A reader wants a cycle track round the lake's edge. Photo / File
Late last year we took up e-bike cycling as a means of keeping fit in retirement and enjoying the scenery and pleasures of being outdoors. We applaud Rotorua's cycleways (except detour through City Focus) as a means of encouraging more use of cycles for schools and commuting. We support all
the mountain biking developments in Rotorua, even though it is not for us.
However, Rotorua, as a tourist city, is missing the cycling boom in a significant area - catering for the cycle tourists (as opposed to mountain bikers).
In Taupo, Hamilton, Tauranga, Auckland and Whanganui (to name a few) you can ride, mostly without street crossings, around lake edges, estuaries, riversides and seafronts for 9 plus kilometres, one way, on paths eminently suitable for shared use.
Nothing like the above exists in Rotorua, yet we have lakes all around us. It would be a great attraction if we could ride around Lake Rotorua, near the lake edge. Such a trail would be a boon to the supporters of the Rotorua Marathon contestants and other round lake activities. I am sure land access issues are not going to be easy to resolve but let's start now as they will not get easier with the passing of time.
We ride around Rotorua for exercise, which includes a lot of stop/start at road crossings. We go elsewhere to ride for pleasure and so will a growing segment of the tourist market.
