Guest speaker
Peter Watson is the Western Bay of Plenty District Council Reserves and Facilities Manager and has several long service commendations including a Ministerial Long Service Award for his 24 years contribution to Civil Defence.
In 2014, the Prime Minister announced a $100 million funding package for the Urban Cycle
ways Programme, part of which is going towards the Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty Urban Cycleway Programme.
The Tauranga urban cycle network comprises 10 commuter routes totalling 150km, and a wider network of recreational connections and routes throughout the Western Bay of Plenty sub-region. The estimated total project cost is $12.4m, and contributors are WBOPDC, TCC, Urban Cycleways Programme, National Land Transport Fund, Tauranga Round Table, NZ Community Trust, TECT and NZTA subsidies.
WBOPDC is developing walking and cycling routes including the Omokoroa to Tauranga Urban Cycleway, Waihi to Waihi Beach Cycleway, Katikati Urban Cycle and Walking Trails, Papamoa to Paengaroa Cycleway, Waihi Beach Cycle Trails, Kaituna Road to Maketu, Te Puke Urban, and Maketu Road to Te Puke.
Cycleways contribute to communities in many ways including offering opportunities for commuting to work and school, for recreational use and supporting economic development.
Community engagement is a vital part of the project and grassroots groups are heavily involved.
Challenges are funding, resource consent issues, Heritage NZ and KiwiRail requirements, l issues and property access for construction.
Peter revealed his sneaky cycleway construction strategy of transporting hessian sacks filled with gravel by bootcamp enthusiasts! Another fascinating tidbit was the use of a Heat Map App to ascertain which are the most and least used trails.
and fined Wayne, Max (pink shirt bullying incident), Rhonda, Tauranga City Council for planning a cycleway on the busiest road to Port of Tauranga, Richard Dawkins (for accepting godlike adulation from his followers), Bill Chapman (Fielding holiday), the joining of two dysfunctional families through the Royal wedding, big retailers for unpaid meetings, all holders of an LLB, corporate focus groups, and his ex-work colleague who illustrated the ultimate way to work smarter not harder.