Tempers flared during a Chalmers Community Board meeting last night, when the NZ Transport Agency announced it would be at least another two years before construction could begin on the St Leonards to Port Chalmers cycleway.
The agency told the board in February more affordable solutions were needed to finish the final 5km section of the path, after the cost of the present design was estimated to be more than the $6 million to $10 million budgeted.
Agency journey manager Graeme Hall attended the community board meeting in Port Chalmers Town Hall last night to update board members on the situation.
He said the agency was still keen to see the path completed in its entirety, but the design had to change.
New project plans had to be prepared, public feedback would need to be sought on those plans, and land purchases and consenting requirements meant construction was not likely to begin until at least 2018, he said.
Board members were told options were still being investigated for Blanket Bay, including a new embankment which closely followed the highway, or keeping with the rail embankment but with a narrower pathway than originally proposed.
Further geotechnical information was needed for the Roseneath cutting section of the path.
It was also likely the existing footpath between Sawyers Bay and Port Chalmers would be widened, instead of carrying out the substantial land reclamation previously proposed at Mussel Bay.
Board member Trevor Johnson was furious.
‘‘I'm pretty gobsmacked at being handed this [update]. I had hoped for a much better outcome.
‘‘I've got to say, as a board member, I'm absolutely gutted.
‘‘I think that this cycleway is ... one of the best-used cycleways in Dunedin and I think it's an absolute tragedy that it's not been finished right through to Port Chalmers.
‘‘In some ways, I believe that you are probably forcing some of the community into a corner, and I just can't believe that this is the outcome.
‘‘I'm absolutely disgusted.
‘‘I'm gutted for our community, and I would have thought that there are other projects on the highways that have a lot less merit than this one.
‘‘I think it's short-sighted ...''
Other board members were concerned about the impact the delay could have on tourists to Dunedin.
Board chairman Steve Walker said the cycleway could be ‘‘one of the world's top cycleways'', but if it was not completed, it would put that tourist potential in jeopardy.
‘‘I think it's really important to put it into the context of cruise ships. It could bring really important income to Dunedin.''
Another update is expected to be presented to the board in July or August, and feedback will be sought on a new design later this year.
