Whanganui shared pathway usage up following Covid-19 boost

The City to North Mole Shared Pathway has seen a slight increase in usage in 2020, up 2.4 per cent from 2019. Photo / Bevan Conley

After substantial increases in use during the Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown in April, Whanganui's shared pathway usage has returned to near pre-lockdown levels.

During the lockdown, the Whanganui East, Whanganui River, and the City to North Mole Shared Pathway all had big increases in usage.

Most notably, the Whanganui East pathway near the Multisport Club had a pedestrian increase of 37 per cent and a cyclist increase of 93 per cent.

While numbers have decreased from those levels, they are trending slightly higher than in 2019.

The City to North Mole Shared Pathway has 2.4 per cent more users on average per month in 2020 compared to 2019, with the increased credited to more walkers, runners and mobility scooters using the pathway.

Senior roading engineer at Whanganui District Council, Brent Holmes, said a dropoff was expected as we left lockdown and went into winter, with the numbers set to increase leading into summer.

The Te Tuaiwi Shared Pathway had a greater increase, up 9.3 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019 and Holmes said this was mainly due to a rise in cyclists.

The long anticipated Upokongaro Cycle Bridge opening in early December is expected to draw in a large number of users, both locally and visitors.