Walk, run or cycle: Raglan’s Town2Surf cycleway takes another step towards completion

Having undergone significant work over the past year, the completion of Raglan’s Town2Surf cycleway is on the horizon, providing locals and visitors alike with a safe place to walk, run and cycle.

Waikato District Council roading partners, Waikato District Alliance, was onsite last week to install new drainage culverts and catchpits subsoils on both sides of Wainui Road.

“The new drainage culverts and catchpits subsoils were installed and finished on schedule last week,” says George Brown, Maintenance Engineer at Waikato District Alliance.

“The next step is to prepare for a new kerb and channel both sides of the road, which will take approximately two weeks to complete. After the kerb is poured, our contractors will remove the old footpath and install the new one.

“We will continue to try our best to ensure minimal disruption is made to the local community and all going well, we should be finished by the first week of June.”

The two-metre wide Town2Surf cycleway will connect Raglan town centre with the main beach via the pedestrian overbridge at Papahua Campground and along Marine Parade, as well as providing a link between Wainui Road to Wainui Reserve and its internal footpaths that connect to the beach and popular mountain bike park.

The path will additionally act as a safe walking/cycling connection between Wainui Reserve, the town centre for Poihākena Marae and the planned Papakāinga development.

The installation of the footpath comes after Waikato District Council successfully secured just under $1 million last year from the Government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF), which was set up to develop tourism-related infrastructure to support regions facing tourism growth.

With eight stages involved in the project, the total cost has been approximately $2 million, with the TIF funding providing 50 percent of that.

Once complete, the benefits of the Town2Surf cycleway will include reduced traffic congestion on Wainui Rd, reduced parking at Wainui Reserve, a reduced risk of harm to cyclists and pedestrians, reduced parking overflow at Ngarunui Beach, Wainui Rd and Raglan town, and improved accessibility for visitors who travel to Raglan via public transport.