Travelling Tasman’s Great Taste Trail on your e-bike is set to get easier with free charging stations planned for the route.
A total of 15 Locky Docks are hoped to be installed along the 200km Great Ride, which loops from Nelson to Kaiteriteri.
Locky Docks are secure bike locks that also provide charging capabilities that are free to use for the public, funded through digital advertising displays on some of the stations.
There are currently around 95 Locky Dock stations around the country, installed by Big Street Bikers.
One of the company’s founders, Cleve Cameron, was “thrilled” to bring the stations to the region.
“It’s been a long time in development,” he says.
“It’ll be fantastic because the trails are gorgeous in Tasman and Nelson, and so I think it really will elevate [them].”
The plan was to install the “world-leading” charging stations in Nelson, Richmond, Māpua, Motueka, Kaiteriteri, Tapawera, and Wakefield, for use by both tourists and locals.
“It’s bringing the transport system ahead of the curve,” Cleve says.
“The locations are also highly visible, helping normalise cycling as a transport option in the time of a fuel crisis.”
The company has seen usage of Locky Docks jump by 36 per cent since the fuel crisis began.
Past economic modelling indicated that Locky Dock networks provided multimillion-dollar social benefits, beyond helping people save on fuel, through reducing pollution and congestion while delivering health benefits.
“It will be a great thing,” Cleve says.
Great Taste Trail manager Belinda Crisp says the route has seen a “huge uptake” in e-bike use and that the Locky Docks would bring “peace of mind” for those with “range anxiety”.
“It’s also good for the supporting businesses for the trail, so that people will ride to their destination then charge up their bikes when they grab a coffee or do some shopping.”
She hoped that the charging stations would result in more people riding the trail.
“It’s a little bit of a wait and see, really. Sometimes it’s a ‘build it and they will come’ scenario.”
Ali Boswijk, chief executive of the Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce, describes the Locky Docks as “really well used” after seeing them in action during a recent trip to Christchurch.
“To be able to have infrastructure that supports people who want to commute, but also our visiting tourists, just seems to make sense.”
Installing the charging stations would reinforce and capitalise on the region’s high rate of recreational cycling and ensure it kept up with other areas of the country, she says.
A Tasman District Council spokesperson says the organisation had provided Big Street Bikers with a point-of-contact to facilitate the necessary approvals and installations.
One consent has since been granted for Richmond’s Sundial Square, while two others for the Richmond Library and High Street in Motueka were still being considered.
“Locky Docks… will complement and promote our existing cycleway infrastructure, encouraging the uptake of cycling and active transport in line with council’s cycling strategy,” the spokesperson says.
The council expects the charging stations to maintain clear footpath widths for pedestrian access.
The head of regulatory services at Nelson City Council, Mandy Bishop, says that a resource consent application was referred to an independent commissioner who decided that the consent would need to be publicly notified.
“As with all consent applications, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further on the application while formal processes are underway.”
Cleve says that Nelson was the first of 12 councils nationally to require the consent to be publicly notified.
“We’re keen to hear support from local businesses, cyclists and community groups who would like a Locky Dock network in Nelson. We really don’t want Nelson to miss out.”
Despite some slated to be installed on public land, their installation came at no cost to the councils, with their installation being co-funded by Big Street Bikers and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment through a grant.
Their ongoing maintenance was funded through the advertising screens at some of the sites, which will also have air-time allocations for the councils and community announcements.
It is hoped that the local Locky Dock network will be installed and operational by summer.
The current sites slated to see a Locky Dock are: the corner of Collingwood and New Streets, Millers Acre, the St Vincent Street Woolworths, and the Nelson Provincial Museum (Nelson City), the Tāhuna Beach Holiday Park and the Sands (Tāhunanui), the Greenmeadows Café (Stoke), the Richmond Library and Sundial Square (Richmond), the Māpua Wharf, Toad Hall and BeetRoot Groceries (Motueka), the Waterfront by Toad Hall restaurant and café (Kaiteriteri), beside the public toilets in Tapawera, and the Little Sprig (Wakefield).
