The future of walking and cycling in Waipā

Let’s transform our towns into well connected, vibrant and enjoyable spaces for walking and cycling!

In November last year, we asked you which option for improving walking and cycling in Cambridge and Te Awamutu you liked best. We call this Urban Mobility.

The three options were:

• Culture change – Providing education to cyclists and drivers, and helping schools to create travel plans.
• Tactical improvements – Creating shared paths for walkers and cyclists and linking popular areas in town.
• Cross-town cycleways – Creating separated cycle ways on key routes and safe crossings for walkers and cyclists.

You told us…

Now we know this, what’s next for urban mobility?

Planning for the future

We’ve created two plans, one for Cambridge and one for Te Awamutu, which would see an extensive network of shared pathways and protected cycleways created in our towns if funding is allocated in the Long Term Plan (link through to LTP stuff).

These plans would:

• Link the north of Cambridge to south and the west of Te Awamutu to the east and to Kihikihi,
• Create a cohesive, direct and safe pathway for cyclists to move across our main towns,
• Provide connections to key destinations such as schools,
• Allow residents to get just about anywhere in town safely and easily on a bike or scooter, and
• Get more people out of their cars and onto their bikes.

We believe these plans will radically change the way people move around our towns which is important.

You can also download either of these maps here.

Are we on the right track?

We’re seeking feedback on these plans as part of the Long Term Plan (LTP) process.

Let us know what you think about them by making a submission to the LTP at www.whatsnextwaipa.nz and letting us know if you think we should allocate funding to improve walking and cycling in our main towns.

If funding is successful, we’ll be able to make these plans a reality!

You can also find out more about what we are doing right now to improve walking and cycling with the Streets for People project and the Hamilton Road Cycleway in Cambridge.

Why walking and cycling?

Waipā is home to around 50,600 residents, with 55% living in Cambridge and Te Awamutu. By 2050, the population of these towns is expected to almost double, which means a lot more traffic on our roads.

That’s why providing great walking and cycling paths is so important – to get people out of the car and into other ways of getting to town.

From your feedback, we also know you’d like us to improve the existing cycleways and footpaths in Cambridge and Te Awamutu.

As a rural district, it’s not surprising that cars are the most popular way to travel. On average, only 5.8% per cent of Cambridge residents and 2.8 % of Te Awamutu residents regularly walk or use their bikes instead of a car.

We think it’s time to change those numbers to improve health and wellbeing, and reduce traffic congestion.