Council to pay for cycle-track role

More than $60,000 in ratepayers' money will help promote Destination Manawatu's Country Road cycle track.

Manawatu District Council has agreed to fund a development co-ordinator role for the next two years, with the successful applicant earning a salary of $32,000. Destination Manawatu approached the council for the money during the council's annual plan submissions and, in a meeting on Tuesday, the council agreed to foot the wage bill for the role.

The role is being created to promote Manawatu as a visitor destination, maintain community buy-in for the cycleway, help local communities develop stops, build awareness of the route, and promote cycling as a mode of transport.

The Country Road cycleway is made up of three road and four mountain-biking routes.

The council's community and strategic development officer, Tracey Hunt, said the council put away $50,000 a year – a mix of ratepayers' money and New Zealand Transport Agency funding – for the Manawatu Active Transport Strategy. She said $117,000 was in the budget, which had accumulated over the years and would be used to fund the role.

Mayor Ian McKelvie said the job should be self-fundable within two years. He saw the payment as a one-off. "We also want to make sure the funds are spent on enhancing our district, and isn't all being spent in the other districts in the region," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News