A decline in cycling numbers saw Hastings selected earlier this decade as one of New Zealand’s two walking and cycling model communities to help reverse the trend.
More than 108kms of new walking and cycling pathways later, including four arterial routes, linking the communities of Flaxmere, Hastings, Havelock North and Clive, cycling numbers in the Hawke’s Bay are on the rise.
iWay Hastings, as this innovative programme was named, saw the delivery of shared pathways, supported by education and behaviour change programmes, and three years ago an extension of iWay to Napier.
A comprehensive network programme was developed for Napier, including a commuter route between the two urban areas of Napier and Hastings, and safety and connection improvements to the town’s existing network.
This has seen cycling across all cycle routes in Napier grow on average 10 percent, and an 18 percent increase in the number of Napier Boys’ High School students choosing to cycle to school since the completion of the Marewa Loop.
Thirty-six kilometres of on-road cycle lanes and off-road pathways are being built/improved in Napier to complete the network. The cycle networks in both Napier and Hastings are expected to be finished in June 2019.
