Bishop welcomes $4.5 million for Wainuiomata Hill Cycleway
Bishop welcomes $4.5 million to accelerate Wainuiomata Hill Cycleway
National List MP based in the Hutt Valley Chris Bishop is delighted that the Wainuiomata Hill Cycleway will be one of the first projects to receive support from the Government’s Urban Cycleways Programme.
$4.5 million will be spent building a new, separated shared cycling and pedestrian path over the hill.
Today’s news follows the announcement in September last year that an overbridge will be built on the summit of the Hill. Together with the new cycleway, this will greatly improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists alike, and improve the connectivity between Wainui and the rest of the Hutt Valley.
“Residents of Wainuiomata and the Hutt have been calling for a dedicated cycleway over the Wainui Hill for many years but it was not expected to be able to be funded until around 2018.”
“The government’s $100 million Urban Cycleways Fund, which I championed during the election campaign, has allowed this important project to be brought forward many years”, says Mr Bishop.
Of the $4.5 million total funding, $1.6 million of the funding comes from the National Land Transport Fund, $1.4 million from local government, with the balance ($1.5 million) coming from the Government’s Urban Cycleways Fund.
The target completion date for the cycleway is 2017.
“This is a great example of Government agencies and the community working together to improve safety on our roads for cyclists and motorists. Today’s announcement is great news for Wainuiomata and the Hutt Valley”, says Mr Bishop.
ENDS