Linking Wairere drive to rail Station to Wintec Rotokauri
Below is a proposal to link Wairere Drive to Rotokauri Station and Wintec Rotokauri. There are four parts to these links: (1) widen the southern embankments on either side leading up to the rail overbridge; (2) build a path along the Southwest embankment, across Tasman Rd then alongside Tasman Rd to the train station; (3) widen the footpath on the bridge or add a new walking/cycling bridge alongside the overbridge; and (4) widen the footpath between Kiriwai Drive and Wairere Drive alongside Arthur Porter Drive.
(1) Presently the narrowest section of the path is on the embankments, where the measured width between the kerb and crash barriers is too narrow for bikes or mobility scooters to pass. (2) There is a natural desire line alongside the embankment to Tasman Rd. There needs to be a raised crossing across Tasman Rd, which is the most concerning point on the proposed route to the rail station, as the path from there on safely links to the rail station without the need to cross any driveways. (3) Kiriwai Drive is useful but not the safest, as the shared-use path has many driveway crossings; in addition it becomes a narrow footpath for the 200m alongside Arthur Porter Drive before becoming a shared path again to Rotokauri Wintec. It is hard to understand the thinking of the people who built this shared path in not connecting it to the existing bike network. (4) The footpath on the bridge is slightly wider than the paths on the embankments, but not wide enough for shared use. The bridge path needs to be widened, or alternatively a new, wider walking/cycling bridge needs to be built alongside it.
Link to Cobham Drive Bridge proposed shared use path widening.