Latest news with #DunedinTunnelsTrailTrust
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Work on tunnels trail to begin
Construction of the first leg of the long-anticipated Dunedin Tunnels Trail will begin next week, the Dunedin City Council has announced. DCC infrastructure services committee chairman Cr Jim O'Malley said yesterday in a statement the first 1.5km stage of the trail was fully funded by the council. From a $1.8 million budget, about $400,000 had already been spent on the design, consents and the purchase of land. The rest would be used for construction "and to progress stage one of the trail as far as possible", Cr O'Malley said. "We'll then work with the [Dunedin Tunnels Trail Trust] so they can implement the next stages." The first stage was all off-road, running from Gladstone Rd North, in Wingatui, along a disused rail alignment, before it ran through the Victorian-era Chain Hills Tunnel and a few hundred metres beyond. "People will get to experience the historic Chain Hills Tunnel, opened in 1875, and some lovely regenerating bush," he said. The plan in the long term was to continue the trail to Fairfield, Abbotsford Rd and Green Island through the Caversham Tunnel and into the city. The work scheduled to begin next week included construction of an unsealed trail, drainage works, fencing, installation of seats, plantings, handrails and signs. Trust chairman Brent Irving said it was "fantastic to finally get something under way". The trust had been working towards a trail since the early 2000s, Mr Irving said. "The potential for this trail is significant," he said. "The goal is to push through so commuting or recreational riders and walkers can move safely from Dunedin to Fairfield and on to the Taieri or vice-versa." "The wider, medium-term objective is to have a trail from Queenstown right through to Dunedin City and up the coast with various other trusts and groups working on different sections. Dunedin will become part of the hugely successful Shared Path Cycleway network across the region and the country." Council climate and city growth general manager Scott MacLean said the council understood it was "super exciting" to have the trail's construction under way, but people were asked to wait until the section was fully completed before attempting to use it. "Once it's completed, we'll also be asking people not to move beyond the end of the constructed trail," Mr MacLean said. "While it may be tempting to explore further, unformed sections of the trail, it would mean going on to private land or rail corridor and may impact our ability to negotiate access for the remainder of the trail." The council is developing the trail in partnership with the Dunedin Tunnels Trail Trust under a Memorandum of Understanding. In a social media post yesterday, the trust said Fulton Hogan had won the contract for the work. The first stage was due to be finished in October, it said. — APL
Otago Daily Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Desire to push trail project forward
Dunedin's tunnels trail doesn't need to be a ''Rolls-Royce'', it just needs to be done, the city council had been told. Trails featured heavily on the second day of the Dunedin City Council's long-term plan hearings as submitters asked the council to invest for the future. Dunedin Tunnels Trail Trust chairman Brent Irving said the council needed to return management of the project to the community, who would ''get on with the job''. Earlier this year, the council removed $22.4m from its draft nine-year plan, earmarked for the Dunedin Tunnel Trails project, which would have linked the central city to the wider Otago cycle network. At the time, Mayor Jules Radich said the cut was part of a $272m cost-saving exercise over the next nine years to reduce pressure on rates. Mr Irving said with the council and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi funding pulled, it was ''clear'' changes were needed to continue the project's momentum. ''It's time for the DCC to agree to empower and support the community, including the trust, to look at delivering the project differently,'' he said. The trust turned 20 this year and the project had about $1.8m of council funds from the 2024-25 financial year left over, planned to progress the first stage of the build. ''We just want an answer one way or another - if there's no more funding, above the money that's left, we're going to go out and raise it and get on with the job.'' A community-led trail build, with support from the city and regional councils, would only have to match the quality of similar projects throughout the region. If the community were able to get the trail from Caversham to Green Island, they would be able to leverage the progress for more funding, he said. ''We don't need a Rolls-Royce; we just need a really good trail. ''We soon will have a tourist trail from Queenstown to Waihola - this is powerful,'' Mr Irving said. ''Do we want to bring these people through to Dunedin or do we want them to get straight on a plane?'' The trust was investigating Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment funding and public-private partnerships to complete the trail. ''Our community has the right people, the necessary skills, the capital and the vision to open this trail from suburb to suburb eventually connecting the entire route provided there is a clear plan and timeframe to which we can finally deliver an outcome,'' Mr Irving said. The hearings continue tomorrow.
