An off-road cycleway connecting Greymouth with the Grey Valley has been proposed, cyclists saying the existing route “feels a little bit like taking your life in your hands”. Greymouth’s Jase Blair presented the idea of creating an off-road cycle track during a public forum at the West Coast regional transport committee’s quarterly meeting last week. Mr Blair said there had been interest from residents in Dobson. “It is not a firm idea, we are just talking with people in the communities out that way,” he said. “There has been a lot of interest from the people out towards Runanga as well to try to find a safe way for cyclists to access Greymouth from up the Grey River, because it is quite challenging on both sides of the river. “It feels a little bit like taking your life in your hands sometimes, riding a bicycle through the Kaiata to Greymouth section,” Mr Blair said. A landscape plan had been developed by West Stone which showed the idea of developing a recreational area around the Greymouth quarry. A short-term goal to develop the cycle track would be to upgrade a section of the cycle track around the quarry to make it a viable alternative for the public to get around, Mr Blair said. “To me, that is the really obvious and achievable short-term goal, to mitigate that worst section of windy, shoulder-less road.” The cycle track could connect cyclists to other tracks such as the Paparoa Track and the Lake Brunner Cycle Trail, Mr Blair said. Westland Mayor Helen Lash supported funding opportunities for the trail. “We do come across other funding that inadvertently pokes up in front of us, and which is more applicable to what you want to create here, so I am really happy to send anything that we come across through to you so you can pursue that,” Mrs Lash said. New Zealand Transport Agency director of regional relationships James Caygill said that using road reserves for cycle trails would be challenging. “There is no getting away from the very challenging geography and geometry … There is no supporting government policy for something like this at the moment.” However, he commended the project. “I would encourage you to not be discouraged by how hard some of this can be to move forward. The best we can do is be aware of the community ambition and try to guide you in the right direction.” [Missing Credit]LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. * LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air.
