MHRA Promotes Footpath Along Moutere Highway - Council Decision Imminent

Following completion of the first short section of footpath, our most important long-term goal as residents association continues to be the creation of a walk and cycle path to connect the Moutere Hills Community Centre to Upper Moutere village.

The MHRA committee recently performed a renewed and detailed review of all the available possible routes for this pathway - taking into consideration such things as total travel distance, construction cost, community preference, deviations, land access, possible hazards, difficulties arising from falling trees, damage from expected flooding along the rivers, maintenance cost, and more.

The committee has found that to achieve the main goal of providing safe access for pedestrians and cyclists from the direction of Kelling Road to Upper Moutere village a footpath directly alongside the Moutere Highway is the best and safest option (and also the most realistically achievable) and the Moutere Hills Residents Association is now promoting this option. As is the case for all other options, various technical difficulties exist for this route, which will need to be resolved in time.

Meanwhile, Tasman District Council and the Engineering Services Committee will meet on Thursday 23 May to make a decision on the district-wide Footpath Project Priorities List, which had been produced and reviewed by the Transportation Department. Our proposed pathway - being the connection from the MHCC to Upper Moutere village - is still the highest-ranking footpath project on this list.