Around the Mountains Cycle Trail could be rerouted because of climate change
Climate change may be a factor in changing part of the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail in Southland. Southland District deputy mayor Ebel Kremer said it needed to consider the effects of climate change and the trail being so close to waterways, after a string of damage done by flooding this year. The 186km trail is one of 22 certified Great Rides in New Zealand, and goes through Southland and Otago. You have to ask the question, with the repair work, whether the trail is in the right place right next to the river, Kremer said. READ MORE: * Council action on wastewater and cycle trail not expected before 2018 * Southland District Council investigating new route to complete cycle trail * Southland District Council reconsidering cycle trail stance A section of the trail alongside the Oreti River near Centre Hill was damaged by flooding in September. That damage closed a section and a detour was in place along Centre Hill Rd. Kremer said he wanted the best out of the trail, for domestic tourists now and international tourists when Covid-19 restrictions ease. Kremer made it clear he was not discrediting the previous designers. However, he posed the question: What do we need to do to best mitigate any future damage? Council group manager services and assets Matt Russell said undoubtedly making minor changes to the trail would be necessary over time, as rivers changed. In some places the solution could be more rock strengthening, he said. Its the second notable time in 2020 that parts of the trail have been damaged by flooding. More than 820 millimetres of rain fell in Southland during a storm from February 3 to 6. Repair work after the February floods to fix a section of the trail was awarded to The Roading Company. And the council also received $379,793 from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to help for the damage. At the time, cycle trail manager Susan Mackenzie said floodwaters caused scouring and surface material loss, and made several areas of the trail impassable. Flood damage occurred across the entire trail network from Kingston to Centre Hill, she said. The trail has not been without controversy in the past. In 2016, the Environment Court decided in favour of Fish & Game New Zealand's challenge of the council's plans to build the cycle trail down the remote Oreti River valley. A report by consulting firm Deloitte, released in 2016, found the original project had a poorly constructed approved budget, inadequate monitoring of the project's costs, poor governance and oversight and a shortage of appropriate skills to manage the project. The councils Around the Mountains Cycle Trail subcommittee met once in 2016, three times in 2017 and once in 2018. Mackenzie was appointed as full-time trail manager in mid-2019.