7 September 2021
Gisborne was given an early Christmas gift in 2018: a new shared path that makes it possible to walk, run, bike or scoot from Wainui Beach to Kaiti School.
This 1.6km path runs alongside State Highway 35 (SH35), one of the busiest roads in Gisborne and used by many heavy forestry vehicles. Separating walkers and cyclists from this traffic has made it safer for students to get to school and for people to get into the city on foot or by bike.
By linking up to the existing Muriel Jones walking and cycling path, this new path has expanded the community’s walking and cycling options.
Kaiti School Principal Billie-Jean Ayton Potaka was a strong advocate for the construction of the path.
“Having the shared path outside our front gate has opened up safer options for our students to travel to and from school while also providing a pathway for cycling on as a class or group out in the community,” she says.
“Many of our classes use the cycle way each week as part of our bikes curriculum.”
People travelling on the path also get to experience a snapshot of local history where the path crosses land owned by the Matuaokore Ahu Whenua Trust.
Here, trust members have installed an information panel, artwork in the path surface and four pou that reflect the values the trust holds for the whenua and community: manaakitanga (respect, support, hospitality), kaitiakitanga (guardianship), whānaungatanga (family and belonging) and atuatanga (spirituality).
“Our whanau are proud to be the only Māori owners in this block of land (whenua), and just as our tīpuna were well known for their generosity and hospitality, we have followed that same tradition of giving by helping to provide a safe passage for all from Wainui to Gisborne city centre,” says Tammy Watene, Chair of the Matuaokore Ahu Whenua Trust.
This project is part of ongoing work to expand Gisborne’s walking and cycling network and provide safe connections between the places people work, live and play.
Further work to connect this path with the Gladstone Road Bridge walking and cycling path on SH35 is expected to be complete by the end of August 2021.
$209 million will be invested on transport projects in the Tairāwhiti | Gisborne region as part of the 2021–24 National Land Transport Programme.
