Far North gets 3km of new footpaths

Far North District Council and the Northland Transportation Alliance have built nearly 3km of new footpaths in the Far North this financial year, part of a $2 million capital works and renewals programme for paths.

The new footpaths, which cost a total of $767,500, were constructed at:

• Mangakahia Road, Kaikohe (201 metres)
• Mangakahia Road (toward Carey Rd), Kaikohe (111 metres)
• Rangihamama Road, Kaikohe (741 metres)
• Greenway Drive to Aranga Road, Kerikeri (565 metres)
• Long Beach Road (footpath corner to carpark), Russell (68 metres)
• Mission Road, Kerikeri (680 metres)
• Donald Road to Hillcrest Road, Kaitaia (395 metres)

Construction has also started on new paths at:

• North Park Drive to Whangatane Drive, Kaitaia (795 metres)
• Tau Henare Drive, Waitangi (477 metres)

Mayor John Carter says the 3kms of new paths built this financial year exceeded the total delivered for each of the previous three financial years. We are delivering more each year, he says.

“That is all more impressive when you consider the March COVID-19 lockdown occurred during a peak time in the construction season. I’m very grateful to staff and contractors, who managed to make up for time lost due to the lockdown. Only the North Park Drive to Whangatane Drive shared-use path in Kaitaia was delayed, and that is now progressing.”

He says one reason for the increase in footpath construction is use of the Footpath Priority Matrix. Similar to the road sealing matrix developed by the Council, the footpath matrix provides a priority list of projects based on greatest need and benefit. The list is fact-checked by community boards for each ward.

“Combining the tool with an assessment of each path’s condition allows us to make the most footpath funding we receive from NZTA. In the past we had just $150,000 to build footpaths in each ward. We have worked hard to increase that total to the $767,500 we spent in the 2019/20 financial year.”

The Council also spent over $680,000 renewing existing footpaths and around $100,000 on footpath maintenance across the District.