Prime Minister John Key is expected to announce today that construction will begin on the first legs of his national cycleway by summer, including a route from Lake Wakatipu to Bluff.
It is understood he will announce several component trails to receive government money for his "patchwork quilt" of a cycleway between Kaitaia and Bluff, for which Finance Minister Bill English has budgeted $50 million over three years.
Further details were not available last night, but Mr Key will announce the schemes this morning to Local Government NZ's annual conference in Christchurch.
Many of the delegates have been working on schemes for which they will be seeking government money.
Mr Key will be keen to tie down the bottom end of the cycleway, especially as a route from Lake Wakatipu to Bluff via centres including Mr English's home town of Dipton is in an advanced state of readiness after rosy feasibility studies into its economic and tourism benefits.
Queenstown planner Mike Barnett, who researched the economic benefits for Venture Southland, yesterday gave an uncharacteristic "no comment" when asked if he expected the go-ahead today.
Neither would Green Party tourism spokesman Kevin Hague, a keen cycling advocate, offer any details other than confirming he would be at the Local Government conference for the announcement.
"I am sorry I am unable to comment, but I look forward to commenting tomorrow," said Mr Hague, whose party has been working with the Government to implement the national cycleway as part of its memorandum of understanding with National.
Members of various trusts working on local cycleways in the North Island said they had yet to learn of any details of government funding through the Ministry of Tourism, but were looking forward to Mr Key's announcement.
Faced with frequent jibes from Labour about a perceived downgrading of plans for the cycleway, Mr Key will be keen to knock off some "low-hanging fruit" by supporting relatively well-developed proposals in the first instance.
Among hopeful recipients is the Waikato River Trails Trust, set up in 2006 to find work for victims of forestry layoffs, and which already runs 25km of cycleways between the Atiamuri and Arapuni hydro-electricity dams.
Trust chief executive Kelvin Hainsworth said the organisation hoped to fill in and extend its trails for 100km between Atiamuri and Lake Karapiro in time for the World Rowing Championships late next year.
Waipa District Council wants to create a trail from Karapiro to Cambridge in time for that event, and a group led by the Brian Perry Charitable Trust hopes to start construction early next year on a cycleway between Ngaruawahia and Hamilton along the Waikato River west bank.
The group, supported by the area's city, district and regional councils, envisages a 200km cycleway along the length of the river between Meremere and Taupo.
Hauraki District Council member Mike Hayden had heard no details of the plans.
