New design scheme for Wheels to Wings cycle route

Nearly 70 design changes have been made to the plans for the Wheels to Wings – Papanui ki Waiwhetū major cycle route in response to public feedback.

Christchurch City Council has done two rounds of public consultation on the planned cycle route, which is part of a network of 13 major cycleways that are being built to make getting around Christchurch by bike easier and safer.

During the first round of consultation in early 2021, the Council received more than 1300 submissions.

While some of the submissions supported the plans for the cycleway, others raised concerns about aspects of the proposed route and the impact it would have on parking, property access and congestion.

In response to that feedback and ongoing discussions with key stakeholders, directly affected businesses and residents, some initial changes were made to the plans for the cycle route.

The revised plans were made public in late October and a second round of consultation initiated, which resulted in a further 86 submissions being received.

On 16 February a Hearings Panel, chaired by Mayor Lianne Dalziel, will begin meeting to listen to submitters, consider all feedback received and a revised design scheme for the cycle route. This is scheduled to take several days.

The revised design scheme responds to some of the concerns raised during the two rounds of public consultation and includes 69 changes to the original plans for the cycle route.

The key changes relate to the provision of extra parking around the Copenhagen Bakery, access issues at the Canterbury Charity Hospital, the retention of the majority of the trees in the Bishopdale roundabout, and access changes on Wilmot, Chapel and Sails streets.

Read the report prepared for the Hearings Panel.

If the revised design scheme is adopted by the Council, the Wheels to Wings cycle route will go along Harewood Road from the Johns Road underpass, via Whitchurch Place and Waimakariri Road to Papanui Road, connecting into the Northern Line cycleway and the planned Nor’West Arc cycleway at the eastern end.

The budget for the cycleway is about $19 million. About half that cost is expected to be met by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency.

Pictured above: An artist's rendering of the central section of the Wheels to Wings cycleway, between Nunweek Boulevard and Bishopdale Roundabout. In this section there will be a one-way cycleway each side of the road.