[ad_1]
BRADEN FASTIER/Stuff
Nelson City councillors open the lighting on the railway reserve in Nelson South on Tuesday night. Councillor James Hodgson’s sons Charlie, 4, and Noah, 2, came for a spin, and a snack.
A three-kilometre stretch of the Railway Reserve is now lit, nearly three years after backers of a petition to light the area presented their case to the Nelson City Council.
In 2020 Nelsust, a transport advocacy group, delivered an almost 600-signature petition to the council’s infrastructure committee supporting “an urgent business case” for the lighting of the popular walking and cycling path.
Volunteers had lined the reserve for weeks to gather the signatures.
Nelson city councillor Rachel Sanson acknowledged that the lighting came about because of “sustained community advocacy”.
READ MORE:
* Downtown bus stop upgrade paves way for new service
* Motueka Christmas parade full steam ahead after helping hand from community
* Elevation celebration: another chunk of the Marlborough Whale Trail complete
Work to complete the lighting from St Vincent St to Beatson Rd, began in mid-March with a $529,000 price tag, 51% of which Waka Kotahi paid for.
On Wednesday, the final stage down the St Vincent St end of the reserve switches on for the first time.
The next stage of the project will be to continue the lighting to Saxton Rd at Bunnings, a further five kilometres.
This will be funded by the council, Waka Kotahi and Three Waters Better Off Funding.
Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said Nelson had the highest proportion of commuters biking to work in New Zealand, according to 2017 Census data.
An estimated 559 cyclists and 139 pedestrians use the Railway Reserve track every day.
Lighting the reserve would mean more people would feel comfortable using it during the darker winter months, he said.
The lights were part of making Nelson the biking capital of New Zealand, and the “most active and healthiest” city.
To have the project completed ahead of schedule and within budget was a real credit to council staff and their contractor, he said.
BRADEN FASTIER/Nelson Mail
Nelson city councillors open the lighting on the railway reserve in Nelson South.
The newly installed lights are LED and are approved for dark sky requirements. They also meet the Waka Kotahi standard for light spill and glare.
The lighting also brought benefits for non cyclists. Smith said he went for a run down the track on Saturday night, as part of his New York marathon training.
“I found it wonderful and safe,” he said. “I would never have run down here without the lights.”
[ad_2]