Wellington’s e-bike track trial

E-bikes will be allowed on selected city tracks and new tracks will be provided if recommendations by Wellington City Council’s Environment Committee are adopted later this month.

On Friday councillors at the environment committee meeting debated the 2016 ‘open space access plan’ which provides direction on the use, management and development of the track network through the city’s town belt and other reserves.

The committee voted to conduct a one-year trial of electric bicycles on a limited number of tracks in the city’s parks and reserves and agreed to continue with six key initiatives for new tracks around the city.

The committee’s chair, city councillor Iona Pannett, says 269 submissions were received earlier this year for the ‘open space access plan review’, which indicates Wellingtonian passion for reserves and open spaces.

The very fast advent of e-bikes, including those for off-road use, has encouraged the committee to propose the one-year trial. “We know there are growing numbers of mountain biking enthusiasts who want to take e-bikes on to our tracks. We also know there are a lot of walkers and other track users who are concerned about the use of bikes with a motor,” she says.

In addition, it will propose changes on the Wellington waterfront and the footpath promenade in Oriental Bay to reduce conflict between cyclists and people on foot, engage with the community on a proposed new downhill mountain bike track in the Polhill Gully reserve in the Aro Valley, further consult with walking and cycling groups on how to avoid user conflict on the track network, and look at further mountain biking access on Te Ahumairangi Hill.

In most cases the recommendations are subject to further debate at a full council meeting on September 28.

Pannett says the committee, having heard submissions from people concerned about conflict between cyclists and people on foot on the waterfront, recommended that cycle speed limits be considered by a council committee in the next triennium. “It’s not something directly relevant to the open space review – but it’s something the committee believes the next council cannot ignore.”

She adds that it is essential that the community continues to have full input into decisions about the future use of the tracks on the Town Belt and other reserves. “Polhill Gully is a case in point – the project to develop the gully has been a great success; many trees have been planted and tracks built but there is huge demand and we need to manage the impact of bikers and walkers on the track.

“We intend to talk further to the community about the proposal for another bike track in the reserve.”

Proposed e-bike tracks

• Hataitai to city walkway (commuter link track)
• Newtown to Hataitai walkway (commuter link track)
• Te Ahumairangi Hill (commuter link track)
• Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park – downhill tracks north of Snake Charmer and restricted to uphill on the 4WD tracks (not open to e-bikes Koru, Sally Alley, Nikau, Leaping Lizard and Possum Bait Line as these cannot be accessed from the 4WD tracks)
• Skyline Walkway from Makara Peak to Old Coach Rd in Johnsonville, which includes 4WD tracks above Chartwell and Sirsi Terrace
• Old Coach Rd
• South coast (Te Kopahou) along coastline and the Tip Track and Red Rocks Track
• Spicer Forest Rd and through to Tawa (Chastudon Place) and Broken Hill Rd, Porirua
• Sanctuary fenceline, through to Wrights Hill via 4WD tracks only.
  New track areas
• Harbour Escarpment Walk between Woodridge and Ngauranga Gorge
• Skyline Track between Old Coach Rd and Spicer Forest
• Urban Coastal Connection, including Te Aranui o Poneke/Great Harbour Way
• Rural Coastal Connection – coastal track linking Owhiro Bay to Makara Beach
• East-West Connection – a track linking Otari-Wilton’s Bush to Makara Rd and beyond to the west coast
• Karori Stream access connecting Karori and Makara to the south coast.