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Te Ara Rimu - Kihikihi pathway

In December 2022, it was announced safe walking and cycling in Cambridge had been given a massive boost.

Waka Kotahi – NZ Transport Agency has invested close to $17.4 million in our district from their Climate Emergency Response Fund, to offer more transport choices and help people opt safely out of cars. Of that, $5.64 million will be spent on a new shared pathway in Kihikihi with an additional $2.4 million from Council funding.

Construction

We’re building a new pathway down Rolleston, Whitmore and Oliver streets and making some changes to the street layouts to make it safer for our local tamariki to get to school.

Work began on the pathway on 11 October and is expected to take about nine months to complete. We’ll be doing it in stages to minimise disruption as much as we can.

Current works

Works are ramping up in Kihikihi for their new pathway. Road closures currently in place:

  • A section of Whitaker Street at the intersection of Whitmore will be closed from 13 - 24 November
  • A section of Rolleston Street between Herbert and Bryce Streets will be closed up to four weeks from 13 November - 13 December
  • A further section of Rolleston Street from Bryce to Whitmore Streets will be closed for four weeks from 4 December.

Please use alternative routes on Moule Street and Hall Street. Letters have been delivered to affected residents and they will have access to their property during the works.

What to expect

The hours of work will be from 7am to 6pm during weekdays and 7am to 1pm on Saturdays.

We will make it a priority that residents maintain access to their property.

The construction is expected to be complete by around July 2024 and will include:

  • Two new roundabouts
  • Approximately 2km of cycle path and footpath
  • New parking bays
  • Cul-de-sac construction
  • New kerb and channel and stormwater drainage, street lighting and landscaping
  • Bus stops
  • Raised safety platforms for road crossings, including a signalised pedestrian crossing over Whitmore Street.

We understand that construction can be noisy, and we will do our best to minimise disruption to the community. We apologise for any inconvenience caused during this time, and we’ll do our best to complete the work as efficiently as possible.

View Te Ara Rimu, Kihikihi pathway detailed map

Te Ara Rimu, Kihikihi maps

Cul-de-sacs results

Thank you to everyone who provided their feedback in June – July on the six proposed cul-de-sacs in Kihikihi.

All six cul-de-sacs in Kihikihi, on Moule, Rolleston, Bryce, Grey, Hall and Whitaker Streets have been given the green light from Council to advance. The decision was made on Tuesday 29 August by the Service Delivery Committee where they heard from 9 submitters out of the 149 people who provided feedback.

There was a one-month appeal period where any person can appeal the cul-de-sac decisions to the Environment Court. No appeals were made.

Service Delivery Committee hearings and decision

To view the hearings and Service Delivery Committee deliberations and decision watch the video below.

What we have heard

Cul-de-sacs consultation

In June – July we went out for consultation on six proposed cul-de-sacs in Kihikihi on:

We had 149 submissions with 16 submitters presenting at the Service Delivery committee hearing on 29 August.

The Service Delivery Committee chose to proceed with three cul-de-sacs on Moule, Rolleston and Whitaker Streets, with the remaining three streets Bryce, Grey and Hall Streets will not become cul-de-sacs and instead will have alternative safety measures installed.

Before we can finalise the plans on these intersections we have to wait for the results of the one-month appeal period where any person can appeal the cul-de-sac decisions to the Environment Court.

Pathway consultation

In March this year, we shared our plans for the new pathway in Kihikihi and we received overwhelming support. Over half of you told us the new pathway would encourage you or your tamariki to walk or cycle more in Kihikihi and almost 90 percent of you supported installing safer low speeds zones around schools, in particular Kihikihi School.

Changes from the feedback includes:

  • additional bus stop on Whitmore Street, to provide better coverage for the Te Awamutu/Hamilton bus service users, and to accommodate children that catch the school buses in that location.
  • increasing the size of the bus stop outside Kihikihi School
  • providing more roadside parking
  • inclusion of raised safety platforms to improve pedestrian crossing points
  • adding more traffic calming measures to slow traffic along Whitmore Street.
    Thanks to everyone who had their say and has been involved in this exciting project so far.

A closer look at the pedestrian malls and cul-de-sacs

Creating a cul-de-sac involves closing off the road at one end so there is no option for motor vehicles to access Rolleston Street or Whitmore Street. They are essentially no exit streets.

Creating a safer pathway

Council believes the pedestrian mall and cul-de-sac options are a critical part of our pathway construction as they mean we can reduce the number of intersections on Rolleston and Whitmore Streets. This means those using the pathway can use it without having to look out for, and stop for, vehicles crossing the path.

Ultimately pedestrian malls and cul-de-sacs enable us to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of pedestrians and cyclists. For our tamariki this is especially important – it means they’ll be able to safely get to and from school each day.

Creating safer, quieter neighbourhoods

The creation of pedestrian malls and cul-de-sacs will have the added benefit of creating quieter streets and neighbourhoods. The pedestrian malls and cul-de-sacs will help to achieve the following:

For many, homes on cul-de-sac streets are highly sought after and have a higher level of desirability.

Opportunity to create community spaces

The creation of pedestrian malls and cul-de-sacs result in more community / free space that can be used in all sorts of ways. Council could grass these areas, could plant fruit trees, create play spaces – things that significantly improve the liveability of the whole neighbourhood. No plans have been made around this but it’s something we’d love your ideas on!

Additional driving time

Creating these pedestrian malls and cul-de-sacs will mean that those residents who live on either of the six affected streets will need to have a longer driving time to get onto Whitmore or Rolleston Street.

We’re expecting that the pedestrian malls and cul-de-sacs will result in an average additional time of 2.5 minutes.

Higher volume of traffic on Herbert and Oliver Street

Our projections show that the pedestrian malls and cul-de-sacs will result in more traffic on Herbert and Oliver Street. However, the two new roundabouts at the intersection of Rolleston / Herbert Street and Whitmore / Oliver Street will help manage traffic safety and also acting as traffic calming measures (i.e. help slow traffic down).

The detail

Investing in safe and connected walking, scooting and cycling infrastructure is a priority across our district.

In December last year, safe walking and cycling in Waipā was given a massive boost with confirmation the Government will invest millions of dollars of new money on paths and cycleways in the district.

Waipā District Council was successful in receiving up to $17.4 million through Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Climate Emergency Relief Funding. The fund is part of the Government’s Transport Choice programme aimed at opening up streets and helping people safely opt out of cars.

Waka Kotahi is working with local councils to progress strategic cycle networks, create walkable neighbourhoods and safer, greener, and healthier school travel, and make public transport more reliable, affordable, and easier to use.

The funding has accelerated walking and cycling projects in the district.

In Kihikihi, funding is being used to accelerate the building of a protected, linked pedestrian and cycleway down Rolleston Street and Whitmore Street connecting the town centre, Kihikihi School and Kihikihi Domain. Eventually the protected pathways will connect to Te Awamutu Intermediate and College.

Background

There has been a strong desire from our community to transition towards a transport model that supports alternative transport modes, such as walking and cycling. Residents of all ages and abilities want to be able to travel in our main urban areas safely and conveniently, without the need for a car. It also responds to strong government direction around climate change and specifically reducing carbon emissions.

This project is about making changes to streets so they are safer for all modes of transport to get around.

The Waipā District Council Long-Term Plan 2021-2031 includes an investment of over $10 million towards projects such as Cambridge Pathways. The funding from Waka Kotahi - NZ Transport Agency was part of its Transport Choices Package which is included in the Climate Emergency Response Fund.

A Governance Group for the project has been formed and meets regularly to establish a shortlist of priority options for Waipā’s walking and cycling network. A Reference Group has also been formed and given the opportunity to comment on the options. The role of these groups are to be champions of their towns and community groups, to share their opinions and point of views on cycle and pathways and advise how they believe it will impact their community.

The Governance Group has considered feedback from both the Reference Group and Community Boards, and at its meeting of 17 August 2022 made a decision around proceeding with the two projects at Kihikihi and Cambridge, which have been approved by the Council’s Service Delivery Committee.

  • Community engagement: March 2023
  • Cul-de-sac consultation: 13 June – 13 July
  • Hearings at Strategic Planning and Policy Committee: 29 August
  • Plans refined: early September
  • Plans approved by Council: 19 September
  • One month appeal period. Any person may, within one month of Council making a declaration for the pedestrian malls, or such further time as the Environment Court may allow, appeal to the Environment Court against the declaration under section 336(3) of the Local Government Act 1974.
  • Construction begins (approx.): Mid- September 2023 (staring with the two roundabouts)
  • Construction ends (approx): End of June 2024

Bus Stop: a designated marked spot where a bus regularly stops for passengers to get on and off.

Shared pathway: A path provided for use by both cyclists and pedestrians, with motor vehicles being legally excluded.

Traffic calming: a range of techniques used to manage road users and the road environment to ensure speeds are appropriate to the local environment and the safety of other road users.

Roundabout: a road junction at which traffic moves in one direction round a central island to reach one of the roads converging on it.

Cul de sacs: a street or passage that is closed for vehicular movement at one end.

Pedestrian malls: a pedestrian mall is a legal term for an area of road where motor vehicles aren’t allowed.

Signalised crossing: A signalised crossing provides priority for cyclists and pedestrians through the use of traffic signals. Short periods of time are allotted to pedestrians and cyclists crossing the road and vehicles travelling along the road.

Raised safety platform: elevated sections of the road that help reduce vehicle speed.

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