mind-boggling to see them take a step back 40 or 50 years to a mindset that focuses only on trucks and cars."
The city council has about $1.8m set aside for the early development of the trail.
Cr Steve Walker said it was hugely disappointing the government had "backed off" from cycleways funding.
"I think we’ve just seen the tip of the iceberg.
"The government has not made any secret about the fact that they don’t want a bar of any project that shifts modes of transport.
"This is likely to be the first of many cuts."
The council still wanted to help the project, but could end up ceding more authority to the trust, Cr Walker said.
"Certainly, there’s no lack of enthusiasm from the council’s perspective."
Mosgiel-Taieri community board chairman Andrew Simms said in a report that the board supported work on the trail and wanted some of the community work to go ahead.
"The trail between Mosgiel and Green Island is very exciting for the Taieri community.
"The trail would allow users from school children to senior citizens to easily ride through to Green Island for sport or for a coffee. It would also allow people from Green Island to ride through to Mosgiel to patronise our shops and cafes. A partial opening of the trail will also create the excitement and attention to hopefully drive the community to complete the full trail."
Mr Hyland said he wanted work on the trail to start within the next 12 months.
