PHOTO
Work to improve the ride along Dunedin's Portsmouth Dr cycleway and walkway is under way, as new figures show cyclists used the route more than 100,000 times last year.
Dunedin City Council transport group manager Richard Saunders said the work at the Andersons Bay inlet end of the pathway aimed to improve the surface for cyclists and pedestrians.
The work would extend along Portsmouth Dr towards the city over the next six to eight weeks, he said.
The project followed feedback from cyclists saying the path was becoming ''a little bit rough'' and had other issues, such as a lack of kerb separating cyclists from the road in places, he said.
The work was also part of a wider $4 million contract awarded to Fulton Hogan to improve connections between existing cycleways around the harbour, he said.
That included the Otago Peninsula shared path along Portobello Rd, the West Harbour's State Highway 88 pathway, and the planned cycle and pedestrian bridge over the Water of Leith, work on which was to begin within weeks.
Two-thirds of the spending would be funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency and the remainder by the DCC.
Mr Saunders said the latest figures, to be presented to councillors next week, showed the number of cyclists using the Portsmouth Dr route was climbing steadily.
The count rose from about 76,000 individual trips by cyclists in 2015, to 101,000 in 2016 and 109,000 last year. That trend continued, as just under 50,000 trips were recorded between January and the end of May this year.
Mr Saunders said the numbers showed one-way trips by a mix of recreational and commuter cyclists. As the Otago Peninsula and West Harbour paths grew, the numbers using the harbour connections would keep rising.
''We're getting increases, which is great, and this [work] is obviously aimed at encouraging more people to use those facilities.''
Portsmouth Dr would remain open to users while the improvements were carried out, ''but there may be times where they do need to ride over a rougher surface or a gravel surface''.
''We will endeavour to provide the best service we can through that area, to make sure there's safe passage for cyclists and pedestrians.''