Wakely Road shared path

We’re proposing to upgrade the Wakely Road track in Newlands to be a safer walking and biking route between Newlands and Ngauranga, and into the central city.

Once upgraded, the track will be an off-road shared path that can be used by more people. It will provide a better connection from Newlands and the northern suburbs to the Hutt Road shared path and, in future, to the Wellington–Hutt Valley link.

Proposed track upgrade

The upgrade to Wakely Road track would include:

• improving storm water drainage and pulling out the old culverts
• levelling and paving the surface
• grading corners to limit speed
• installing more safety fences in steeper areas
• cutting back trees and other vegetation
• signs at each end of the path.

Proposed easier access from Hutt Road

The proposal would also make it easier and safer for people on bikes to cycle up to the start of Wakely Road track from the Hutt Road intersection, especially for less confident riders:

• the footpath on the northern side of Centennial Highway would become a designated shared path from the Hutt Road intersection up to Glover Street
• from Glover Street, it would be legal for people to cycle uphill on the existing footpath to reach the start of the track
• people biking downhill from Wakely Road would continue to use the existing separate cycle path as far as Glover Street and then join the shared path down to Hutt Road
• signs would be in place to show people where to ride.

New pedestrian and cycle crossings are also planned for the Hutt Road-Centennial Highway intersection as part of the Hutt Road shared path upgrade now under way.

Next steps 

Councillors are likely to make decisions in mid-September. If approval is given, initial work could start later in 2017. It's likely the work will be completed in stages over two years.

Where the route will go

Wakely Road starts at Newlands Road and turns into a rough four-wheel drive track at the intersection of Spenmoor Street and Lyndfield Lane. From here the track runs down the hill to join Centennial Highway. The current legal status of the track is an unformed public road and the proposal would change this to a shared path.