Gisborne council sets timeline for Taruheru River pathway consultation

The existing Taruheru pathway, outside Mitre 10, has 370 average daily users during the week and 391 average users on the weekend, according to research by Tapuwae Tairāwhiti Trails Trust.

Gisborne District Council will workshop two “refined route options” for the Taruheru River Shared Pathway Project in November or December before wider community consultation begins.

A final supplementary business case is expected to go to council for adoption in early 2026.

The Taruheru River Shared Pathway will be a shared path along the banks of the Taruheru River, extending from the current shared path from Bright St through to Campion Rd.

Council officer Tyler Kirk, in updating Gisborne district councillors sitting as the operations committee, said the council and Tapuwae Tairāwhiti Trails Trust (Tairāwhiti Trails), since signing a Memorandum of Understanding, had formed a steering committee to engage with the community and mana whenua.

The group was undertaking a review of an existing feasibility and business case, as well as working on a supplementary business case to confirm the pathway’s route and design and the most appropriate delivery, funding and partnership mechanisms.

One aim was to find a wider range of funding options, which “we think is prudent in the current environment”, said Kirk.

Gisborne District Council committed $2.5m in its 2024-2027 Three-Year Recovery Plan to progress the project.

The written report presented to councillors said the proposed route had varied over a long period of time, from a full on-road cycleway to an off-road shared path.

The steering group had revisited route options within the supplementary business case and identified options to deliver the benefits at a lower cost.

A key requirement for the supplementary business case was local walking and cycling data to demonstrate support for active transport routes.

The report said Tairāwhiti Trails had used counting equipment and found:

• The Oneroa Pathway recorded 949 average daily passes (and over 1000 daily in summer) and 244,000 total passes since November 2024.
• The split was roughly 80% pedestrian and 20% cycling.
• The Taruheru Pathway (outside Mitre 10) recorded 370 average daily users during the week and 391 average users on the weekend. The numbers are expected to increase over summer.
• The cycle and walkway at the intersection of Gisborne’s Endcliffe Rd and Wainui Rd recorded 159 average daily passes with a peak of 398 passes on a single day.

The steering group identified broader community benefits from the project:

• Better connection to the awa. (Increased knowledge of the history of the awa, cultural vitality, improved mauri and mana of the wai, the rivers and banks)
• An increase in active travel. (Reduced vehicle congestion, safer roads, fewer emissions)
• Equity of access (Greater productivity, improved wellbeing, life satisfaction, connecting disconnected communities)
• Increased financial returns (Reduced healthcare costs, uplift in tourism),
• Increase in active recreation (improved social cohesion, pride of place).