Whakatāne District Council has provisionally received 3.5 million to fund two new cycling and walking trails in Whakatāne.

The two projects are a cycle trail along State Highway 30 from the Whakatāne Bridge to the Shaw Road subdivision and a trail on the stopbank from the Riverside Drive end of Awatapu down to the Whakatāne Netball Courts.

The projects have been made possible through 100 percent funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Transport Choices Programme and are subject to further scoping work from Waka Kotahi before funding is absolutely confirmed.

Whakatāne District Council Manager Transport Martin Taylor said the two projects should encourage more people to get out of cars and walk, cycle or scoot to their destinations instead.

“We’ve been working hard through our Active Whakatāne Strategy to help people use active modes of transport instead of their cars,” he said.

“These two trails definitely feed into the goal of promoting a healthier, safer and more active lifestyle for our district through education and purpose-built infrastructure. 

“Helping people embrace walking or cycling as a means of travel makes neighbourhoods safer, greener and healthier.

“We’re excited to see work start on these two projects and are so pleased they have been provisionally selected for funding.”

Waka Kotahi Manager Urban Mobility, Kathryn King said she is pleased Whakatāne Council has received funding as part of the Transport Choices programme.

“The Transport Choices programme is supporting councils to give people more options in the way they travel,” she said

“I’m pleased to say we received an outstanding response from councils around the country, embracing the opportunity to provide greater transport choices for their communities.

“Funding criteria specified projects that would deliver strategic cycling/micro mobility networks; create walkable neighbourhoods; support healthy school travel; or make public transport easier to use.

“The aim is to open up streets so everyone can get where they need to go in ways that are good for their health and the planet,” said Ms King.

Transport Choices funding is currently indicative until Waka Kotahi works with councils to explore how projects can be progressed in line with Transport Choices timeframes. Funding allocations may be adjusted after this consultation.