Giving the Rotorua Green Corridor a go

Reporter Alice Guy goes for a ride along the Green Corridor.

I thought I had made up my mind on the Green Corridor, but that was before I strapped on a helmet and climbed on a bike.

Like a lot of the naysayers I had cast a shadow of doubt over the winding route through town that I had seen few people using, but there were actually lots of things I liked about it.

I started out on the eastern side of town on Hinemoa St.

The corridor was well signposted, with its bright green paint and enormous bike logos, the pathway was smooth and it felt wide enough that I could leisurely ride along with a friend.

Although I did have to negotiate my way around a delivery van parked in the middle of the corridor, I was enjoying my ride.

Crossing at the traffic lights made what seemed quite daunting actually really easy and I was able to move along at my own pace despite the much slower foot traffic.

Navigating the construction work at Te Manawa was admittedly a nightmare.

I had to cut the entire way around what was a small pathway and at one point narrowly missed a pedestrian as I rounded a blind corner.

But this is something I can't criticise the Green Corridor for and I am curious to see how the cycle traffic will move through that space once it's complete.

Tutanekai St was where I had the most to complain about.

The plant boxes and benches made it difficult to access the cycle side of the footpath and I did fear I would crash into a pedestrian.

The best part of this section was the red and white crossings, they were easy to spot as I cycled along and gave a clear direction for which way I was supposed to go.

I was lucky enough to know that the painted section of Haupapa St was the cycle lane, as I think this was the least signposted section.

Once I was on it, it was smooth sailing through to Kuirau Park.

My only criticism of this segment is that perhaps a crossing could be added at Amohia St.

Overall, I enjoyed it, the ride was smooth, flat, easy to follow and it didn't take much time at all to get through the city.