Submitters on Ruapehu dual-use track worry about cyclists

New pieces of track proposed for Tongariro National Park will be additions to the Mountains to Sea cycle trail. Photo/ File

Submitters fear a new dual-use track on Mt Ruapehu will be crammed with downhill speeding cyclists and disadvantage walkers, a panel considering it heard.

One submitter asked whether it was necessary to allow cyclists into the park at all, and suggested they ride elsewhere.

But most at the hearing agreed the track would make the narrow Ohakune Mountain Rd much safer, said the Department of Conservation (DoC) Tongariro District community ranger, Stacey Faire.

At the June 20 hearing about 19 submitters gave their views on three new pieces of dual-purpose cycling and walking track within Tongariro National Park. They are the 22km Te Ara Mangawhero to take pressure off the Mountain Rd, an 11km loop added to the Old Coach Rd and 600m linking Horopito and National Park village.

The new tracks are wanted by Ohakune 2000 and the Ruapehu District Council, to bring more visitors to the southern end of the park. A trust is to be set up to build and maintain them - with some funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and from the council.

It could apply for grants to get more funding and ask track users to make a donation.

It would need an agreement with DoC to work within the park, Mrs Faire said. And the department would be pleased it didn't have to fund the new tracks itself.

The park's partial plan change proposes pedal-assisted e-bikes be allowed on the new tracks, and other places in the park where cycling is allowed.

The e-bike option created a lot of conversation, Mrs Faire said.

Some submitters said they were the way of the future, and enable disabled people to get into the outdoors. Others said they were too new and it would be better to wait a few years and see how they changed before allowing them.

Some said they would have less environmental effect than ordinary bikes, because they are heavier and skid less. Others said it would be difficult to restrict access to pedal-assisted e-bikes only.

Submitters wanted to use the new tracks in community fundraising events, and said they would be subject to usual rules about events held in the park.

Some speakers dwelt on construction details, saying that good lines of sight were important for dual-use tracks, and that correct construction would reduce erosion and make maintenance easier.

All the pieces of track will have safety benefits - mainly because they keep cyclists and walkers off vehicle roads. Constructing Te Ara Mangawhero would make widening the Ohakune Mountain Rd unnecessary, and is supported by mountain iwi Ngati Rangi.

Mrs Faire said submitters' views would be taken into account in changes made to what's proposed in the review.

The new tracks still have to be approved by the New Zealand Conservation Authority and the Conservation Minister.